Casual

Casual
Casual performing in 2006
Background information
Birth name	Jon Owens
Origin	Oakland, California, United States
Genres	Hip hop
Occupations	Rapper
Instruments	Vocals
Associated acts	Hieroglyphics
Website	Bio on Hieroglyphics' site

Jon Owens (born 1970s), known by his stage name Casual, is an American rapper.

Born in Oakland, California, Owens is a member of the influential alternative hip hop collective Hieroglyphics. In addition, he has released five full-length LPs over the span of his twelve year career. Although none of his solo releases have achieved significant commercial success, Owens has garnered a following amongst devoted hip hop fans, partially due to the rise in popularity of Bay Area hip hop.

Biography

1994's Fear Itself is of significance to Owens' career. It is his only major label-marketed album and features various members of his crew, Hieroglyphics, on vocals and production. The album also features a prominent cameo from Bay Area rapper Saafir. The album follows a traditional format: its songs adhere to a verse-chorus-verse arrangement, and the up-tempo and slower tracks are contrasted against each other. The popularity of the album's second single, "I Didn't Mean To" exposed Owens to a wider audience. He released three follow-up albums after "Fear Itself", one of which ("He Think He Raw") was distributed by Sony-affiliated distributor Red Urban.^[1] Owens is now a community activist. In 2006, he took on a role as Music Production and Media Arts Consultant at Youth Uprising ^[2]. Jonathan Owens currently holds a seat on the City of Oakland Board of Cultural Affairs. Owens is also CEO of Hiero Jeans.^[3]

Discography

LPs

• Fear Itself (1994, Jive Records)
• Meanwhile... (1997, Hieroglyphics Imperium Recordings)
• He Think He Raw (2001, Hieroglyphics Imperium Recordings)
• Truck Driver (2004, Hieroglyphics Imperium Recordings, web-only release))
• Smash Rockwell (2005, Hieroglyphics Imperium Recordings)

Singles

• That's How It Is (1993, Jive)
• I Didn't Mean To (1993, Jive)
• Me-O-Mi-O (1994, Jive)
• VIP (1999, Hieroglyphics Imperium)
• Blind Date (2001, Hieroglyphics Imperium)
• Same O.G. (2001, Hieroglyphics Imperium)
• We Don't Get Down Like That (2002, Hieroglyphics Imperium)
• My Whole Intent (2004, Hieroglyphics Imperium)
• Rap Game b/w Things I Need (2004, Hieroglyphics Imperium)

Appearances

• 1994: "What's The Real" (from the Kurious Jorge album A Constipated Monkey)
• 2000: "Big Business (Featuring Tajai)" (from the Ed O.G. album The Truth Hurts)
• 2003: "Let Me Hear Sum'n" (from the Aceyalone album Love & Hate)
• 2004: "It's Like That" (from the Handsome Boy Modeling School album White People)
• 2007: "Hot And Cold (Remix)" (from the Dilated Peoples album The Release Party)
• 2007: "Connect 4 (feat. Shabaam Sahdeeq & U.G.)" (from the Sean Price mixtape Master P)
• 2008: "Block To Block (Remix)" (feat. Hochii) (from the Egadz album You Got Beef In The Studio?)
• 2008: "Laughing At You" (from the The Mighty Underdogs album Droppin' Science Fiction)

Chart history

Albums

Singles

References