Chali 2na

Chali 2na
Background information
Birth name	Charles Stewart
Born	(1971-06-26) June 26, 1971 Chicago, Illinois
Genres	Hip hop
Occupation(s)	Rapper
Associated acts	Jurassic 5, Ozomatli

Charles Stewart (born June 26, 1971, in Chicago, Illinois), better known as Chali 2na, is an American rapper and hip hop artist, associated with the groups Jurassic 5 and Ozomatli. He is known for his baritone and quick delivery rapping style.

Personal life

Early life

As a young boy, Stewart moved to South Central Los Angeles, which had been the home base of Jurassic 5 since the group's inception in 1993. He was raised by his grandmother, a practicing Muslim, who raised him in the Islamic faith. His stage name is a reference to Charlie the Tuna, the deep-voiced animated mascot of StarKist Tuna. He and Cut Chemist became friends in high school. Together with Mark 7even, they were part of a seven-man group called Unity Committee. The Unity Committee crew would often spend Thursday nights performing at the Good Life Café, where rappers and spoken word poets showed off their skills in an open mic format. They were, along with another three-person troupe called the Rebels of Rhythm, routinely chosen as the crowd's favourite performers. The two crews also appreciated one another's styles, and they teamed to record a 12" single, "Unified Rebelution", in 1995. The Rebels of Rhythm were MCs Akil and Daakir (also known as Soup); the men banded together to form Jurassic 5. In 2006, Cut Chemist elected to split from the group to pursue a solo career, and the Jurassic 5 group split up altogether in 2007.^[1]

He is a founding member of the activist salsa funk band Ozomatli; although no longer an official member (having been replaced as resident MC by Jabu of 4th Avenue Jones), he continues to collaborate with them on occasion and maintains his friendships with them. Along with salsa, his music and theirs have been influenced by reggae and soul music; he is also a fan of house music.^[2]

Career

Jurassic 5

Was a founding member of Jurassic 5, which boasted in the song "Improvise" that the four MCs sounded like one.

Solo album

Fish Market, an official mix tape, was compiled and released October 25, 2004.^[3]

“

The mixtape is called the Fish Market, and basically it's just an accumulation of a bunch of songs that I did with other people man, that a lot of people might not have heard or might have, but might not have wanted to buy that album just to hear that song or whatever. So people could just pick it up, and it can kind of be like a little hand book on Chali 2na, before he actually comes out with an actual solo album. It's a series as well, because there is gonna be a Fish Market, Part 2 with a bunch of other stuff that didn't make it.[4]

”

"Don't Stop", the would-be first single from Fish Outta Water, appeared in January 2006. It showcased 2na's familiar rapid-fire flow; in its lyrics, 2na professed his dedication to hip hop culture, insulting rappers who neglect to pay proper respect to pioneers like Kool Herc and Afrika Bambaataa. He also spoke deferentially of Tupac Shakur.

"Don't Stop"'s chorus was sung by neo-soul artist Anthony Hamilton. It was featured in the soundtrack of the video game NBA Live 06. A second Chali 2na solo song, "The Anchor Man", was featured on the Dan The Automator-curated soundtrack to the latest installment in the game series, NBA 2K7. Another song, "Something Different", was also featured on the All-Pro Football 2K8 soundtrack.

Five years after Fish Market, a solo album, titled Fish Outta Water, was released. The album received generally positive reviews, holding a score of 70 on Metacritic.^[5] 2na delves into some of the formative experiences in his life, including a tragic incident in which his cousin, Be-Be, was killed in the 2003 E2 nightclub stampede. Collaborators on the album include Beenie Man (with whom he recorded "International"), Raphael Saadiq, his longtime friend Rakaa Iriscience, Talib Kweli, Anthony Hamilton, Damian Marley and Ming Xia (on the final track 4 Be Be).

Another mixtape was released in 2010, Fish Market Part 2. Much like the first Fish Market album, this is mainly filled with collaborations 2na has completed throughout his career with famous artists such as Linkin Park.

In an interview with Mr. Wavvy, 2na revealed that he has a series of 5 EPs prepped for the near future.^[6]

Chali 2na's song "Step Yo Game Up" was featured in popular video game in 2012 called Sleeping Dogs.

Collaborations

Chali 2na collaborated several times with fellow MCs. Many, but not all of his featured guest appearances are catalogued on the Fish Market albums, mixtapes he released to give his collaborations to "people [who] might not have wanted to buy that album just to hear that song or whatever."

He is a good friend of and frequent collaborator with British hip hop star Roots Manuva, having worked with him on a number of songs (including "Revolution 5", which appears on Fish Market and Dub Come Save Me, and "Join The Dots", which appears on Roots Manuva's second proper album, Run Come Save Me). He has also referenced his friend in the lyrics.

He has worked with Linkin Park on the song "Frgt/10" and the skit "Chali" from the 2002 album Reanimation. The song was also featured on Fish Market. He worked with Ozomatli on their first album and toured with New Orleans funk band Galactic. He is also featured on Galactic's 2007 release From the Corner to the Block on the cut "Think Back".

He collaborated with Blackalicious on their 2002 album "Blazing Arrow" on the track "4000 Miles, alongside Lateef the Truthspeaker.

2na appears alongside fellow Jurassic 5 MC, Akil, on the track "We know something you don't know" on the 2003 album "Music for the Mature B-Boy" by UK artist DJ Format.

Fatlip's 2005 "Today's Your Day (Whachagonedu)" from the acclaimed album The Loneliest Punk features a verse from 2na.

Chali 2na was also featured on Lyrics Born's Everywhere at Once album, performing on "Hott 2 Deff". Lyrics Born was also the MC for The Deadliest Catch Tour 2009. This hip hop tour featured Chali 2na, Gift of Gab and Mr. Lif.

On K'naan's 2009 album, Troubadour, Chali was featured on "America" together with Mos Def.

Chali 2na appears on the song The People Tree, which is track 2 on N.A.S.A. (musical group)'s 2009 album The Spirit of Apollo.

On Long Beach Dub Allstars 2001 album Wonders of the World Chali was featured on "Life Goes On" also featuring Half-Pint, Ives (of Delinquent Habits), and Tippa Irie. In 2008 Chali 2Na recorded with Ditch for Ditch's CD "Public Intoxication" on the song "All Comes Down To Money" which he co-wrote with Ditch.

Furthermore, Chali 2Na recorded a track together with Dutch rap artist Jerome XL in 2008. The track "King Sh#t" was released on JXL's solo debut album The Last Day in the first quarter of 2010.

In June 2010, British dubstep star Rusko released a collaboration with Chali 2na entitled "Gadget GoGo". The track was released as a bonus track to accompany the release of Rusko's debut solo record OMG. The track was also featured on Fish Market, Part 2.

Most recently, Chali 2na appeared on the track "Speaking in Tongues" from the album "Drinking From the Sun", the 2012 release from Australian hip hop artists Hilltop Hoods.

Chali 2na featured on the song "Get Original" on the Black Eyed Peas album "Bridging the Gap" released in 2000.

In 2012 he featured on the remix of "Dreamers" by British hip-hop duo Rizzle Kicks.

In 2012 he featured in Slightly Stoopid's track "Just Thinking" on their album, "Top of the World".

In 2014 he guest starred in Epic Rap Battles of History, portraying famous scientist Neil deGrasse Tyson.^[7]

In 2015, he was featured on the song "Love Is Killing Me" by Savoy, which was released on Monstercat.

In 2016, he collaborated with Canadian electro-funk band The Funk Hunter for a 5 song EP titled ILLectric, released through Westwood.

Film

Chali 2na is featured prominently in the award-winning documentary This Is the Life, chronicling the music movement that was birthed at The Good Life Cafe in South Central Los Angeles. The Good Life is the open-mic workshop where he first performed with Unity Committee in the early 1990s and founded Jurassic 5.

Chali 2na is also featured in the documentary Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme, and in the movie Never Been Kissed as part of Ozomatli, performing in a club.

Chali 2na is interviewed in RASH – a 2005 documentary film about Melbourne street art and graffiti – on his passion for graffiti as he paints his signature Tuna fish in murals with Australian artists including Phibs. The session involved painting murals on Smith St and Brunswick St in Melbourne. Chali was taking a short breather while on the band's 2005 Australian tour.

Chali 2na has also starred in the Epic Rap Battles of History video, Sir Isaac Newton versus Bill Nye as astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson.

Discography

Solo albums

• Fish Outta Water (2001)

Mixtapes

• Fish Market (2004)
• Fish Market Part 2 (2010)

EPs

• Against The Current EP.1 (2012)
• Against The Current EP.2 : Manphibian Music (2014)
• Against The Current EP.3 : Bloodshot Fisheye (2015)
• Against The Current EP.4 : ILLecttric EP (2016)

With Galactic

• From the Corner to the Block (2007)

With Jurassic 5

• Jurassic 5 (1998)
• Quality Control (2011)
• Power in Numbers (2002)
• Feedback (2006)

With Dino 5

• Baby Loves Hip Hop (2008)

With Ozomatli

• Ozomatli (1998)

With Supernatural

• S.P.I.T. (2005)

With Run DMT

• Union Of Opposites (2012)

With Roots Manuva

• "Join The Dots" (2001)
• "Revolution 5" (2002)

With Hilltop Hoods

• "Speaking In Tongues" (2012)

With DJ Format

• "We Know Something You Don't Know" (2003)

With Morcheeba

• "Face of Danger" (2013)

With Chinese Man

• "In My Room" (2012)

With Swollen Members

• "Full Contact" (2009)

With Savoy

• "Love Is Killing Me (feat. Chali 2na)" (2015)

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chali 2na.

• Chali2na Official Site