Pigeon John
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Pigeon John | ||
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| Background information | ||
| Birth name | John Kenneth Dunkin | |
| Origin | Omaha, Nebraska, USA | |
| Genre(s) | Hip hop | |
| Years active | Early 1990's–Present | |
| Associated acts |
Brainwash Projects L.A. Symphony |
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Pigeon John is a popular Los Angeles area rapper who has recorded four solo studio albums, multiple studio albums as a member of the L.A. Symphony collective, and has been featured as a collaborator on numerous other recordings with various artists. He is currently signed to Quannum Projects. Pigeon John has performed on several U.S. tours including Cali Comm Tour and has been featured in publications including Entertainment Weekly, VIBE, SPIN Magazine and LA Weekly. In 2006, Pigeon John was featured in an interview on National Public Radio.
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[edit] Early Life
John Kenneth Dunkin (later changed to Dust) was born in Omaha, Nebraska and moved to the Los Angeles County city of Inglewood, California at the age of five years old. Being a mixed-race child (half black and half white), John felt out of place in predominantly white Omaha and predominantly black Inglewood. John's mother eventually moved her family from Inglewood to the nearby city of Hawthorne, California. He currently resides with his wife in the Los Angeles suburb of Northridge, California.
Pigeon John was an avid skateboarder and would often listen to a variety of music on the radio while skateboarding, especially on the legendary Los Angeles hip-hop radio station KDAY. Early on, John was influenced by an eclectic range of artists including The Beastie Boys, De La Soul, Phil Collins, and Madonna. It was when he was only twelve years old he wrote his first rap titled "Inglewood Skater's Dream."
As a teenager, Pigeon John began performing his raps on open mic nights at the famous Good Life Cafe. The Good Life Cafe is a health food restaurant that provided a place for many underground hip-hop artists to display their talent, including Jurassic 5, The Black Eyed Peas and Freestyle Fellowship.
Pigeon John's first recorded performance is a collaboration titled "Judge Not" with the artist LPG.
[edit] Musical Career
[edit] Brainwash Projects
In the 1990s, Pigeon John and his good friend B-Twice formed the hip-hop duo Brainwash Projects. The Brainwash Projects contributed the single "Muchas Muchachas" to the Christian rap compilation "Sanktifunkafyed" released by N-Soul Records in 1995. Brainwash Projects eventually released a record titled "The Rise and Fall of Brainwash Projects" on the independent label Jackson Rubio.
[edit] L.A. Symphony
Pigeon John and B-Twice eventually met other like-minded young rappers and formed the hip-hop musical collective known as L.A. Symphony. Members of the L.A. Symphony have at one time or another also included members of The Halieyoos Fishermen (Sharlok Poems, Trendi M.C., and J-Beits aka Great Jason), The Eternals (Cookbook and Uno Mas), and rapper/producer Flynn Adam Atkins.
Pigeon John, B-Twice, and Great Jason have since left L.A. Symphony to pursue solo careers and other projects, but are still considered part of the L.A. Symphony crew.
[edit] Rootbeer
At one time, Pigeon John and Flynn formed a side project called Rootbeer. There is at least one known studio single from Rootbeer titled "The Inevitable Return of the Pretty Boy Virgins".
[edit] Solo Career
Between 1997 and 2000, Pigeon John recorded the songs that became his first solo album, ...Is Clueless. The album was released in 2001 by The Telephone Company and then re-released in 2002 by Syntax Records/The Telephone Company with 3 new tracks and new artwork.
Pigeon John then signed to Basement Records and released ...Is Dating Your Sister in 2003 and ...Sings The Blues in 2005.
In 2005, Lyrics Born saw Pigeon John on the Cali Comm Tour and brought him into Quannum Projects.
In 2006, after signing to Quannum, Pigeon John released his fourth solo album, ...and the Summertime Pool Party. The album has received positive reviews from many sources, including LA Weekly, Entertainment Weekly and VIBE.
[edit] Discography
- ...Is Clueless (Independent) (2001)
- ...Is Clueless (2002)
- ...Is Dating Your Sister (2003)
- ...Sings The Blues (2005)
- ...and the Summertime Pool Party (2006)
Pigeon John has also released a compilation album called "Featuring Pigeon John." It compiles a number of tracks that he has made guest appearances on. There is no new material on the disc aside from the intro track (which is a lead in to the final track on the album, a song done with rapper Red Cloud).
Also featured on:
[edit] Guest Appearances
- 4th Avenue Jones - U Rockin'
from the 2003 album Hiprocksoul
- Acid Reign - Never Fold
from the 2006 album Time and Change
- Adventure Time - Whetting Whistles
from the 2003 album Dreams of Water Themes
- Blackalicious - Side to Side
from the 2005 album The Craft
- Bobby Bishop - Show Love
from the 2005 album Government Name
- Braille - It Won't Last
from the 2004 album Shades of Grey
- Cheap Cologne - Barry Manilow Is Alive and Well
from the 2005 album Something Random
- Cookbook & Uno Mas - Take Control
from the 2006 album While They Slept
- Daedelus - Something Bells
from the 2006 album Something Bells EP
- DJ Maj - Bounce to the Rhythm
from the 2000 album Wax Museum
- DJ Maj - Golden Motorcycle
from the 2000 album Wax Museum
- DJ Maj - God Music
from the 2003 album The Ringleader
- Fat Jack - Pay Back
from the 2004 album Cater to the DJ Vol. 2
- Flynn - Endless Maze
from the 2001 album Burnt Out
- Freedom of Soul - Not This Record
from the 1993 album The Second Comin'
- Future Shock - Paperweights
from the 2002 album The Art of Xenos: Entertaining Aliens
- Grits - You Said
from the 2006 album Redemption
- Joey the Jerk - Same Dark Sweater
from the 2004 album Average Joe
- KJ-52 - Revenge of the Nerds
from the 2002 album Collaborations
- KJ-52 - All Around The World
from the 2004 album 7th Avenue ('04 Edition)
- Knowdaverbs - Call of the Dung Beetle
from the 1999 album The Syllabus
- LPG - Judge Not
from the 1995 album The Earth Worm
- luke geraty - Brandon's Folly
from the 2003 album It's Cold Out Here
- luke geraty - Pandemonium
from the 2003 album It's Cold Out Here
- Lyrics Born - I'm Just Raw (remix)
from the 2006 album Overnite Encore: Lyrics Born Live!
- Mars ILL - Planes and Trains
from the 2003 album Backbreakanomics
- Mils - Upside Down
from the 2006 album The And Album
- Neila - Rules
from the 2004 album For Whom the Bells Crow
- Opio - Granite Earth
from the 2005 album Triangulation Station
- PAX 217 - Gratitude
from the 2000 album Twoseventeen
- Project Blowed - The People
from the 2005 album 10th Anniversary
- Red Cloud - The Pigeon John Song
from the 2002 album Is This Thing On?
- Sharlok Poems - Driven By Facts
from the 2002 album Left
- Shape Shifters - Little Life
from the 2004 album Was Here
- Soup the Chemist - Reaching
from the 2003 album Eargasmic Arrangements
- Soul Junk - Monsters and Gargoyles
from the 2000 album 1956
- Tapwater - The White Man
from the 2001 album Two Forty Five
- Wordburglar - Breeze
from the 2006 album Burglaritis
