Last Emperor
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Last Emperor | |
|---|---|
 The Last Emperor at HotHouse in Chicago, on August 13, 2003. Picture taken by Bill Vala. |
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| Origin | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Country | United States |
| Genres | Alternative hip hop |
| Labels | Aftermath Records Interscope Records Rawkus Records Raptivism Records |
Jamal Gray more commonly known as The Last Emperor, is a Philadelphia-born rapper. He is renowned for his quick wit and lyrical skill. The Last Emperor took his moniker from the Bernardo Bertolucci film epic of the same name (The Last Emperor). He attended and graduated Overbrook High School (Philadelphia) then went on to obtain a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science/International Relations from Lincoln University. After moving to New York he began performing at open mic nights. It was at the Lyricist Lounge that he became known mainly for his eminent stage presence and hypnotizing live shows. The Last Emperor quickly gained a verse on KRS-One's 'CIA (Criminals In Action)' (also featuring Zack De La Rocha of rock group Rage Against the Machine). Two years after graduating from Lincoln he obtained a major recording contract from then struggling Aftermath Entertainment. Jamal amazingly become a protégé of Dr. Dre a well known gangster rapper and pioneer of hip-hop music, also the legendary producer of artists such as, Snoop Dogg, Tupac Shakur, Eminem and Co-founder of Death Row Records. In 2003 official word came out that The Last Emperor had signed to Rawkus Records, unfortunately due to distribution problems the record was kept off the rack. Last Emperor has his own label Red Planet Music Corp. which is distributed by Raptivism. Que who is Last Emperor's brother is also his partner in the label.
He has opened for such acts as the former Def Squad (Redman, EPMD, Das EFX and K-Solo), Common, The Roots, and KRS-One. He has performed at the Lyricist Lounge on several occasions. He’s traveled around the world from Denmark [Roskilde Festival], London [Jam in the park], and Norway [Quart Festival] to North America as the Guest MC for the popular rock group, The Gorillaz.
He's currently signed to Raptivism Records, but was signed to two different well known labels in the past: Aftermath Records and Rawkus Records. Last Emp released his debut album Music, Magic, Myth in 2003. A follow up record was expected in late 2005, but as of yet, no news has been released on it. However, a collection of tracks (which may have been the album in question) leaked before it could ever hit stores, called The Legend of Big Foot. Apparently, the CD never saw the light of day for unknown reasons.
The Last Emperor has released the single Black Apache on Red Planet as of Sep '06, currently his upcoming album is in production...
