| Gonjasufi | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Sumach Ecks |
| Also known as | Gonjasufi Gonja Sufi Sumach Valentine Randy Johnson |
| Origin | San Diego, California, United States |
| Genres | Lo-fi, hip hop, experimental |
| Occupations | Musician Yoga teacher |
| Years active | 1990s-present |
| Labels | Warp |
| Associated acts | Flying Lotus The Gaslamp Killer |
| Website | http://www.sufisays.com/, http://warp.net/records/releases/gonjasufi |
Gonjasufi (born Sumach Ecks, aka Sumach Valentine, ca. 1978)[1] is a rapper, singer, disc jockey and yoga teacher from San Diego, California and currently living in Las Vegas, Nevada.[2] Ecks was born to a Mexican mother and an American-Ethiopian father.[1] He has been releasing music since the early 1990s among the San Diego Hip Hop scene, notably with the Masters of the Universe crew.[2][3] Ecks gained notice from Warp Records in 2008 after an appearance on Californian musician Flying Lotus' album Los Angeles, where he sings on the track "Testament".[3] His Warp debut album, A Sufi and a Killer was released on March 8, 2010.[4] Ecks' voice was described by Pitchfork Media as "a scraggly, scary, smoked-out croak that creeps like the spiritual offspring of George Clinton and Leadbelly".[3] He attributes his singing voice to his day job teaching yoga, where he must "project from [his] stomach more".[3]
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