Jensen Karp

Jensen-Gerard Karp (born November 8, 1979),^[1] is an American art dealer, producer, podcaster and former rapper raised in Calabasas, California^[2]

Karp was previously known by his stage name Hot Karl. Karl engaged in rap battling and freestyle at USC, during which time he took up the Hot Karl pseudonym.

Music

Karl later entered the Roll Call freestyle competition on Los Angeles radio station Power 106, where he lasted a record 45 days on air to become the show's all-time champion.^[3] Karl began collaboration with Limp Bizkit's DJ Lethal, creating a demo exhibiting his satirical style and tightly-wound rhymes. He eventually signed with Interscope Records, where he recorded what was to be his debut album, Your Housekeeper Hates You, which included guest appearances by Redman, Kanye West, will.i.am, DJ Quik, Fabolous, Mýa, Sugar Ray, Celph Titled, DJ Clue and MC Serch. However, Interscope informed Karl that his album could not be commercially released due to scheduling conflicts and he decided to leave Interscope.

Karl signed with EMI Music Publishing. and ended up releasing his debut album, newly titled The Great Escape, on Headless Heroes Records. His music was featured in the video game NBA Live 2003, a game in which he was also a hidden character. His song, "Back/Forth," was also featured in the 2009 movie It's Complicated.

Karl appeared on season 2 of Burning Love on Yahoo & E! and battled Martin Starr as part of the show. He currently manages Nova Rockafeller, a Canadian rapper on Boardwalk/Mercury records.

In 2013, Karl recorded his first song in 10 years, which was for his favorite basketball team, The Los Angeles Clippers, at the request of the team's in-arena DJ.^[4]

Art

Karp co-owns and operates Gallery 1988, two pop-art focused galleries in Los Angeles, California both located on Melrose Avenue.^[5] He co-wrote the book Just Can't Get Enough for Abrams Books with Matthew Robinson. Gallery 1988 is well known for its Kevin Smith hosted annual show, Crazy 4 Cult, where 100 artists reinterpret classic cult movies in their own style. Karp was also the brand manager and designer for Pete Wentz's Clandestine Industries. His marketing company, Tyson/Givens Design & Marketing created the LOST Underground Art Project for the show's final season and worked with the TV show Breaking Bad^[6] The gallery has also hosted exhibits for movies including The Avengers^[7] and Star Wars: The Force Awakens.^[8]

Wrestling

Karp was a writer for World Wrestling Entertainment for seven months during 2006.^[9]

Internet radio

Karp was a host on a podcast called Hype Men in which he, Eric Rosenthal and Jeff Rosenthal discussed hip-hop. It was started in August 2010 and ran until July 2011.

He hosts a show on the Wolfpop network called Get Up On This in which he, Matthew Robinson and a guest discuss things they think will soon become popular. The show moved to the Wolfpop network from SModcast Internet Radio (S.I.R.). The show is released as a Podcast on the Wolfpop network and iTunes.

Popular culture

Karp appeared on The Howard Stern Show in 2011 to talk about his time in the rap industry and perform The Roll Call with Howard & Lisa G. He also acts as the Creative Director at comedy YouTube Channel, Jash, where he has produced and written on projects like The ArScheerio Paul Show & 5K Video.

Personal life

On episodes of his Podcast, Karp revealed that he was dating model Melissa Stetten^[10] also that his cousin is pornographic actress Lexi Belle.^[11] He has a cat named Bill Murray and a dog named Brunch.

Bibliography

• Just Can't Get Enough (2007) Co-written with Matthew Robinson
• Kanye West Owes Me $300: And Other True Stories from a Jewish Rapper Who Almost Made It Big (2016)

References

External links

• Jensen Karp at the Internet Movie Database
• Jensen Karp on Twitter