Gonjasufi

American rapper

Hip hop^[1]
psychedelic^[2]

Occupation(s)

Vocalist
rapper
producer
DJ
yoga teacher

Instrument(s)

Vocals
turntables
guitar

Years active1990s–presentLabels

Warp
A.I.R.

Websitewww.sufisays.com

Musical artist

Sumach Ecks^[3] (born 1978),^[4] better known by his stage name Gonjasufi, is an American vocalist, producer, disc jockey, and yogi.^[5]

Life and career

Ecks was born in 1978 to a Mexican mother and an American-Ethiopian father.^[3] He spent his formative years in Chula Vista, California.^[5]

Ecks got involved early on in the arts, playing Helios the Sun God in the opera Persephone.^[6]

In the early 1990s, he began releasing music within the San Diego hip hop scene; notably with the Masters of the Universe crew.^[7]^[8] Touring under the stage names Sumach Valentine and Randy Johnson,^[7] his first band was called Plant Lyphe.^[6]

Ecks gained notice from Warp Records in 2008 after an appearance on Californian musician Flying Lotus' album Los Angeles, on which he sings on the track "Testament".^[8] His Warp debut album, A Sufi and a Killer, was released March 8, 2010.^[9]

Ecks' voice has been described by Pitchfork as "a scraggly, scary, smoked-out croak that creeps like the spiritual offspring of George Clinton and Lead Belly".^[8] He attributes his singing style to his day job teaching yoga, where he was forced to learn how to "project from [his] stomach more".^[8] His music is largely experimental, fusing urban beats with psychedelic flourishes.^[10]^[11]

Besides singing and rapping,^[12] Ecks also serves as a producer,^[13] DJ,^[14] and yoga teacher.^[5]

On August 19, 2016, Gonjasufi released the album, Callus, which featured contributions from Pearl Thompson.^[15]

Discography

Studio albums

A Sufi and a Killer (2010)
MU.ZZ.LE (2012)
Callus (2016)

Remix albums

The Caliph's Tea Party (2010)
Mandela Effect (2017)

EPs

The Ninth Inning EP (2011)
Untitled (2013) (split with Ras G)

Singles

"Holidays" b/w "Candylane" (2009)
"Kowboyz&Indians" b/w "My Only Friend" (2010)
"Kobwebz" b/w "Speaketh" (2010)
"Nickels and Dimes" (2010)
"Ninth Inning" (2011)
"The Blame" (2012)

Guest appearances

Flying Lotus – "Testament" from Los Angeles (2008)
The Gaslamp Killer – "I'm in Awe" from Death Gate (2010)
Humansuit – "Lawnmower Man" from Humansuit (2012)
The Gaslamp Killer – "Veins" and "Apparitions" from Breakthrough (2012)
Old English – "The Omen" from Band in Amerikkka (2013)
Perera Elsewhere – "Giddy" from Everlast (2013)
Awol One & Gel Roc – "Flight" from The Cloaks (2014)
Dag Savage – "Bad Trip" from E & J (2014)
The Bug – "Save Me" from Angels & Devils (2014)
L'Orange & Mr. Lif – "Strange Technology" from The Life & Death of Scenery (2016)
The Gaslamp Killer – "Good Morning" from Instrumentalepathy (2016)
A7pha – "Hater Hate It" from A7pha (2017)

References

^ Fantano, Anthony (June 8, 2010). "Gonjasufi: Musings Of A Hip-Hop Mystic". NPR. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
^ Dacks, David (May 13, 2010). "Gonjasufi: A Sufi And A Killer". Exclaim!. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
^ ^a ^b Meer, Malik (March 6, 2010). "Gonjasufi – the electro Hendrix". The Guardian. Retrieved July 4, 2010.
^ Green, Thomas H. (January 14, 2012). "theartsdesk Q&A: Musician Gonjasufi". The Arts Desk. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c Deal, Chad (January 20, 2012). "Gonjasufi Extended Interview". San Diego Reader. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
^ ^a ^b Gimme5 Interview: Gonjasufi Archived March 8, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
^ ^a ^b Lymangrover, Jason. "Gonjasufi Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved March 8, 2010.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Dombal, Ryan (February 25, 2010). "Rising: Gonjasufi". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 6, 2010.
^ Hogwood, Ben (March 8, 2010). "Gonjasufi – A Sufi And A Killer". MusicOMH. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
^ Dacks, David (May 13, 2010). "Gonjasufi: A Sufi And A Killer". Exclaim!. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
^ Fantano, Anthony (June 8, 2010). "Gonjasufi: Musings Of A Hip-Hop Mystic". NPR. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
^ Olshevski, Andrew (November 2, 2011). "New Mini-Album From Gonjasufi". CMJ. Archived from the original on April 15, 2015. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
^ Roberts, Randall (February 21, 2012). "Video premiere: Gonjasufi roams downtown L.A." Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
^ Pressman, Joshua (March 15, 2010). "Tonight In Rock: She & Him, Gonjasufi, Moonrats, The Delta Mirror". LAist. Archived from the original on January 30, 2016. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
^ Thiessen, Brock (July 7, 2016). "Gonjasufi Returns with 'Callus'". Exclaim!. Retrieved January 12, 2017.