Prof (rapper)

Prof
Prof in concert at the Soundset Music Festival in Shakopee, Minnesota, in 2010
Background information
Birth name	Jacob Anderson
Born	(1984-04-29) April 29, 1984 (age 32) Minneapolis, Minnesota
Genres	Hip hop, alternative hip hop
Occupation(s)	Rapper, singer
Years active	2000-present
Labels	Stophouse Music Group, Rhymesayers Entertainment
Associated acts	Rahzwell, St. Paul Slim

Jacob "Jake" Anderson (born April 29, 1984), better known by his stage name Prof, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He released his first full-length album, Project Gampo, in 2007 and has since released two additional albums and three EPs. In 2012, City Pages named Prof on their list of Minnesota's 20 best rappers. A co-owner of Stophouse Music Group, Prof signed to Rhymesayers Entertainment in late 2013.

Jacob "Jake" Anderson was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and grew up in the city's Powderhorn neighborhood. His mother, Colleen, had a rocky relationship with his father (who suffered from bipolar disorder and was physically abusive) whom she would later divorce and move away from, taking Anderson's three older sisters with her. In his teenage years, he developed a "comedic, dirty-mouthed rap persona" he named Gampo after a childhood friend. Anderson graduated from South High School in 2002.

In 2010, Prof was part of Rhymesayers' Welcome to Minnesota tour. During the mid-2000s, Prof regularly performed at the Dinkytowner bar, giving "drunk show[s]" with partner and hype man Rahzwell - which meant beginning their set only after Rahzwell had vomited from every shot and beer that the duo received from the members of the audience. It was at one such show that Prof would meet his manager, Mike Campbell. Prof and Campbell, along with Dillon Parker, later became co-owners of the Stophouse Music Group, a record label that owns and manages their eponymous Stophouse Studios in northeast Minneapolis.

The staff of City Pages named Prof as Minnesota's 19th-best rapper in 2012, citing his musical dexterity, "his impressive singing voice", and his ability to engage and make audiences laugh. Conversely, musician and critic Dwight Hobbes of the Twin Cities Daily Planet asserted that Prof's 2011 album, King Gampo, was "asinine, narcissistic self-indulgence run completely riot, without a shred of redeeming artistry" and "rap at its worst".