Sole (artist)
| Sole | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | James Timothy Holland Jr. |
| Also known as | Mansbestfriend Blazefest |
| Born |
September 25, 1977 Portland, Maine, US |
| Origin | New York City, New York, United States |
| Genres | Underground hip hop, conscious hip hop, political hip hop, alternative hip hop, experimental hip hop |
| Occupation(s) | Rapper, producer |
| Years active | 1992–present |
| Labels |
Anticon Fake Four Inc Mush Records Morr Music 6months 45 Below Black Canyon |
| Associated acts | Sole and the Skyrider Band, Pedestrian, Deep Puddle Dynamics, So-Called Artists, DJ Pain 1, Waco Boyz, Live Poets, Northern Exposure, Da Babylonianz |
| Website | www.soleone.org |
James Timothy "Tim" Holland Jr. (born September 25, 1977), better known by his stage name Sole, is an American underground hip hop artist from Portland, Maine. He is one of eight co-founders of the record label Anticon. He has been a member of the groups Northern Exposure, Live Poets, Deep Puddle Dynamics, So-Called Artists, Da Babylonianz, Sole and the Skyrider Band and Waco Boyz.
Sole started listening to rap in second and third grade after hearing a song in a movie, which made him want to write rhymes himself. His cousin would emcee battle at elementary school recess and he would help her write over the phone, these being maybe the first rhymes he wrote. In middle school, a kid down the street had a karaoke machine and they would make loops by rewinding the tape. Around this time, Tim started going to open mic events and people were impressed with how someone so young could rhyme so well and so fast. Others saw this as an opportunity and different deejays took him under their wing to help him get into studios.
Another one of his cousins married an engineer who worked at a studio in Boston and he was offered the opportunity to record for free. Tim's aunt was a lawyer and his uncle was a republican politician in Miami (whose high point was debating Jesse Jackson for office) and through the connection of an entertainment lawyer, Sole was able to send the recording to Jermaine Dupri whose management company, Entertainment Resources International wanted to sign Sole. Because he was a minor he was represented through his uncle and although he was offered an advance and a budget, the deal fell through. Sick of the industry, Sole decided to go independent.
Sole recorded his first demo in 1992. At age 15, he assembled 45 Below Records, which included rappers Alias, JD Walker, and producer DJ Moodswing9 (then known as Cuz the Highlander). Sole and Moodswing9 released the album Mad Skillz and Unpaid Billz together as Northern Exposure, selling more than 300 copies. In 1997, Sole released a 12" as Live Poets with JD Walker and Moodswing9. It garnered college radio play and sold a few thousand copies.
In Portland, Tim would get online and trade tapes with people from all over the world that he met on message boards and news groups. Here is where he heard of Atmosphere, The Sebutones, Mr. Dibbs, Odd Nosdam, DoseOne, Yoni Wolf, Shapeshifters, Pedestrian (who turned him onto West Coast hip hop), and Moodswing9 (who would send a tape of Live Poets to anyone who gave him his/her e-mail address). Eventually, he hopped on a Greyhound and went west to the bay area. In between deciding this and the idea of starting Anticon (a hip hop collective), the Deep Puddle Dynamics album The Taste of Rain... Why Kneel? was recorded. The rappers involved set certain mutually decided, creative rules such as not mentioning hip hop, emcees and rappers. This album was shopped around. Around this time was when Napster was becoming extremely popular.
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