Paris attended
Town School for Boys in San Francisco.
Early career In 1989, Paris founded his independent label,
Scarface Records, and released the single "Scarface Groove". The track became the opener for his debut album,
The Devil Made Me Do It, issued in 1990. Musically, the single has been compared to the style of
Eric B. & Rakim and showcases Paris’s early approach to lyricism. The rest of the album takes a more overtly political direction, incorporating references to the
Black Panther Party and other revolutionary movements. Its release marked the beginning of a career defined by political commentary, controversial cover art, and frequent challenges related to censorship. Paris earned a
bachelor's degree in
economics from the
University of California, Davis. borrowing the title phrase from comedian
Flip Wilson who made it famous in the 1970s through his persona
Geraldine Jones. Originally released on
Tommy Boy Records, Paris's first video was banned by
MTV. When his second album,
Sleeping with the Enemy, was ready for release in 1992, Paris was dropped from now-defunct
Tommy Boy Records and distributor
Warner Bros. Records, owned by
Time Warner, when the parent company discovered its incendiary content, which included fantasy revenge killings of then–President
George H. W. Bush and racist police officers. Also problematic was the album's insert, which featured the artist waiting behind a tree, holding a
TEC-9, as the president was waving to the crowd. Paris eventually released the LP himself on his own label Scarface Records.
2000s In 2003, Paris returned with the album,
Sonic Jihad. The album continued his tradition of
controversial cover art, evoking images of the
September 11 attacks, it depicts a plane flying toward the
White House. Its content is equally radical and covers many topics, including the
war on terror, the
war in Iraq,
police brutality,
black-on-black violence, conditions in inner-city communities, the
Illuminati, and
state-sponsored terrorism. Other
politically minded hip hop artists were featured on the album, including
Kam,
dead prez, and
Public Enemy.
Sonic Jihad was the catalyst for the creation of Paris' new label and web site, Guerrilla Funk Recordings, a home for projects and material of such notable acts as dead prez and Public Enemy. Paris' anti-war anthem "What Would You Do?" (from
Sonic Jihad) accuses "9/11 conspiracy theories|the Bush Administration [of playing] a key role in orchestrating the terror attacks of September 11", saying, ''"Ain't no terror threat, unless approval rating's slumpin'. So I'ma say it for the record we the ones that planned it, ain't no other country took a part or had they hand in it".
The song is featured on the 2004 compilation album Peace Not War, Vol. 2
. On the 2003 Anybody Killa album Hatchet Warrior'', Paris appeared with
Monoxide on a track entitled "Ghetto Neighbor." In 2005, Paris completed a project with
Public Enemy,
Rebirth of a Nation, the title both a reference to the 1915 film
The Birth of a Nation, controversial for its glorification of the
Ku Klux Klan and its racist portrayal of African Americans, and PE's 1988 album
It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back. Although
Chuck D was the primary vocal performer, Paris penned and produced the bulk of the album, which also featured
N.W.A's
MC Ren,
Immortal Technique, Kam,
dead prez, and
The Conscious Daughters. In 2006, Paris also released
Paris presents Hard Truth Soldiers, Vol. 1, the first in a Paris-produced compilation series that touched on subjects ranging from war and
police brutality to black-on-black crime and
domestic violence. It showcased contributions from Public Enemy,
the Coup, dead prez, Paris, T-K.A.S.H., Kam, The Conscious Daughters,
Mystic,
MC Ren,
Sun Rise Above, and the
Stop the Violence Movement (
Mobb Deep,
Tray Deee,
Soopafly,
KRS-One, Defari, Daz,
J-Ro,
RBX,
Bad Azz,
WC,
Dilated Peoples,
Mac Minister,
The Alchemist,
Mack 10,
Evidence, Defari,
Everlast, and
B-Real), among others. In addition, Paris introduced the world to former
Coup-member T-K.A.S.H. later that year, releasing his debut offering,
Turf War Syndrome, and handling production duties as well. In 2007, Paris released the follow-up companion piece to
Rebirth of a Nation, the Public Enemy collaboration
Remix of a Nation, and began laying the framework for the film division of Guerrilla Funk Recordings. Paris inked a distribution deal with
Fontana/
Universal for Guerrilla Funk (with movies through
Vivendi) in late 2007, and released his next album,
Acid Reflex, featuring
Chuck D and
George Clinton, in 2008. In 2009, Paris released
Paris Presents: Hard Truth Soldiers, Vol. 2, the sophomore project from T-K.A.S.H.,
Brains All Over The Streets, and the latest offering from The Conscious Daughters,
The Nutcracker Suite. Paris not only writes and produces songs, but also publishes information about ways to improve
inner-city communities. Numerous articles can be found on various subjects in the Thought Box section of Guerrilla Funk's website.
2010s In 2010, Paris was featured in the musical documentary,
Sounds Like a Revolution, and in 2011 was featured on the
Insane Clown Posse's
Featuring Freshness LP. He performed at that year's
Gathering of the Juggalos, and later at the Amsterdam Hiphopfestival in
Amsterdam. Paris' production and original material has been featured in various Hollywood offerings, including
Morgan Freeman's
HBO documentary
Prom Night in Mississippi in 2009,
End of Watch, starring
Jake Gyllenhaal and
Michael Peña in 2012, and 2014's
Kill the Messenger, starring
Jeremy Renner. In November 2014, he released a video single, "Night of the Long Knives," which called for an increased
unity in the black and brown communities and the adoption of the
eye-for-an-eye philosophy toward racist police aggression and brutality in the wake of the tragedy in
Ferguson, Missouri and
other high-profile shooting deaths. In August 2015, Paris released his second video single, "Buck, Buck, Pass," a commentary on
gun violence, its often ignored racial implications and its after effects. His album
Pistol Politics was released on September 11, 2015. It was named one of the Best Hip-Hop albums of 2015 by
SPIN magazine and received an "A−" rating by
VICE. Paris' third single and video, "Hard Truth Soldier (Redux)" was released in November 2015. Paris became an official contributor to
Vice Media in June 2016, beginning his ongoing relationship with that outlet to provide political and entertainment insights on current events from an urban perspective. In March 2016, EA Sports released
UFC2, the second installment of its popular
UFC mixed martial arts fighting video game franchise, featuring music produced by Paris. On September 5, 2016, Paris performed at Hiero Day in
Oakland, California - hip-hop collective Hieroglyphics' annual block party celebrating Bay Area indie music, food and culture. In October 2016, Guerrilla Funk released videos for "Lethal Warning Shot" and "Power," the 4th and 5th singles from Paris' acclaimed
Pistol Politics release. Paris rounded out 2016 with contributions to Level 33 Entertainment's mystery/suspense thriller,
Blood in the Water. 2018 found Paris' productions included in several movie and television offerings, including
Get Shorty on the Epix network,
Champaign ILL on YouTube Premium, and Netflix's
Flint Town and
Hip Hop Evolution, the latter of which featured an in-depth interview by Paris. In 2019, Paris' music has been featured in USA network's
The Purge, HBO's
The Deuce, CBS'
The Unicorn, multiple episodes of CBS Sports Network's
The Jim Rome Show and
Between Two Ferns: The Movie on Netflix, starring
Zach Galifianakis,
Matthew McConaughey,
Keanu Reeves and
Will Ferrell.
2020s Netflix's
All Day and a Night started off 2020 with featured music by Paris, starring
Ashton Sanders,
Jeffrey Wright, Isaiah John and
Regina Taylor, among others. In August of that year, "Baby Man Hands" was released - a scathing indictment of
Donald Trump's presidency and the first single and video from Paris' album,
Safe Space Invader. On September 11, ''Safe Space Invader's
second single and video, "Nobody Move" was released, a stylistic homage to Black Panther Party artist Emory Douglas that calls out police brutality, gentrification and more. Safe Space Invader
was released on September 25, 2020. On October 23, 2020, Safe Space Invader's'' third single and video, "Turned the Key," was released, addressing the hard topics of gentrification, income inequality & housing affordability. Its fourth single and video, "Walk Like a Panther," was released on December 2 of that same year. In 2021, Paris' music was featured in FX network's
Hip Hop Uncovered, Netflix's Notorious B.I.G. biopic, ''
Biggie: I've Got a Story to Tell,'' NBC's
Young Rock, and in
Blindspotting on the STARZ network. In July 2022, Lionsgate's film
American Carnage was released, featuring music and production by Paris. In August of that same year, Netflix's
Day Shift was also released, starring
Jaime Foxx and
Snoop Dogg and featuring Paris' original works. Peacock's
Poker Face started off 2023 with featured music by Paris, starring
Natasha Lyonne,
Benjamin Bratt,
Adrien Brody and
Lil Rel Howery, among others. In April of 2024, Paris' music production was featured in Apple TV+'s
Loot, starring
Maya Rudolph, and in Hulu's
Under the Bridge, starring
Riley Keough and
Lily Gladstone. ==Discography==