With a sense of rhythm and a delivery that would make an AK-47 jealous, Sun E Boi attacks tracks with the confidence and presence of a veteran coupled with the hunger of a new-jack. He is equally adept at performing soberingly honest and introspective songs as well as dizzying displays of battle lyric dexterity. Sun E Boi describes himself as a "direct descendant of A Tribe Called Quest by way of Outkast, Little Brother, Talib Kweli and Mos Def."
Sun E Boi didn't just start crafting songs yesterday, either. Orange County's Hip Hop fans have borne witness to his feats of rhyme for the past three years.
During his time as a student at the University of California, Irvine, where he majors in Biological Sciences, Sun E Boi has performed at multiple on-campus events including: Apollo Night, a benefit show for the Rape Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN), Hip Hop Congress's "One Love" show (hosted by local favorite Trek Life), "Beats, Rhymes and Rice" (where he opened for Bao Phi, Giles Li and Kiwi Ilafonte) and CALPIRG's hunger and homelessness benefit. Off-campus, Sun E Boi has rocked stages in northern California at "High Five", a benefit for the Penngrove School's arts programs, and various Orange County open mics.
In 2008, Sun E Boi competed in the university-sponsored talent competition Antstock, and was awarded with a prize for "Best Instrumentation" and was runner-up for "Best Performance."
Before he set foot on the university, Sun E Boi had already began building his discography. From 2005 to 2006, Sun E Boi supplied Hip Hop-hungry Rancho Cucamonga, California with four self-recorded and distributed mixtapes. Aside from his own work, Sun E Boi collaborated with other Southern Californian MCs like Los Angeles's 5 Days Left.
In 2006, while working on his 4th mixtape (Underground Heat Vol. 2), Sun E Boi recorded his first collaboration with his cousin Avelino, who performs under the stage name thePOET. In 2008, the pair went on to record an album together entitled Music Inspired By Life. Sun E Boi and thePOET are currently working on a follow-up mixtape and a second album.
Over the last year, Sun E Boi has kept busy constructing and assisting in multiple new projects to be unveiled in the coming months. Among these are his first solo album named Sol Motivation, produced entirely by the Inland Empire's The Applebeats, the second collaboration album with thePOET (Sun E Boi and thePOET - Neo Nephilim Theory), as well as the prequel mixtape The Building Phase, and a yet-to-be-titled collaboration album with Jon Lock, which is also produced by The Applebeats.
Speaking for himself, Sun E Boi says, "The main thing I bring to my music is my love for what I'm doing. That's the passion that keeps me going. Fans of truthful, honest music made with a real respect for art will understand where I'm coming from and (hopefully) listen to what I'm saying."
Written by Bradley Curry
