GIF

Brooklyn born and Harlem raised Gif is a rapper, essayist, and performance artist. Often his creative works are described as soulful, provocative, and angry. But what some view as anger others perceive as passion. With emotionally charged songs like ?In the Eyes? he, at times, certainly does seem to straddle the line. In 2005 his ?View of a Loser From on Top of the World? album was released to critical acclaim as one Itunes reviewer declared him ?A legend in the making?.

The album was compromised of 20 songs written over a time span of 5 years in which Gif struggled with a criminal conviction and homelessness. It's re-release in 2010 garnered over a half of a million downloads.

In 2008 on the heels of the initial success of the ?View of a Loser? album, Gif released the single ?No Born ID? which was featured on the front page of MP3.com and received over 40,000 downloads within a single week after hitting the front page. It was also awarded a spot on the ?Best of Mp3.com? compilation album. Featuring on legendary blend DJ Silva Sirfa's mixtape ?The Rise of Silva Sirfa? with Doug E. Fresh and DJ Ophax's, winner of Justo award for best international mixtape DJ, mixtapes ?Call It How You See It? and ?I'mma Take What's Mine? and write-ups in publications from the New York Daily News to Elmundo in Spain, Gif has managed to keep his name buzzing.

In 2009 Gif headlined at CMJ and debut a variation of his musical titled ?Extraordinary Ordinary Lives of the Living.? A product of his experimentation with Hip Hop Theater, 3 years in the making EX.O.L.L can be characterized as Frantz Fanon's ?Black Skin White Mask? meets Charles Horton Cooley's ?Looking Glass Self" through the veil of Hip Hop culture. Broadening the scope of the EX.O.L.L project beyond the stage, Gif released his ?Extraordinary Ordinary Lives of the Living? album currently on sale now in digital retail stores.