Sole

sole, born 1977 in Portland, Maine, recorded his first demo in 1992. He shopped the demo to Entertainment Resources International, the management company responsible for Da Brat, Kris Kross and Xscape. He wanted DJ Premier beats, but all they could offer him were Jermaine Dupri remixes. Eventually the deal fell through.

By age 15, sole had become disenchanted with the mainstream music industry and decided he wanted to go indie. So with friends moodswing9, alias, jd walker, and dj mayonnaise, he founded 45 Below Records. He released his first independent release in '93 called Northern Exposure: Mad Skillz and Unpaid Billz, and sold 300 units! Next, sole got a job at McDonald's and began saving up to release the first Live Poets 12" to distribute at an industry convention with hopes of landing a major label distribution deal. At the 1995 Gavin Convention, sole personally handed out 300 of the Live Poets singles, but the million-dollar check never showed up in his mailbox.

sole went on to independently release "Live Poets: What's It All About" in '96, which was primarily sold over the internet. This album was unmistakably East Coast rap influenced, but it also contained the dark, depressing and poetic. However, it wasn't until "Bottle of Humans" that .

An inspired sole started up an online web-zine and online radio station out of his bedroom and used this as a starting point to launch the next phase of his career, anticon. Through his website he got in touch with artists and industry schmucks from all over the world. He quickly discovered that even the "independent" hip-hop industry was closed off to outsiders like him. But sole would allow nothing to stand between himself and his vision, which, with the help of some friends, would become anticon.

In '97 he released "Live Poets: Respect" and was able to sell 3000 copies, and get some press and college radio play. Although he was making progress, his savant approach to hip-hop was making it difficult for him to gain the hip-hop audience that he was aiming for. It was obvious that he would have to create a machine outside of the box. Around the same time, sole discovered like-minded artists such as The Shapeshifters, doseone, jel and The Sebutones.

Overly idealistic, outspoken, uncompromising, and frustrated, sole began bumping heads with various indie hip-hop establishments. In response, he released the controversial, "hip-hop music for the advanced listener" EP as an introduction to the anticon collective. "I had worked too hard to water my shit down just to gain acceptance by people who don't share the same values." So sole left the East Coast hip-hop scene behind and headed west with early anticon pioneer the pedestrian. The rest of the anticon collective soon followed. Within a year, anticon was embarking on its first tours, and releasing bigger and better records. To date, sole has toured the country four times, and sold out shows in Europe, Japan and Australia. As always, he keeps his hopes high, his expectations low, and his back to the wall...