Eyedea
Encyclopedia
Micheal Larsen known by his stage name Eyedea, was a well-known freestyle battle
champion and underground rapper. His notable wins included the televised Blaze Battle sponsored by HBO (2000) and a victory at Scribble Jam
(1999). He had appeared as a solo artist, and as the MC half of the duo Eyedea & Abilities
(along with longtime friend and collaborator DJ Abilities
). His non-battle rhymes were generally philosophically or thematically
based, and often told a definite narrative
.
, Minnesota
, where he attended Highland Park Senior High School
.
Eyedea became known as a battle MC, touring the circuit between 1997 and 2001. During this time he won top prizes at Scribble Jam '99, the Rock Steady Anniversary 2000, and Blaze Battle New York 2000. He contributed a track to the anticon. compilation, Music for the Advancement of Hip Hop. Additionally, he toured extensively as second MC and support DJ for Atmosphere
.
In 2001, he released First Born
with his partner DJ Abilities
(collectively, they were initially called the Sixth Sense, but they are now known as Eyedea & Abilities
). In 2002, under his pen name "Oliver Hart", he released the self-produced The Many Faces of Oliver Hart
. In 2004, he and Abilities reunited to release the self-titled album E&A (released March 23, 2004).
All of Eyedea's releases have been on the Rhymesayers
record label, with the exception of Carbon Carousel's "The Some of All Things or: The Healing Power of Scab Picking", which was released on his own independent label, Crushkill Recordings. In addition to touring independently and with Rhymesayers labelmates and members of Face Candy
, Eyedea and Abilities participated in the Def Jux-sponsored Who Killed the Robots? tour, titled by Eyedea.
He was signed to Rhymesayers Entertainment, and collaborated with Slug
of the underground hip hop group Atmosphere
, as well as Sage Francis
, Aesop Rock
, and Blueprint
.
After Eyedea released "This Is Where We Were," recorded with his live freestyle/jazz group Face Candy
, he created Carbon Carousel, an alternative rock band. They have released one EP titled "The Some of All Things or: The Healing Power of Scab Picking". This brought on speculation that Eyedea & Abilities were no longer together. However, in August 2007, the duo announced on their Myspace that they would be at the Twin Cities Celebration of Hip Hop performing old songs, as well as new material.
In December 2007, Eyedea & Abilities embarked upon their Appetite for Distraction Tour with Crushkill labelmate Kristoff Krane
and Minnesota
n duo Sector7G.
The summer of 2009 saw Eyedea & Abilities joining the touring hip hop festival Rock the Bells
for a limited number of dates, performing alongside such acts as Sage Francis
, Evidence
, M.O.P.
and the Knux
. E&A also performed at the first Rock the Bells concert in 2004, infamous for being Ol' Dirty Bastard
's last performance with The Wu-Tang Clan.
Eyedea died in his sleep on October 16, 2010. He was found dead by his mother, according to friends. Cause of death was released November 18, 2010 and ruled an accident, from opiate toxicity, according to the Ramsey County medical examiner's office. The specific drugs found in Larsen's system have not been revealed to the public.
In 2011 an EP of 4 of Eyedea's freestyles previously released in 2010 but only sold at live shows was made available for pay what you want download. Guitar Party a group consisting of vocalist (and first grader) Mijah Ylvisaker, drummer J.T. Bates (Face Candy, Carbon Carousel, The Pines) and guitarists Jeremy Ylvisaker (Carbon Carousel, Alpha Consumer, Andrew Bird, The Cloak Ox), Jake Hanson (Halloween, Alaska), Andrew Broder (Fog, The Cloak Ox) and Micheal Larsen (Eyedea & Abilities, Carbon Carousel, Face Candy) released a recording of the only live show they had managed to play before Eyedea's passing called 'Birthday [I feel Triangular]'
. The second Face Candy
was released on May the 24th 2011 on Rhymesayers. This album was recorded in two days at the Winterland studios and one night in front of an audience at St. Paul's Black Dog Cafe.
Battle Rap
Battle rap is a type of rapping that includes a lot of braggadocio content "combined with put-downs, insults, and disses against real or imaginary opponents"...
champion and underground rapper. His notable wins included the televised Blaze Battle sponsored by HBO (2000) and a victory at Scribble Jam
Scribble Jam
Scribble Jam was an annual hip hop music festival hosted in Cincinnati, Ohio. Dubbed "America's largest hip hop festival", it was co-founded in 1996 by "Fat" Nick Accurso, and Jason Brunson, founders of graffiti magazine Scribble, and DJ Mr Dibbs, in the parking lot of a local nightclub...
(1999). He had appeared as a solo artist, and as the MC half of the duo Eyedea & Abilities
Eyedea & Abilities
Eyedea & Abilities was an influential American indie rap duo from Saint Paul, Minnesota, consisting of DJ Abilities and the rapper Eyedea...
(along with longtime friend and collaborator DJ Abilities
DJ Abilities
DJ Abilities is a Minnesota-based hip-hop DJ affiliated with Rhymesayers Entertainment. With his emcee partner, the late Eyedea, he formed the group known as Eyedea & Abilities, also known as E&A...
). His non-battle rhymes were generally philosophically or thematically
Theme (literature)
A theme is a broad, message, or moral of a story. The message may be about life, society, or human nature. Themes often explore timeless and universal ideas and are almost always implied rather than stated explicitly. Along with plot, character,...
based, and often told a definite narrative
Narrative
A narrative is a constructive format that describes a sequence of non-fictional or fictional events. The word derives from the Latin verb narrare, "to recount", and is related to the adjective gnarus, "knowing" or "skilled"...
.
Biography
For much of his youth, Eyedea lived with his mother, Kathy, just east of Downtown Saint PaulSaint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, where he attended Highland Park Senior High School
Highland Park High School (Minnesota)
Highland Park Senior High School is a public secondary school in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States serving grades 9 through 12. It is located in the Highland Park neighborhood....
.
Eyedea became known as a battle MC, touring the circuit between 1997 and 2001. During this time he won top prizes at Scribble Jam '99, the Rock Steady Anniversary 2000, and Blaze Battle New York 2000. He contributed a track to the anticon. compilation, Music for the Advancement of Hip Hop. Additionally, he toured extensively as second MC and support DJ for Atmosphere
Atmosphere (music group)
Atmosphere is an American hip hop group from Minneapolis, Minnesota. The group is composed of rapper Slug and DJ/Producer Ant...
.
In 2001, he released First Born
First Born (album)
First Born is the debut album by Minnesota hip hop group Eyedea & Abilities. The album is largely abstract hip hop, with the lyrical content ranging from Platonian philosophy to traditional emceeing. DJ Abilities production on this album is much simpler than on the E&A album.-Track listing:The...
with his partner DJ Abilities
DJ Abilities
DJ Abilities is a Minnesota-based hip-hop DJ affiliated with Rhymesayers Entertainment. With his emcee partner, the late Eyedea, he formed the group known as Eyedea & Abilities, also known as E&A...
(collectively, they were initially called the Sixth Sense, but they are now known as Eyedea & Abilities
Eyedea & Abilities
Eyedea & Abilities was an influential American indie rap duo from Saint Paul, Minnesota, consisting of DJ Abilities and the rapper Eyedea...
). In 2002, under his pen name "Oliver Hart", he released the self-produced The Many Faces of Oliver Hart
The Many Faces of Oliver Hart
The Many Faces of Oliver Hart or How Eye One the Write Too Think is an album recorded and entirely produced by Eyedea, released under the pseudonym Oliver Hart.-Track listing:#"The Many Faces of Oliver Hart"#"Weird Side"#"Song About a Song"...
. In 2004, he and Abilities reunited to release the self-titled album E&A (released March 23, 2004).
All of Eyedea's releases have been on the Rhymesayers
Rhymesayers Entertainment
Rhymesayers Entertainment is an independent hip hop record label based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, co-founded in 1995 by Sean Daley, Anthony Davis, Brent Sayers and Musab Saad....
record label, with the exception of Carbon Carousel's "The Some of All Things or: The Healing Power of Scab Picking", which was released on his own independent label, Crushkill Recordings. In addition to touring independently and with Rhymesayers labelmates and members of Face Candy
Face Candy
Face Candy is an improvisational Jazz Rap group from Minnesota formed by rapper Eyedea. The group released one album This Is Where We Were in 2006. The lineup consisted of Eyedea, Kristoff Krane, J.T. Bates and Casey O'Brien at the time of Eyedea's sudden death in 2010...
, Eyedea and Abilities participated in the Def Jux-sponsored Who Killed the Robots? tour, titled by Eyedea.
He was signed to Rhymesayers Entertainment, and collaborated with Slug
Slug (rapper)
Sean Michael Daley, better known by his stage name Slug or "'Sep Seven'", is an American rapper. He is from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Slug is best known as one fourth of the hip hop group Atmosphere, which he founded with Derek Turner...
of the underground hip hop group Atmosphere
Atmosphere (music group)
Atmosphere is an American hip hop group from Minneapolis, Minnesota. The group is composed of rapper Slug and DJ/Producer Ant...
, as well as Sage Francis
Sage Francis
Paul "Sage" Francis is a hip-hop artist from Providence, Rhode Island.-Biography:Born Paul Francis in Miami, Florida, Sage Francis is a rapper/writer/performer from Providence, Rhode Island. He is the founder and CEO of the independent hip-hop record label Strange Famous Records...
, Aesop Rock
Aesop Rock
Ian Matthias Bavitz , better known by his stage name Aesop Rock, is an American hip hop artist and producer. He was at the forefront of the new wave of underground and alternative hip hop acts that emerged during the late 1990s and early 2000s. He was signed to El-P's Definitive Jux label until it...
, and Blueprint
Blueprint (rapper)
Blueprint is an American rapper and hip hop producer from Columbus, Ohio. He is the founder and owner of Weightless Recordings and is also signed to Rhymesayers Entertainment...
.
After Eyedea released "This Is Where We Were," recorded with his live freestyle/jazz group Face Candy
Face Candy
Face Candy is an improvisational Jazz Rap group from Minnesota formed by rapper Eyedea. The group released one album This Is Where We Were in 2006. The lineup consisted of Eyedea, Kristoff Krane, J.T. Bates and Casey O'Brien at the time of Eyedea's sudden death in 2010...
, he created Carbon Carousel, an alternative rock band. They have released one EP titled "The Some of All Things or: The Healing Power of Scab Picking". This brought on speculation that Eyedea & Abilities were no longer together. However, in August 2007, the duo announced on their Myspace that they would be at the Twin Cities Celebration of Hip Hop performing old songs, as well as new material.
In December 2007, Eyedea & Abilities embarked upon their Appetite for Distraction Tour with Crushkill labelmate Kristoff Krane
Kristoff Krane
Kristoff Krane is a multi-genre recording artist, author, and teacher from the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis, MN. In addition to releasing a number of his own works, he has served as an emcee/vocalist for Abzorbr, Face Candy, Saturday Morning Soundtrack, and Puppy Dogs and Ice Cream...
and Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
n duo Sector7G.
The summer of 2009 saw Eyedea & Abilities joining the touring hip hop festival Rock the Bells
Rock the Bells
Rock the Bells is an annual hip hop festival that originally took place in Southern California only, but has since toured throughout the world. The concert features a lineup of high-profile alternative hip hop artists, often headlined by a more mainstream artist...
for a limited number of dates, performing alongside such acts as Sage Francis
Sage Francis
Paul "Sage" Francis is a hip-hop artist from Providence, Rhode Island.-Biography:Born Paul Francis in Miami, Florida, Sage Francis is a rapper/writer/performer from Providence, Rhode Island. He is the founder and CEO of the independent hip-hop record label Strange Famous Records...
, Evidence
Evidence (artist)
Michael Perretta, better known as Evidence , is an American hip hop artist, producer, and member of the rap group Dilated Peoples. Evidence is a native of Venice, Los Angeles and was born to an Italian father and a Russian-American mother...
, M.O.P.
M.O.P.
M.O.P., short for Mash Out Posse, is an American hip hop duo. The duo, composed of Billy Danze and Lil' Fame, is known for the aggressive delivery typically employed by both emcees. Although they maintain a strong underground following, they are mainly known for the song "Ante Up," released on...
and the Knux
The Knux
The Knux are a American alternative hip hop duo composed of brothers Kentrell "Krispy" Lindsey and Alvin "Joey" Lindsey. Both brothers are musicians, who sing, rap, produce as well as play instruments. Their music contains elements of rock & electronic and pop...
. E&A also performed at the first Rock the Bells concert in 2004, infamous for being Ol' Dirty Bastard
Ol' Dirty Bastard
Russell Tyrone Jones was an American rapper and occasional producer, who went by the stage name Ol' Dirty Bastard or simply ODB...
's last performance with The Wu-Tang Clan.
Eyedea died in his sleep on October 16, 2010. He was found dead by his mother, according to friends. Cause of death was released November 18, 2010 and ruled an accident, from opiate toxicity, according to the Ramsey County medical examiner's office. The specific drugs found in Larsen's system have not been revealed to the public.
In 2011 an EP of 4 of Eyedea's freestyles previously released in 2010 but only sold at live shows was made available for pay what you want download. Guitar Party a group consisting of vocalist (and first grader) Mijah Ylvisaker, drummer J.T. Bates (Face Candy, Carbon Carousel, The Pines) and guitarists Jeremy Ylvisaker (Carbon Carousel, Alpha Consumer, Andrew Bird, The Cloak Ox), Jake Hanson (Halloween, Alaska), Andrew Broder (Fog, The Cloak Ox) and Micheal Larsen (Eyedea & Abilities, Carbon Carousel, Face Candy) released a recording of the only live show they had managed to play before Eyedea's passing called 'Birthday [I feel Triangular]'
. The second Face Candy
Face Candy
Face Candy is an improvisational Jazz Rap group from Minnesota formed by rapper Eyedea. The group released one album This Is Where We Were in 2006. The lineup consisted of Eyedea, Kristoff Krane, J.T. Bates and Casey O'Brien at the time of Eyedea's sudden death in 2010...
was released on May the 24th 2011 on Rhymesayers. This album was recorded in two days at the Winterland studios and one night in front of an audience at St. Paul's Black Dog Cafe.
Albums
- First BornFirst Born (album)First Born is the debut album by Minnesota hip hop group Eyedea & Abilities. The album is largely abstract hip hop, with the lyrical content ranging from Platonian philosophy to traditional emceeing. DJ Abilities production on this album is much simpler than on the E&A album.-Track listing:The...
(2001) (By Eyedea & AbilitiesEyedea & AbilitiesEyedea & Abilities was an influential American indie rap duo from Saint Paul, Minnesota, consisting of DJ Abilities and the rapper Eyedea...
) - The Many Faces of Oliver Hart or How Eye One the Write Too ThinkThe Many Faces of Oliver HartThe Many Faces of Oliver Hart or How Eye One the Write Too Think is an album recorded and entirely produced by Eyedea, released under the pseudonym Oliver Hart.-Track listing:#"The Many Faces of Oliver Hart"#"Weird Side"#"Song About a Song"...
(2001) - E&A (2004) (By Eyedea & Abilities)
- This Is Where We Were (2006) (By [By Face Candy)
- The Some of All Things or: The Healing Power of Scab Picking (2007) (By Carbon Carousel)
- By The Throat (2009) (By Eyedea & Abilities)
- Waste Age Teenland (2011) (By Face CandyFace CandyFace Candy is an improvisational Jazz Rap group from Minnesota formed by rapper Eyedea. The group released one album This Is Where We Were in 2006. The lineup consisted of Eyedea, Kristoff Krane, J.T. Bates and Casey O'Brien at the time of Eyedea's sudden death in 2010...
) - Grand's Sixth Sense (2011) (By Sixth SenseSixth senseSixth sense may refer to:* Extrasensory perception , commonly called the sixth sense* Equilibrioception , the commonly accepted sixth physiological sense* SixthSense, a wearable gestural interface...
)
Singles
- "Pushing Buttons 12" (2000) (By Eyedea & AbilitiesEyedea & AbilitiesEyedea & Abilities was an influential American indie rap duo from Saint Paul, Minnesota, consisting of DJ Abilities and the rapper Eyedea...
) - "Blindly Firing 12" (2001) (By Eyedea & AbilitiesEyedea & AbilitiesEyedea & Abilities was an influential American indie rap duo from Saint Paul, Minnesota, consisting of DJ Abilities and the rapper Eyedea...
) - "Now" (2003) (By Eyedea & AbilitiesEyedea & AbilitiesEyedea & Abilities was an influential American indie rap duo from Saint Paul, Minnesota, consisting of DJ Abilities and the rapper Eyedea...
) - "Carbon Carousel Single Series #1" (2007) (By Carbon Carousel)
- "Nervous." (2007) (By Carbon Carousel)
Features
- "Monster Inside" (Anomaly ft Eyedea) (On Howle's Book) (1998)
- "Savior Alias" (By Sole, Slug & Eyedea) (On Anticon Presents: Hip-Hop for the Advance Listener) (1999)
- "Gotta Love Em" (By Slug & Eyedea) (On DJ Murge - Search and Rescue) (2002)
- "Miss By a Mile" (By Aesop Rock, Eyedea & Slug) (On We Came From Beyond, Vol 2) (2003)
- "Quality Programming" (By Booka B ft Eyedea) (On Basementality) (2005)
- "Best Friends" (By Kristoff Krane ft Eyedea) (On Picking Flowers Next To Roadkill) (2010)
- "Play Dead Til They Kill You" (Saturday Morning Soundtrack ft eyedea)
- "The Let Go" (By Sneek ft Eyedea) (Morning Comes)
- "Purest Disgust" (Debaser ft. Eyedea) (On Peerless)
Other
- E&A Road Mix (2003)
- "The Whereabouts of Hidden Bridges" (By Eyedea and Oddjobs)
- "When in Rome, Kill the King" (By Micheal Larsen)
- "Duluth is the Truth" By Eyedea (2009)
- "Freestyle EP" (2010)
- "Birthday [I feel Triangular]" By Guitar Party
External links
- Official Micheal Larsen Website
- Carbon Carousel Myspace Page
- Eyedea at DiscogsDiscogsDiscogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...
- Rhymesayers Entertainment
- City Pages interview with Eyedea
- Eyedea Lyrics
- Micheal Larsen Dead at 28