N.A.S.A. (musical group)
Encyclopedia
N.A.S.A. is a hip hop music
duo, consisting of L.A.
-based producers Squeak E. Clean
and the Brazilian DJ Zegon. N.A.S.A. stands for North America/South America and, in addition to the two principals, includes approximately three dozen other artists from both coasts of the U.S.
and abroad.
At first they sampled rare Brazilian records from the 60's and 70's to make tracks. However, what started as two crate diggers making music for the fun of it soon developed into something much larger. Having forged a strong friendship through their passion for music, Sam and Ze decided to make a record with all of their heroes and favorite musicians.
, Karen O
, and Fatlip
on one track, George Clinton
and Chali 2na
on another, as well as Tom Waits
and Kool Keith
on yet another.
Soon Sam and Ze realized they could expand the concept to encompass an entire record. The idea is to ignore all of the boundaries and borders that are in place to keep people divided, such as musical genre, race, politics
, geography
, language
, etc. As a result, they gathered perhaps the most eclectic collection of musicians ever assembled on one album in the hope that they can show, through music, that all those superficial divisions are an illusion.
N.A.S.A. strives to prove that we are all one race of human beings interested in collaboration
and unity by ignoring preconceptions, and transcending genre definitions.
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
duo, consisting of L.A.
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
-based producers Squeak E. Clean
Sam Spiegel (musician)
Sam Spiegel, also known as Squeak E. Clean, is an American producer/DJ/composer from New York who grew up in Manhattan and Westchester County.As a child, Sam studied classical voice, cello, and flute, but by his teens, he enjoyed hip hop music....
and the Brazilian DJ Zegon. N.A.S.A. stands for North America/South America and, in addition to the two principals, includes approximately three dozen other artists from both coasts of the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and abroad.
Early History
In April 2003, Sam and Ze met at a friend's studio and began making music together the following day.At first they sampled rare Brazilian records from the 60's and 70's to make tracks. However, what started as two crate diggers making music for the fun of it soon developed into something much larger. Having forged a strong friendship through their passion for music, Sam and Ze decided to make a record with all of their heroes and favorite musicians.
Concept/Formation
Sam and Ze's idea was to bring people from different worlds together through their shared inspiration and love of music. Thus N.A.S.A. was born, with unlikely collaborations like Ol' Dirty BastardOl' Dirty Bastard
Russell Tyrone Jones was an American rapper and occasional producer, who went by the stage name Ol' Dirty Bastard or simply ODB...
, Karen O
Karen O
Karen Lee Orzolek , better known by her stage name Karen O, is the vocalist for New York rock band Yeah Yeah Yeahs.-Early life:...
, and Fatlip
Fatlip
Fatlip is a Los Angeles-born hip hop musician. He started his career in the hip hop group The Pharcyde.-The Pharcyde:...
on one track, George Clinton
George Clinton (musician)
George Clinton is an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, and music producer and the principal architect of P-Funk. He was the mastermind of the bands Parliament and Funkadelic during the 1970s and early 1980s, and launched a solo career in 1981. He has been cited as one of the foremost...
and Chali 2na
Chali 2na
Charles Stewart , better known as Chali 2na is an American rapper and hip hop artist, formerly associated with the groups Jurassic 5 and Ozomatli.-Early life:...
on another, as well as Tom Waits
Tom Waits
Thomas Alan "Tom" Waits is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. Waits has a distinctive voice, described by critic Daniel Durchholz as sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car."...
and Kool Keith
Kool Keith
Keith Matthew Thornton, better known by his stage name Kool Keith, is an American rapper from The Bronx, New York. A founding member of Ultramagnetic MCs, Kool Keith has recorded prolifically both as a solo artist and in group collaborations. Kool Keith is the self-proclaimed inventor of...
on yet another.
Soon Sam and Ze realized they could expand the concept to encompass an entire record. The idea is to ignore all of the boundaries and borders that are in place to keep people divided, such as musical genre, race, politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
, geography
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
, language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
, etc. As a result, they gathered perhaps the most eclectic collection of musicians ever assembled on one album in the hope that they can show, through music, that all those superficial divisions are an illusion.
N.A.S.A. strives to prove that we are all one race of human beings interested in collaboration
Collaboration
Collaboration is working together to achieve a goal. It is a recursive process where two or more people or organizations work together to realize shared goals, — for example, an intriguing endeavor that is creative in nature—by sharing...
and unity by ignoring preconceptions, and transcending genre definitions.
Discography
- 2009: The Spirit of Apollo
- 2010: "The Big Bang"