Makeba Mooncycle

From her beginnings in dance to her recent entries into the worlds of music, television, publishing, and multimedia, Makeba Mooncycle continues to break the boundaries of conventional wisdom and further solidify her role as the navigator of the hip hop culture.

Her artistic journey began while she was a teenager working as a house dancer for clubs such as the Sound Factory and the Underground. “I was dancing at the Soundfactory one night, Linque came up to me and she introduced me to X-Clan and the rest is history.”

In 1990, the Hip Hop generation was introduced to a new era of music with rap group X-Clan. Known for its Afrocentrism, the sound of funk, culture and Brooklyn-style lyrics, X-Clan gained fame for the controversy its music aroused, rubbing against the grain of negative lyrics and ego tripping poetics. Makeba recorded background vocals on the group’s debut album To the East Blackwards, released in 1990 on Island Records. The album peaked at #11 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip Hop Charts in the United States.

Since then, Makeba’s performed on tours overseas, featured on hit singles, put out three solo albums, and written and recorded songs for herself and a host of other artists. In 1993 she was featured on the first leg of Janet Jackson’s Janet Tour. That same year she performed with MC Lyte on rap duo Kriss Kross’ Missed the Bus Tour, followed by the FESTAM Tour of West Africa in Dakar, Senegal in 1998. In addition to the Blackwatch Tour of the early 90s, Makeba has done several spot dates and venues all over the United States. Armed only with a distribution deal from Orpheus/EMI, Makeba quickly built a loyal fanbase and saw a string of releases throughout the 90s and early in the new millennium. She is currently writing a book based on her experiences on the road.

Makeba’s catalogue of music includes the singles Lunchroom Classics, a duet with Talib Kweli from the compilation album Tags of the Time, Food For Thought with Lone Catalyst, Crazy Love, a European release with Nona Hendryx, and Fire, a posse cut with Royal Fam and Timbo King off of Wu Tang Records. In 2002, Makeba dropped her solo album, Bare Essentials, an independent release that sold over 7,000 copies on the streets, and quickly followed that up with the album Earth Power Balance and the Internet release Throw Back Classics.

Born Pamela Wilder in Atlanta, Georgia, Makeba started her own management company, Must Maintain Entertainment in 1994, and served as a consultant for various artists such as Common Sense, Talib Kweli, AZ, Channel Live, P Funk, and The Rose Family. Before founding Must Maintain Entertainment, Makeba ran Duke da Moon management, a joint venture with MC Lyte in 1993. She’s since lent her voice to television, doing voice-overs for an Italian Adidas commercial that featured artist Johnny Kemp and the late Jam Master Jay of Run DMC, and two Sugar Golden Crisps commercials. Makeba also recorded and performed the theme song for BET Comic View’s 10th anniversary show, and appeared on the PBS television series Between the Lions.

Makeba never resting is presently involved with a wide variety of personal ventures. One being her rock band Moonstruck. Secondly, her alter ego, comic book inspired artist Mistress Doom is set to debut at the comic book convention this year in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Whether it's LPs, EPs, verses, or beats, Makeba Mooncycle is poised to deliver what the people desire most - products that are trend-defining, engaging, and blazing hot. She resides in Brooklyn, New York City.