NON*P
Gig Seeker Pro

NON*P

Band Hip Hop Acoustic

Calendar

This band has not uploaded any videos
This band has not uploaded any videos

Music

Press


This band has no press

Discography

No Equal (LP '01)
The Soundtrack (LP '03)
NONPAREILYX (LP '04)
The NONP Mixtape Vol. 1 (EP '05)
The NONP Mixtape Vol. 2 (EP '06)
N.O.N.P. (the Ah-Ha) [single]
Rich Gilr ft. Michael Brian [single]
The Heat (streaming)
Rainfall (streaming)
Hide Away (streaming)
What's Up Now? (streaming)
Ready or Not (streaming)

Photos

Bio

NONPAREILYX (non/pair/a/licks), aka NON*P’s, name means "unparalleled" or "unmatchable" lyrics. To some it's become synonymous with boundless amounts of energy charged with a magnetic charisma uncharacteristic of Hip Hop groups of late. “They have the most energetic show I’ve seen from a hip hop group in a long time! It was amazing! I’m impressed!” -- Serena Kim, Vibe magazine. To others, it's the left-of-center sound that has captivated audiences from the Pacific Northwest to New York and as far down as Arizona and Southern California. To the three creators of it all, it's their artistic expression of what saved them from life’s trials.

The brothers, CC (Chris) and Tai (A’shanti), grew up in San Jose, CA. While they attended school and worked, they made extra cash modeling with a local Bay Area agency and rhyming. Their world was turned upside down when they were forced to be on there own at the age of 16. They spent the next three years of their lives sleeping on people’s floors, couches, and in their car. Out of money, out of places to crash, and no hope of returning to school . . . their desire to succeed ushered them to Seattle. “We were in desperate need of help and had no one but each other,” said Tai. “A friend’s mom said we could stay with her for a little while, and I guess we felt there would be something better for us there. We never expected it would be Kyle.”

K-Style (Kyle) was on his own since the age of 16. He wasn’t too close with his mother, and his father was battling drugs and alcoholism. He found his home amongst friends in a nearly condemned house in Kenmore, WA. It was in that dilapidated house that he began to hone his emcee-ing skills. He threw huge house parties and battled all other emcees in the area. Everything came to an abrupt end when, one day, he found himself in serious trouble with the law. A close friend’s father took him under his wing, and put him on a more positive path. He decided he would concentrate solely on his music to keep him out of trouble.

The opportunity to showcase their talents on a local Seattle compilation album brought the three together. “The chemistry was there from the beginning. We all challenged each other to be better, despite what we’d been through. We knew we had something special,” said CC. The three worked together to purchase their own equipment, moved in together, and started laying the foundation of their “NON*P sound.” Their jobs interfered with what they wanted to achieve with their music, so they quit. They took the last two hundred dollars they had and burned 200 copies of their songs. They sold all 200 copies hand-to-hand out of back packs and their car. They did this until they could buy T-shirts, posters, flyers, a website, 1000 pro-fessionally pressed albums, and enough money to pay their rent. They jumped in the car and sold their music throughout the West Coast.

The three became an inseparable staple of the Seattle Hip Hop scene in 2000-2003 with the release of their first independent album, No Equal, and continued to increase their fan base with their follow up releases: The Soundtrack ('03), Nonpareilyx ('04), and The NON*P mix tape Vol. 1 ('05) and Vol. 2 (’06). Their creative, high-energy performances landed them on stages in New York, Washington, Nevada, Arizona, and several SoCal nightclubs.

After gaining popularity in Seattle, NON*P (CC, Tai, and K-Style) made the move to Southern California to expand their fan base. Now favorites in the Orange County club scene, NON*P is garnering major exposure in the L.A. scene, due to their amazingly upbeat, positive acoustic sound. NON*P has shared the stage with artists such as: Nick Carter, Soulja Boy, Nappy Roots, Sir-Mix-A-Lot, and Wyclef Jean.

The appeal of their music has earned NON*P song placements on: CSI Miami, Point Pleasant, Big Brother, FLOW: Urban Dance Uprising (Xbox/ PS2), and Jennifer Lopez’s Dance Life on MTV. They have also been played through international media outlets in such countries as: Australia, Japan, Canada, Belgium, Finland, France, and the United Kingdom.

Currently in the studio, K-Style, CC, and Tai are putting the finishing touches on their 4th album, currently titled FORE! Still the trademark NON*P project, this album is set to further blur the line between Commercial and Underground hip hop; while delivering NON*P's a-typical, creative sound and subject matter to the masses.

“We want to show people that you can rise above hard times, as long as you have dreams to push you,” offered Tai. The three young men who embody this group believe they’re on the path to success, and the formula is as clear as your belief in you.