Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
"Dogfight" is a groovy, brainy mix that touches on politics, the frustrations of day jobs and science fiction. Tracks range from the spooky-funny "Escape From Slavecamp" to the 10-minute, sociopolitical epic "Retaliate," with bits of house music, jazz fusion and old-school stomp thrown in… imaginative, uninhibited, and thoroughly entertaining.”
- New York Newsday
Underground hip hop has to walk a fine line. While it must eschew the commercialism of the mainstream, it also can’t get too preachy about “getting back to the essence.” NYC-based RHP walks that line better than most….With song titles like “Cyclops Monocle” and “Fragments of Segments of Tangents”, you know from the jump that they’re on some stream-of-consciousness shit, dropping a dictionary-full of fifty-cent words about sexbots and government conspiracies. Luckily, DJ Exfyl’s turntable wizardry keeps the cracked-out wordplay from launching the album completely into outer space.
- Smooth magazine
Not scared to use their extended vocabulary...Regenerated Headpiece build their rhymes from the ground up, not relying on cliché phrases but on original trains of thought that, while twisted at times, still manage to be insightful.... Regenerated Headpiece seem to have fun with the artform. There's a comical undertone to what's being said and how it's being said....Phon-X and Shred Lexicon both possess undeniable eloquence. The album gives off a strange overall impression, but is able to convince in detail. RHP really aren't afraid to touch anything. It's that boldness that keeps music and message in sync…. a record that is funny and serious, old school and experimental at the same time.
- Rap Reviews (www.rapreviews.com)
“Escape From Slavecamp” is a potential hip hop classic in the making. The beat revolves around a catchy vocal sample and uses punchy drum sounds to great effect. The rapping is excellent throughout, and the hook is highly memorable. - Future Music (UK)
This NYC trio is all about offering an alternative to your average hip-hop… Maintaining their unique sound, the beats are thick and layered. “Saloon Funk,” “Anthem Eater” and “Grand Illusion” are the finest examples. The latter is really dope, really original, and the best display of what Regenerated Headpiece offers hip hop...“Escape From Slavecamp” is an ill delivery of their frustrations as members of the working class...The album is quite an enjoyable one. Great rhymes, original beats, and crafty turntablism...Underground heads don’t ask for much more.
- Hip Hop DX (www.hiphopdx.com)
RHP was mentioned in this best-selling book as a “Newer Artist Kicking Ass This Decade” alongside such notable acts as The White Stripes, Queens of the Stone Age, EL-P, Cannibal Ox, and Gorillaz.
- The Hipster Handbook (Anchor Books, 2003)
You can definitely categorize these cats in no category but their own. You have to respect that. Regenerated Headpiece is not your usual brand of Hip Hop and yet they lock down the elements lovely. The production is very tight with heavy bass, head nodding drums and beautiful sounds to dress it all up. Phon-X and Shred Lexicon really give you some lyrics to chew on. You must listen a few times to get everything they are saying. I love the flow and the partnership they convey on record. Yes, it is not your usual flow, but aren't we looking for something different than the norm? ….It's nice to hear a record with different ideas threaded throughout. It's all worth listening to… a fresh breath of air for the masses to consume.
- Cellar Noise (www.cellarnoise.com)
RHP can rap with, and in many cases better than, the best of them. There are no filler skits or thinly veiled retakes on popular songs from the eighties here -- just an hour of rapping about social issues and shitty jobs, without the usual half-witted odes to bling-bling and self-aggrandizing that keep many hip hop artists from being taken seriously…If you're looking for something to wrap your mind around while you pump the bass in your Escalade this summer, look no further than Dogfight -- and don't worry, the rhymes stand on their own, so you won't be accused of being (ahem) too intellectual.
- Splendid E-Zine (www.splendidezine.com)
Discography
LPs:
2001: "Rat Race Vacation," Globalhiphop Records
2003: "Dogfight," Globalhiphop Records
2005: "New Strange," Globalhiphop Records (Forthcoming in Fall)
Singles:
2002: "Connect The Dots," Slamjamz Records
2002: "Writers Block Party Ciphers," Slamjamz Records
2002: "Obese," Slamjamz Records
2002: "Elements," Slamjamz Records
2003: "Retaliate," Slamjamz Records
2003: "Escape from Slavecamp," Slamjamz Records
2003: "Cyclops Monocle," Slamjamz Records
Compilations:
2002: "War Cry" appeared on "The Real Deal," Bomb Hip Hop Records
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
WHO OR WHAT IS REGENERATED HEADPIECE?
Formed in 1998, Regenerated Headpiece (RHP) is a groundbreaking trio out of New York City—three young men dedicated to changing the way people think about what rap music is and what it can be. Representing a unique new direction in hip hop with an unprecedented sound and lyrical intelligence, producer/emcee Phon-X (Phonics), poet/emcee Shred Lexicon, and turntable specialist DJ Exfyl (X-File) seek to honor the rich history of their artform while simultaneously creating its future in the present.
Phon-X has been emceeing since he was 12 years old and producing beats since he was 15. His rhymes vary from the serious to the comic, but are built upon a foundation of raw wordplay and cleverness undercut by a political bent which serves to set him apart from other emcees. As a producer, Phon-X combines influences felt in every type of organized noise recorded or otherwise to create wholly original tracks complete with deeply rich sonic landscapes.
Shred Lexicon comes from poetry originally, and, truth be told, never really left. The prototype for the next evolutionary stage of the emcee, Shred is the kind of cat who is no longer satisfied with restating what’s already been said in another way. Instead, he chooses to open things up, shaping both vocabulary and cadence to fit new, unprescribed rhythms and idea tracts.
DJ Exfyl has been deejaying for 10 years, and uses Technics 1210's, a Vestax 05-Pro and Korg Triton as the tools of his trade. A DJ Records Battle Top ten Finalist in 1998, Exfyl is known best for his ill scratching style, in which he rips combo after combo using basic techniques as well as more advanced techniques ranging from a transform scratch to a two-click flare.
RHP's song, “War Cry” appeared on the Bomb Hip Hop Records 2002 compilation The Real Deal, a bold concept album that exposes corruption in the music industry, and both New York Newsday and PopNews of France named their last album, 2003's "Dogfight" among the top ten releases of 2003. Both of RHP's albums have been reviewed extensively, including favorable write-ups in such established publications as Smooth magazine, Future Music, and Hip Hop Connection in the UK.
One of the group’s biggest supporters is none other than the CNN of hip hop, Chuck D of Public Enemy. Not only did he praise RHP’s song “Elements” as one of his “favorite songs of the year [2002]”, he also licensed seven of their songs for distribution through his Slamjamz label. And when Public Enemy’s Revolverlution World Tour came to The World Times Square in September, 2002 he honored RHP by having them open up the show.
Regenerated Headpiece also keep busy by performing live around New York, and have been fortunate enough to open up for such notable acts as legendary DJ/producer Prince Paul (Stetsasonic, De La Soul, Gravediggaz), Mixmaster Mike (Beastie Boys), Dilated Peoples, Blackalicious, RCA records’ The Sound of Urchin, Arsonists (Matador Records), and many of the finest groups of the hip hop underground.
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