At the age of 13, Kamasi Washington started a lifelong quest discovering the many wonders of music. One night, his father left his soprano saxophone lying on the piano. Kamasi, filled with curiosity for all the beauty he heard from the instrument, picked up his father’s horn. Even though he didn’t know anything about the saxophone – in fact, never even touched one – he played Wayne Shorter’s composition “Sleeping Dancer Sleep On,” his favorite song at the time.
At the prestigious Hamilton High School Music Academy, within two years, Kamasi earned the lead tenor saxophone chair in the top jazz ensemble. At the same time, Kamasi joined the Multi School Jazz Band (MSJB) where he reunited with several childhood friends who were pursuing their passion for music. During his senior year of high school, Kamasi formed his first band, “The Young Jazz Giants,” with childhood friends including Ronald Bruner, Stephen Bruner and Cameron Graves. After high school, Kamasi received a full scholarship to study ethnomusicology at UCLA, where he explored many of the non-western musical cultures around the world. During the summer after his freshman year, Kamasi recorded his first album with “The Young Jazz Giants” to spread new sounds of jazz all around the country. In his second year at UCLA, Kamasi went on his first national tour with the west coast hip-hop legend Snoop Dogg. Later that year, Kamasi joined the orchestra of one of his biggest heroes, Gerald Wilson, and later went on his first international tour with R&B legend Raphael Saadiq.
Over the years, Kamasi has performed and recorded with many of his musical heroes from various genres, including Gerald Wilson, McCoy Tyner, Freddie Hubbard, Kenny Burrell, George Duke, Lauryn Hill, Jeffrey Osborne, Mos Def, Quincy Jones, Stanley Clark, Harvey Mason and Chaka Khan. Kamasi’s own band “The Next Step” is a modern spin on a big band, which includes two drummers, two upright bass players, keyboard players, three horns players, a pianist, and a vocalist. In addition, Kamasi is part of a west coast musical collective called the “West Coast Get Down.” Most recently, Kamasi worked on Kendrick Lamar’s acclaimed 2015 album “To Pimp A Butterfly.” On May 5th, Kamasi released his groundbreaking solo album “The Epic” on the trend-setting record label Brainfeeder. “The Epic” is a 172-minute, triple-disc masterpiece, featuring Kamasi’s ten-piece band “The Next Step” along with a full string orchestra and
full choir. “The Epic” debuted #1 on several iTunes Jazz charts, including the US, Canada, Australia, Russia and UK.

When it comes to Hip Hop, no one is as consistent and influential as KRS-One. It is impossible to discuss Hip Hop’s history without discussing KRS-One. His reputation as both a live performer and as Hip Hop’s resident “Teacha” has reached mythic proportions. As author Tavis Smiley has put it; “You are going to encounter a man who has sincerely sought to develop a relevant, honest and contemporary interpretation of world history, culture, religion, and philosophy. In many ways, his work actually rests in the tradition of great thinkers like W.E.B. DuBois, Carter Woodsen, and John Henrik Clarke, men who have sought to develop a cultural veil through which to interpret the seeming insanity of America.”

Throughout his 20 year career trajectory legendary pioneer Kris Parker who goes by the pseudonym KRS-One (Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone) has given fans over a dozen classic Hip-Hop albums, spoke at more then 500 universities/colleges including Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Spelman, Howard and Oxford, been nominated for Grammy Awards, received multiple RIAA certified gold and platinum sales accolades and become the definitive source for conscious urban music. Nicknamed “The Teacha” the New York native and acclaimed MC has been honored by the United Nations, Billboard Magazine, The Source, BET Hip-Hop Awards, VH-1’s Hip-Hop Honors and Harvard University to name a few. He has been given the keys to the city in Kansas City, Philadelphia and Compton, was nominated for the NACA 1992 Harry Chapman Humanitarian Award, holds the Reebok Humanitarian Award and three Ampex Golden Reel Awards. KRS One is viewed as the embodiment of the philosophical, sociological and political worldview espoused originally by those that participate in Hip Hop’s culture. He is presently one of the most outspoken leaders of Hip Hop’s politics and tradition. His integration of Hip Hop and metaphysical knowledge resonates throughout his music, lectures, and writings as his powerful presence continues to inspire generations. As Rolling Stone once put it, “He’s one of the most influential lyricists of all time.”