Artist description Poetic Alchemy (pA) based at Cornell University is pursuing an ongoing experiment. They want to become the catalyst for a new breed of hip hop. Synthesysing styles from the East, West, South, and Far East - Pico, Siraj, and Nyles (Wutudik, Zoologic, and A-Ra) infuse their flows onto the heterogeneous beats and sonic backdrops of The Good Tom Chi along with the mixing and scratching of DJ Ric. Just as ancient alchemist forefathers struggled to turn base metals into gold, we of pA seek to use words and rhythms to trigger the hip hop ascension...

Music Style Hip Hop & Da Jungless

Artist History It all began when Pico Martinez (wutudik) had decided one fateful day in the fall of May 1998 to accept his admittance to Cornell University. Around the same time, Siraj Rafi (Zoologic) had done the same. The Good Tom Chi was nearing the end of his junior year, unaware of what was about to occur. The three had no idea that their paths would cross... When Pico arrived at Cornell, he lived in the JAM (Just About Music) program house for one specific reason- the recording studio located on the first floor. He wanted to continue rapping, which he had been doing for four years at that point in time, but become much more serious about it and record some music. There was only one problem- no beatz! That is where the Good Tom Chi came in. Pico spent the entire first semester looking for someone to partner with to produce some music. The search had failed. Then one day as he was entering his dorm room, he heard an infectious beat coming from his neighbor's room. Pico knocked on the dooor and entered the domain of the Good Tom Chi: electronic genius. The two discussed their musical ideas, Pico stating how he wanted to get some beatz and Tom stating how he had been wanting to work on a hip hop project. So the two agreed to work together... A couple of weeks later, Pico is blaring 2pac's "All Eyes on Me" album with his dorm room open when he sees a figure dance by the door. Intrigued, Pico introduces himself to the dancing dredlocked man. The two begin talking, and in the end Siraj agrees to become a part of the hip hop project. The first semester is nearing it's end, so second semester is decided upon as the starting date for the project... Winter passes and second semester begins. The trio gets together and decides to enter a talent show at Noyes community center right off the bat. Poetic Alchemy made it's debut with "Yo mam's so fat" and was greeted with praise and aplause. pA knew they had something special, so they decided to write some more and came up with "Knock Knock" and "2033". The event that changed the kru came when Outkast came to I-town to perform. After the show, Pico snuck onto the buses of the infamous Andre and Big Boi. He spoke with each of them and told them about pA and his love of hip hop. The reply: work hard at it, give it your all, and you will get what you deserve. That night Pico could hardly sleep. He knew he had something special in pA, and he wanted to go all the way. The next morning, he woke up Tom Chi with the following words, "We're going to record a whole album." So with less than one month left in school in the spring of 1999, pA wrote, recorded, and released their first album: "Ascension" The next year started off rocky, as the graduation of Tom Chi threw the group out of wack. Pico and Siraj attempted to adjust to the change while at the same time trying to better the group. The betterment came in two forms: Nyles Fitzgerald (A-Ra) and Eric Zhang (DJ Ric). Nyles added another style and ill MC skillz to the mix while Eric provided the much needed mixing and scratching ability vital to any true hip hop group. It took a year, but pA grew and matured and released their second effort, "The MC Hotline", along with opening for Method Man and Redman at a concert in the spring. Fall of 2000 began with promise, but quickly dissolved into a somewhat unproductive year for pA. The beginning of the semster was marked by shows that were contunually being changed and cancelled, which made pA less than happy. The kru came on strong towards the end of the semester though, ending the semester with a phat show at Odyssey Night Club. Second semester efforts were stalled by the disappearance of Pico to Washington DC and Nyles to Paris, France... which brings us to now... pA is now entering its fourth year of existence, and it is about to hit harder than anyone ever expected...how many will there be this year....? five alive...? keep the ears open, because pA is on the quest for world domination... and you have no idea of what is about to hit...

Group Members Siraj Nuriddeen Abdur Rafi (Zoologic), Pico Martinez (Wutudik), Nyles Fitzgerald (a-Ra), The Good Tom Chi, Eric Zhang (DJ Ric),

Albums Ascension, The MC Hotline

Location Ithaca, NY - USA

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