Orikal Uno

Biography

Orikal Uno was born Antonio Lorenzo Rosario in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on July 27, 1989. He is of Puerto Rican, European and Native-American descent. He graduated from St. Paul Open School in 2006. He has had a noticeable vocal conversational stutter since his early childhood. Although it is less prominent, it is still noticeable in conversation. He has quoted hip-hop and freestyle rapping as a way to finally be able to "speak fluently and clearly" as he can rap at a rapid-fire pace without a single hiccup or stutter.

Before establishing himself as a musician, Rosario spent time studying the art and science of graffiti. Often the outcast among the local crews in the Twin Cities, he was forced to go out on his own and learn the ropes from the ground up. It was around this time that his love for hip-hop music led to Rosario starting to write rap songs with friends and on his own. Scraping up any sort of equipment he could, he had a makeshift recording setup that was responsible for 2 full-length releases (Under the name of Orikal), Unquestionable (2003) and Visions of Elevation (2004). These records were primarily produced by a producer he met on a Sage Francis internet forum by the name of Hiphopapotamus.

Due to differences between the two, Hiphopapotamus and Orikal parted ways. Being left without beats, Orikal taught himself how to make instrumentals, starting out on Fruityloops and eventually landing on his current go-to program, Reason. He would go on to produce two more full-length albums: The Harsh Reality (2006) and Now What?! (2007) under the name "Orikal"

Orikal founded Graff Roots Media in 2006 as a platform to release his own music and art. This has operated as his label and is still actively going today. The goal of the organization is to be able to do everything music, art and marketing related in-house.

In 2008, Orikal decided to add "Uno" to his professional name. Partly as homage to his roots in graffiti, partly to reflect his Puerto Rican heritage, and partly to solidify a brand of his own without confusion. It was also this year that he was diagnosed with Type-1 Diabetes and has been insulin-dependent ever since. At the end of the year, he traveled out to Los Angeles where he worked for Ron Sobel at North Star Media.

It was around this time that Orikal started working with notable musician Maria Isa. They recorded various music, and digitally released a compilation of unheard music "Then and Now" in 2011. (bandcamp ref)

In 2011, Orikal successfully launched a Kickstarter campaign with a target of $1500 to release his first official album as Orikal Uno, simply titled "Uno" and produced by long-time friend and frequent collaborator Anonimust (Kickstarter ref) Backers were rewarded with an autographed copy of the album as well as personalized stickers painted by Orikal.

In 2012, Sab the Artist and Abstract Rude released The Awful Truth via Rhymesayers Entertainment in which Orikal Uno produced the title song. Orikal also released his full-length album "It Is What It Is" which was produced by frequent collaborator Chris Goodwin. This record also featured appearances by DisputeOne and Ganzobean

Chris Goodwin and Orikal would then go on to release "Whatever Happens, Happens" in 2013. A darker album in comparison to "It Is What It Is," this album featured notable appearances by Twin Cities emcees Kristoff Krane and Freez (of Illuminous 3)

In 2014, DisputeOne introduced Orikal to producer Serebe, who is most notably the producer behind Eyedea's song Perfect Medicine - The duo linked up and released the full-length album "Sleepwalker", which features appearances by Glo Pesci, DisputeOne, Michelle Kearney, NL Emnt and DJ Elsewhere

In 2015, Anonimust and Orikal teamed up once again to release the full-length album "Chasing Paradise", which would go on to score Orikal his first publishing deal.

2015 would see Orikal and DisputeOne get together to create their first full-length album and 12" vinyl record titled "OnePlusOne" - The duo first started working with each other in late 2011, going on to release the mixtape "Homework Volume 1" and delivering notable performances throughout the Twin Cities for the next year, including a sold-out show at the Fineline Music Cafe in which notable rapper Mac Lethal ordered the entire crowd pizza.

As OnePlusOne, they had a busy 2016 with the release of their debut record "1+1". This release is Orikal Uno's first appearance on 12" vinyl, which was self-released through his label Graff Roots Media.

2016 also saw the debut of Orikal Uno and DJ Greenery as spellbound - a project which sees DJ Greenery on production and Orikal Uno on vocals and song arrangement.

2017 sees Orikal Uno prepping the release of his upcoming self-produced LP "Tone Rosario", as well as preparing to release a new EP from OnePlusOne. He is currently located in South Minneapolis and is said to be inspired by watching over Lake Street.

Studio Albums

EPs

Mixtapes

OnePlusOne

spellbound

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