Gonjasufi

All Music Guide:

Dreadlocked San Diego-bred yoga instructor Sumach Ecks (who also travels under the names Sumach Valentine and Randy Johnson) turned from rapping with the Masters of the Universe crew and DJing with Killowattz to focus on his solo endeavors under the name Gonjasufi. In 2006, around the time he relocated from beach shores to the desert to teach yoga in Las Vegas, he crossed paths with underground hip-hop staples Gaslamp Killer and Flying Lotus while visiting Los Angeles, and the three established a bond. Ecks, who had been making lo-fi psychedelic hip-hop for his own enjoyment (mainly on CD-Rs), recruited the two beatmakers to produce songs for him, which he would later enhance with his distinctive raspy vocals. Rough mixes led him to a spot on Warp in 2008. After Ecks spent over a year mixing the album down with AGDM at Silver Lake, and releasing the 7" singles “Ancestors” and “Kowboyz & Indians,” the full-length A Sufi and a Killer was released in March of 2010. A remix album titled The Caliph's Tea Party followed later that year.

Wikipedia:

Gonjasufi (born Sumach Ecks, aka Sumach Valentine, c. 1978) is an American rapper, singer, disc jockey and yoga teacher from Chula Vista, California.

Biography

Ecks was born to a Mexican mother and an American-Ethiopian father. He has been releasing music since the early 1990s within the San Diego hip hop scene; notably with the Masters of the Universe crew.

Ecks gained notice from Warp Records in 2008 after an appearance on Californian musician Flying Lotus' album Los Angeles, on which he sings on the track "Testament". His Warp debut album, A Sufi and a Killer, was released on March 8, 2010.

Ecks' voice was described by Pitchfork Media as "a scraggly, scary, smoked-out croak that creeps like the spiritual offspring of George Clinton and Leadbelly." He attributes his singing voice to his day job teaching yoga, where he was forced to learn how to "project from [his] stomach more".

Ecks currently lives in Las Vegas, Nevada.