Prof (rapper)

Jacob "Jake" Anderson (born April 29, 1984), better known by his stage name Prof, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He released his first full-length album, Project Gampo, in 2007[3] and has since released three additional albums and three EPs. In 2012, City Pages named Prof on their list of Minnesota's 20 best rappers.[4] He was formerly signed to Rhymesayers Entertainment.

Not to be confused with Proof (rapper).

Prof
Prof in concert at the 2010 Soundset Music Festival
Background information
Birth name	Jacob Anderson
Born	(1984-04-29) April 29, 1984[1][2] Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop
Occupation(s)	Rapper singer
Years active	2000–present
Labels	Stophouse Music Group Rhymesayers Entertainment
Associated acts	Rahzwell St. Paul Slim

Early life

Jacob "Jake" Anderson[4] was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and grew up in the city's Powderhorn neighborhood.[5] His mother, Colleen, had a rocky relationship with his father (who suffered from bipolar disorder and was physically abusive) whom she would later divorce and move away from, taking Anderson's three older sisters with her.[5][6][7] In his teenage years, he developed a "comedic, dirty-mouthed rap persona" he named Gampo after a childhood friend.[5] Anderson graduated from Minneapolis South High School in 2002.[5]

Music career

In 2010, Prof was part of Rhymesayers' Welcome to Minnesota tour.[8] During the mid-2000s, Prof regularly performed at the Dinkytowner bar, giving "drunk show[s]" with partner and hype man Rahzwell – which meant beginning their set only after Rahzwell had vomited from every shot and beer that the duo received from the members of the audience. It was at one such show that Prof would meet his manager, Mike Campbell. Prof and Campbell, along with Dillon Parker, later became co-owners of the Stophouse Music Group, a record label that owns and manages their eponymous Stophouse Studios in northeast Minneapolis.[5]

The staff of City Pages named Prof as Minnesota's 19th-best rapper in 2012, citing his musical dexterity, "his impressive singing voice", and his ability to engage and make audiences laugh.[4] Conversely, musician and critic Dwight Hobbes of the Twin Cities Daily Planet asserted that Prof's 2011 album, King Gampo, was "asinine, narcissistic self-indulgence run completely riot, without a shred of redeeming artistry" and "rap at its worst".[9]

Prof has been noted as one of the few Minneapolis rap acts (in addition to Doomtree and several Rhymesayers artists) who are capable of selling out the city's famed First Avenue Mainroom,[5] and the only to do so in recent years without the backing of Minnesota Public Radio station 89.3 The Current.[10]

In May 2013, when Busta Rhymes failed to show up at the Soundset Music Festival in Shakopee, Minnesota, Prof substituted for him with only an hour's notice.[8]

On December 3, 2013, Prof signed to Rhymesayers Entertainment.[11] The announcement video featured the label's co-founder, Slug, and coincided with the release of a single called "The Reply". The Star Tribune reported on the occasion that Prof would release another album in 2014.[8]

In a May 2015, Prof announced his debut record on Rhymesayers, entitled Liability. In the same interview, he also revealed he had signed with William Morris Endeavor for his future touring ventures.[12] Prof released a single called "Ghost" from the album.[13] Liability was released October 16, 2015,[14] and peaked at 141 on the Billboard 200 chart November 7, 2015.[15]

On February 20, 2018, Prof announced he would be releasing a new album, titled Pookie Baby, on April 13, 2018.[16] On September 6, 2019, Prof premiered a music video for his song titled "Cousins" featuring Saint Paul, Minnesota rapper, Cashinova.[17]

Additionally, on October 20, 2019, Prof's song "Church" was featured in the opening of Season 2, Episode 4 of ABC's The Rookie.

On April 29, 2020, Prof released his first single, "Squad Goals", from his newly announced album Powderhorn Suites that was due to be released on June 26.[18] However, on June 25, Rhymesayers dropped Prof from their label, stating that they "failed to not only vet the signing of Prof but also calling into question the intentions behind his music, messaging and content more strongly".[19] Rhymesayers further intended to cease the release of Powderhorn Suites to the extent that they could given the imminent release date.[19]

Discography

All albums up to 2013 were released by Stophouse Music Group.[20][21] Subsequent albums were released by Rhymesayers Entertainment.[12]

Studio albums

• Absolutely (2006) (with Rahzwell)
• Project Gampo (2007)
• Recession Music (2009) (with St. Paul Slim)
• King Gampo (2011)
• Liability (2015)
• Pookie Baby (2018)[22]
• Powderhorn Suites (Fall 2020)[23]

EPs

• Kaiser Von Powderhorn (2008)
• Kaiser Von Powderhorn 2 (2010)
• Kaiser Von Powderhorn 3 (2012)

References

1. Prof's 27th Birthday and More! (Short). Minneapolis: Stophouse Music Group. May 4, 2011. Retrieved August 31, 2014 – via YouTube.
2. Prof (April 29, 2013). "Happy birthday to the most injured man in rap, PROF!". Facebook. Prof. Retrieved August 31, 2014.
3. "Project Gampo, by Prof". Prof. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
4. City Pages staff (May 25, 2012). "Top 20 best Minnesota rappers: The complete list". City Pages. Archived from the original on September 3, 2014. Retrieved August 5, 2014.
5. Fischer, Reed (April 9, 2013). "Off the deep end with Prof". City Pages. Archived from the original on July 29, 2014. Retrieved August 5, 2014.
6. Riemenschneider, Chris (April 11, 2013). "3 serious sides to Prof". Star Tribune. Retrieved August 31, 2014.
7. "Prof". Stophouse. Stophouse Music Group. Retrieved August 31, 2014.
8. Riemenschneider, Chris (December 3, 2013). "Prof joins Rhymesayers as only Prof can do". Star Tribune. Retrieved August 5, 2014.
9. Hobbes, Dwight (September 5, 2011). "Prof's "King Gampo" is rap at its worst". Twin Cities Daily Planet. Retrieved August 5, 2014.
10. Riemenschneider, Chris (April 12, 2013). "Getting naked with Minneapolis trash-rap king Prof". Star Tribune. Retrieved August 5, 2014.
11. Diep, Eric (December 3, 2013). "Prof Signs To Rhymesayers Entertainment". XXL. Retrieved August 5, 2014.
12. Fischer, Reed (May 22, 2015). "Prof Releases Title and Date of Rhymesayers debut". Go 96.3. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
13. Maxwell, Ryan. "Prof ft Tech N9ne – Ghost". Hip-Hop Kings. Hip-Hop Kings. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
14. "PROF". Rhymesayers.com. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
15. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on May 5, 2018. Retrieved September 14, 2016.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
16. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on February 22, 2018. Retrieved February 22, 2018.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
17. "Prof Releases Music Video for New Song "Cousins" feat. Cashinova". Music in Minnesota. September 6, 2019. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
18. Gonda, Christopher (April 29, 2020). "Prof Confirms New Album 'Powderhorn Suites' and Debuts 'Squad Goals' Video". V13. Archived from the original on May 3, 2020. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
19. Sacher, Andrew (June 25, 2020). "Rhymesayers issue statement, drop Prof and Dem Atlas following allegations". BrooklynVegan. Archived from the original on June 25, 2020. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
20. "Prof (5)". discogs. Retrieved August 5, 2014.
21. Fischer, Reed (September 26, 2012). "Prof drops Kaiser Von Powderhorn 3 mixtape (Download)". City Pages. Archived from the original on October 19, 2014. Retrieved August 5, 2014.
22. Coleman, C. Vernon, II (April 16, 2018). "Prof Drops 'Pookie Baby' Album". XXL. Archived from the original on June 23, 2020. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
23. Riemenschneider, Chris (May 21, 2020). "No Soundset, no problem: Prof readies new album 'Powderhorn Suites'". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on June 9, 2020. Retrieved June 23, 2020.

External links

• Prof at Rhymesayers Entertainment
• Prof at Stophouse Music Group