| Divine Styler | |
|---|---|
 | |
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Birth name |
Marc Richardson |
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Born |
1968 |
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Genre |
|
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Occupation(s) |
Rapper, record producer |
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Years active |
1988-present |
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Label |
Rhyme $yndicate/Epic/SME (1989-1992) |
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Associated acts |
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Mikal Safiyullah (born Marc Richardson, 1968), better known by his stage name Divine Styler, is an American hip hop musician from Brooklyn, New York. Although he has not experienced much commercial success, he is a well respected factor from the late 1980s and early 1990s West Coast underground hip hop scene.
He first emerged as a member of Ice-T's Rhyme Syndicate collective, and released his debut album, Word Power, in 1989 on the Rhyme $yndicate Records label. The album was well-received by critics and fans, but was not a commercial success. In 1991, Divine Styler converted to Sunni Islam, changing his name and adopting lyrical themes concerning the teachings of Islam and praising Mohammed. This style is reflected on his second studio album, Spiral Walls Containing Autumns of Light, released in 1992. The album is notorious for being wildly experimental, and utilises a wide variety of music genres such as rock, electronic and funk, in addition to hip hop. Spiral Walls received mixed reactions from within the hip hop community, and Divine Styler embarked on a four year hiatus.
Divine Styler returned in 1996 with a verse on House of Pain's final album, Truth Crushed to Earth Shall Rise Again, exhibiting a more traditional hip hop style of lyricism similar to his work on Word Power. In 1998, Divine Styler released his third studio album, Wordpower 2: Directrix to positive reviews. His fourth and latest studio album, Def Mask, was released in 2014.
Discography
- 1989: Word Power
- 1992: Spiral Walls Containing Autumns of Light
- 1998: Wordpower 2: Directrix
- 2014: Def Mask