Artifacts is a hip hop

Hip hop music

Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...

 group consisting of El Da Sensei

El Da Sensei

El Da Sensei is an American rapper from Newark, New Jersey. During the 1990s he was a member of the influential hip hop duo, Artifacts.Since then he has released several solo albums to critical acclaim.-Discography:...

, Tame One

Tame One

Rahem Brown, better known by his stage name, Tame One, is an underground rapper from New Jersey currently signed to the label Amalgam Digital. He was part of Artifacts, a popular rap duo with El Da Sensei. Which is rumored to be getting back together. He is also known for his collaboration with...

 and DJ Kaos. They hail from Newark

Newark, New Jersey

Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...

, New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

 and made underground

Underground hip hop

Underground hip hop is an umbrella term for hip hop music outside the general commercial canon. It is typically associated with independent artists, signed toindependent labels or no label at all....

 music that paid homage to the four elements of hip hop. The Artifacts' most popular single "Wrong Side of Da Tracks" paid special homage to graffiti art, as they were graffiti artists themselves.

History

They released their first album, Between a Rock and a Hard Place on October 27, 1994. Well received by underground hip hop audiences, it featured intelligent lyrics, as well as b-boy and graffiti themes. The album's hard-hitting, funky beats were produced by Buckwild

Buckwild

Buckwild is a Hip hop producer hailing from The Bronx, New York. Originally a DJ, Buck began producing after meeting MC/Producer Lord Finesse. He later joined Finesse's super-crew D.I.T.C., along with Showbiz and A.G., Diamond D, Fat Joe, and the late Big L and brought O.C. with him...

 (from the DITC crew) and T-Ray (from the Soul Assassins

Soul Assassins

Soul Assassins are a loose collective of musicians and graphic artists affiliated to the hip hop group Cypress Hill, formed in the early 1990s. It is also the name of Cypress Hill's publishing company....

 crew). The Artifacts' second album, That's Them was released on April 15, 1997. It featured similar material, but it did not receive as much recognition as their debut effort. The Artifacts split soon after the release of this second album.

Tame One and El Da Sensei have both continued to release music as solo artists. In 2003, Tame One joined the Weathermen

The Weathermen (hip hop group)

The Weathermen, is a New York City-based, underground hip-hop supergroup consisting of Aesop Rock, Tame One, Cage, Yak Ballz, El-P, and Breeze Brewin. The group took its name from the revolutionary organization Weatherman, and sometimes refers to itself as the "New Left"...

, an underground rap group including Cage Kennylz

Cage Kennylz

Chris Palko, better known by his stage name Cage, is an American rapper from New York City. He has released three studio albums and two extended plays. Cage is also the founder of the underground hip-hop supergroup called the Weathermen.-Early life:...

, Camu Tao

Camu Tao

Camu Tao was an American rapper and producer who was signed to the Definitive Jux label. He was a member of several groups: S.A...

, Aesop Rock

Aesop Rock

Ian Matthias Bavitz , better known by his stage name Aesop Rock, is an American hip hop artist and producer. He was at the forefront of the new wave of underground and alternative hip hop acts that emerged during the late 1990s and early 2000s. He was signed to El-P's Definitive Jux label until it...

, and El-P. Soon after joining the Weathermen, Tame One and Cage released the album Waterworld

Waterworld (Leak Bros. album)

Waterworld is a 2004 album by the Leak Bros. The Leak Bros. is a rap duo composed of underground rappers Cage Kennylz and Tame One. Every song on Waterworld is about the drug PCP....

under the name Leak Bros. In 2009, Tame ONe collaborated with another member of the Definitive Jux

Definitive Jux

Definitive Jux is an independent record label based in New York City, United States. It was co-founded in 1999 by Jaime Meline and Amaechi Uzoigwe. The label was initially known simply as Def Jux, but in 2001, popular hip hop label Def Jam Recordings sued Def Jux over the name similarity...

 label, releasing the album Parallel Uni-Verses with Del the Funky Homosapien. El Da Sensei has released a number of solo albums and collaborated with the Polish rap group The Returners in 2008, as well as East Coast-based group, The Immortals Project in 2009.

Reunion

In August 2009 at the Rock Steady Crew

Rock Steady Crew

Rock Steady Crew is a b-boying crew and hip hop group that was established in the Bronx, New York City in 1977. The group was initially formed by b-boys named Jimmy D and Jojo. In subsequent years, Rock Steady Crew became a franchise name for groups in other locations. The Manhattan branch was...

 Anniversary Weekend in Newark, New Jersey, Artifacts briefly reunited during a performance by El Da Sensei. According to Tame One the duo have not reconciled their differences but when he heard the horn riff which introduces "Wrong Side of Da Tracks", he felt like performing it. The impromptu reunion has not led to any official reunion.


On August 2, 2010 at The Rock Steady Crew 33rd Anniversary Celebration in Newark, New Jersey, both El Da Sensei and Tame One along with DJ KAOS performed officially as The Artifacts. They performed several songs from their respective catalogs as well as Artifacts material at this show. It is confirmed that they are indeed back together and in the process of collaborating on a new Artifacts album.http://www.a3cfestival.com/a3c-exclusive-interview-with-el-da-sensei/

Discography

Album information
Between a Rock and a Hard Place Between a Rock and a Hard Place (Artifacts album) Between a Rock and a Hard Place is the first album by the hip hop duo Artifacts. The album, which is mainly produced by T-Ray, reached number 17 on the Billboard R&B/Hip hop Albums chart.-Track listing:# Drama... Released: October 27, 1994 Billboard 200 chart position: #137 R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: #17 Singles: "Wrong Side of the Tracks", "C'mon Wit Da Git Down"
That's Them That's Them That's Them is the second album by the hip hop duo Artifacts. The album peaked at number 25 on the Billboard R&B/Hip hop Albums chart.- Track listing :# Art of Scratch # Art of Facts# 31 Bumrush# To Ya Chest# Where Yo Skillz At?... Released: April 15, 1997 Billboard 200 chart position: #134 R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: #25 Singles: "Return to da Wrongside", "The Ultimate", "Collaboration of Mics"