Hot Karl, born Jensen-Gerard Karp, is an American rapper raised in Calabasas, California

Calabasas, California

Calabasas is an affluent city in Los Angeles County, California in the western United States. It is located in the hills in the southwestern San Fernando Valley and the Santa Monica Mountains between Woodland Hills, Agoura Hills, West Hills, and Malibu, California. As of the 2010 census, the city...

 Karl engaged in rap battling and freestyle

Freestyle rap

Freestyle rap commonly refers to rap lyrics which are improvised through a acapella or with instrumental beats, i.e. performed with no previously composed lyrics, or "off the top of the head"...

 at USC

University of Southern California

The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...

, during which time he took up the Hot Karl pseudonym.

Music

Karl later entered the Roll Call freestyle competition on Los Angeles radio station Power 106, where he lasted a record 45 days on air to become the show's all-time champion. Karl began collaboration with Limp Bizkit's DJ Lethal

DJ Lethal

Leor Dimant , better known as DJ Lethal, is a turntablist and producer and member of the bands Limp Bizkit, House of Pain and La Coka Nostra.-Early life:Leor Dimant was born in Riga, Latvia, when this country was still part of the Soviet Union...

, creating a demo exhibiting his satirical style and tightly-wound rhymes. He eventually signed with Interscope Records

Interscope Records

Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that currently operates as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-History:...

, where he recorded what was to be his debut CD, Your Housekeeper Hates You, which included guest appearance

Guest appearance

In show business , a guest appearance is a participation of an outsider performer , usually called guest artist , in an event , i.e., the participation of a performer which does not belong to the regular crew In performance...

s by Redman, Kanye West

Kanye West

Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and...

, Will.i.Am

Will.i.am

William James Adams, Jr. , better known by his stage name will.i.am and occasionally by his other stage name Zuper Blahq, is an American rapper, musician, songwriter, singer, actor and producer...

, DJ Quik

DJ Quik

David Martin Blake , better known by his stage name DJ Quik, is an MC and record producer. According to Quik himself, his stage name reflects his ability to produce records in short time....

, Fabolous

Fabolous

John David Jackson , better known by his stage name Fabolous, is an American rapper of African American and Dominican descent. He grew up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. Part of his early popularity arose from his hit single "Can't Deny It" in 2001, from his debut...

, Mýa

Mya

-A person:* Bo Mya , Chief Commander of the Karen National Union* Mýa , American R&B singer-songwriter and actress** Mýa , a 1998 album by Mýa-A code:* Burmese language, ISO 639-3 code is mya* Moruya Airport's IATA code...

, Sugar Ray

Sugar Ray

Sugar Ray is a band from Orange County, California. The band, starting off more as an alternative metal band, first gained fame in 1997 with their release of the song "Fly". This song's success, coupled with its pop rock sound that was quite different from the rest of their material at the time,...

, Celph Titled, DJ Clue

DJ Clue

Ernesto Shaw better known as DJ Clue?, is a mixtape DJ.-Biography:For more than 10 years, DJ Clue has proven that he is more than just a beat-thumper. His accomplishments show how a turntable genius precisely puts together different songs to make a concoction of beats and melodies that rule the...

 and MC Serch

MC Serch

MC Serch is a Jewish-American hip hop MC and former member of 3rd Bass.-Biography:Serch grew up in Far Rockaway, Queens, attending Far Rockaway High School, and graduated from Music & Art High School...

. However, Interscope informed Karl that his CD could not be commercially released due to scheduling conflicts and he decided to leave Interscope.

Karl signed with EMI Music Publishing. and ended up releasing his debut CD, now titled The Great Escape on Headless Heroes Records. His music was featured in the video game NBA Live 2003

NBA Live 2003

NBA Live 2003 was the 2003 installment of the NBA Live video games series. The cover features Jason Kidd of the New Jersey Nets. The game was developed by EA Sports and released on October 7, 2002. The game included a soundtrack...

, a game in which he was also a hidden character. His song, "Back/Forth," was also featured in the 2009 movie It's Complicated

It's Complicated (film)

It's Complicated is a 2009 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Nancy Meyers, starring Meryl Streep, Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin.-Plot:...

.

Art

Jensen-Gerard Karp opened Gallery 1988: LA and Gallery 1988: SF, two pop-art focused galleries in California, as well as co-writing the book Just Can't Get Enough for Abrams Books with Matthew Robinson. Gallery 1988: LA is well known for its Kevin Smith

Kevin Smith

Kevin Patrick Smith is an American screenwriter, actor, film producer, and director, as well as a popular comic book writer, author, comedian/raconteur, and internet radio personality best recognized by viewers as Silent Bob...

 hosted annual show, Crazy 4 Cult, where 100 artists reinterpret classic cult movies in their own style. Karp is also the brand manager and designer for Pete Wentz's Clandestine Industries. His marketing company, Tyson/Givens Design & Marketing created the LOST Underground Art Project for the ABC television show's final season.

Internet radio

Karp hosts a show on SModcast Internet Radio (S.I.R.) called Get Up On This in which he and a guest discuss things they think will soon become popular. The show is released as a Podcast on the SModcast Podcast Network.

External links