From his first work in the mid-'80s, Oakland rapper Bas-1 has years of experience in every element of hip-hop (DJing, MCing, breaking, tagging). Though he's kept mostly to the underground, he finally began getting his own releases -- for Heratik and Bomb Hip Hop -- just after the end of the millennium. He began breaking in the late '80s, found his true love, MCing, several years later, and added tagging and scratching to his repertoire by the end of the '80s. During 1989-1990, he recorded tracks with producer Dion Evans (who would later work with 2Pac), but also spent time touring the world with Rock Steady Crew, and joined his own crew, Style Elements, during the late '90s. His full-length debut, 2001's For the Mentally Astute: Theory of a Throw Up, was a collaboration with producer Fanatik, and he recorded a single named "Instant Rap Star" for Bomb Hip Hop later that year. He also had a few tracks on Living Legends' 1999 LP The Underworld. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.