Editing Del the Funky Homosapien (section)

==Music career==
===1988–1997: Early life and beginnings===
Born in [[Oakland, California]], he is the cousin of seminal West Coast rapper [[Ice Cube]], and began his career writing lyrics for Ice Cube's group [[Da Lench Mob]].<ref name="Hiero">{{cite web|url=http://ensim.hieroglyphics.com/artists/del/|title=Del tha Amazing Homosapien|access-date=September 5, 2007|publisher=Hieroglyphics|author=Hieroglyphics|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070814112553/http://ensim.hieroglyphics.com/artists/del/|archive-date=August 14, 2007}}</ref> In 1991, with the help of Ice Cube, Del released his first solo album, ''[[I Wish My Brother George Was Here]]'',<ref name="Hiero"/> at the age of 19. The album was a commercial success largely due to the popularity of the hit single "[[Mistadobalina]]". Ultimately Del, who was not pleased with the limited musical range of the album, severed his production-artist relationship with Ice Cube for his next album, ''[[No Need for Alarm]]''.

''No Need for Alarm'' saw the introduction of the Oakland clique [[Hieroglyphics (group)|Hieroglyphics]],<ref name="Hiero"/> whose original members included [[Souls of Mischief]] (Opio, A-Plus, Phesto and Tajai), Casual, Pep Love, Del, and producer Domino. ''No Need for Alarm'' helped to expose both the regional Oakland sound of hip hop, as well as the freestyle based, "golden era 90s" style of hip hop being expanded at the time.

=== 1998–2006: Middle era ===
Del would not produce another album for five years. About a month before the release of his third album, ''[[Future Development]]'', Del received a letter from his label, [[Elektra Records|Elektra]], stating that his contract had been terminated.<ref name="Hiero"/> Together with his crew, Del established his own independent record label, [[Hieroglyphics Imperium Recordings]], which primarily consists of an expanded Hieroglyphics roster and a few other artists with whom the group collaborates on a regular basis.  ''Future Development'' became available in 1998 and was only available on the Hieroglyphics website in tape form<ref name="Larkin90">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Virgin Encyclopedia of Nineties Music]]|editor=Colin Larkin|editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|publisher=[[Virgin Books]]|date=2000|edition=First|isbn=0-7535-0427-8|page=118}}</ref> but was re-released in 2002 on the Hieroglyphics Imperium label. Del also released another collaborative work with the Hieroglyphics crew in 1998, which was also the Hieroglyphics crew's first album, ''[[3rd Eye Vision]]''.

[[File:Del the Funky Homosapien.jpg|upright|thumb|left|Del performing in [[Red Deer, Alberta]] in 2006]]

Two years later, Del released his fourth solo album, ''[[Both Sides of the Brain]]'', as well as ''[[Deltron 3030 (album)|Deltron 3030]]'' which was a collaborative work with artists [[Dan the Automator]] and [[Kid Koala]]. With Nakamura and Koala, Del was also a guest performer for [[Gorillaz]]'s [[Gorillaz (album)|eponymous 2001 album]]. He appeared on the singles "[[Clint Eastwood (song)|Clint Eastwood]]" and "[[Rock the House (Gorillaz song)|Rock the House]]". 2003 saw the release of ''[[Full Circle (Hieroglyphics album)|Full Circle]]'', the second full-length album from the Hieroglyphics crew.

In 2004, Elektra released ''[[The Best of Del tha Funkee Homosapien: The Elektra Years]]'' without Del's approval. The CD only includes songs from his first two albums, along with a handful of B-sides from that era. Del was not pleased and advised people to not buy the CD, saying it was just Elektra trying to make money off of him due to his newfound fame.

=== 2006–present: Recent years ===
On March 11, 2008, Del released ''[[Eleventh Hour (Del the Funky Homosapien album)|Eleventh Hour]]'' through [[Definitive Jux]]. On March 31, 2009, Del's next album ''[[Funk Man (The Stimulus Package)]]'' was made available for free download on the internet. The album is available at his page on [[Bandcamp]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://delthefunkyhomosapien.bandcamp.com |title=Del The Funky Homosapien |publisher=Delthefunkyhomosapien.bandcamp.com |access-date=January 19, 2012}}</ref>  though he gave away some hard copies on his supporting Funk Man tour. In September of the same year, he released a new album, ''[[Automatik Statik]]'', for an unfixed rate with a minimum of $3.

Del released his next album ''[[It Ain't Illegal Yet]]'' on August 6, 2010. There is no fixed price for the album, allowing listeners to pay whatever they wish for the album. Paying certain prices for the album will give certain incentives, including opportunities for personal collaborations with Del. Del released the album ''[[Golden Era (Del the Funky Homosapien album)|Golden Era]]'' on April 19, 2011, in a three-disc set including ''[[Funk Man (The Stimulus Package)]]'' and ''[[Automatik Statik]]''.

Del shared a free LP entitled ''[[Iller Than Most]]'' on January 2, 2014. He uploaded the record to [[SoundCloud]] under the username Zartan Drednaught COBRA. He described the project as "lyrically ill but fun to listen to, nothing super heavy." Del handled the production on the project as well.

In 2024, Del formed a series named Manik Mondaze on his YouTube Channel where he and his local crew (which consists of Baslonius.Funk, Lord Takim from the Regional Oakland Group, AMW, Q Shy and many others) where they posts songs weekly and exclusive interviews and behind the scenes on the Manik Mondaze Official Website.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pitchfork.com/news/53474-listen-del-the-funky-homosapien-shares-free-lp/|title=Listen: Del the Funky Homosapien Shares Free LP|work=Pitchfork|date=January 2, 2014|access-date=November 20, 2014}}</ref>

In April 2025, Del, along with producer CTZN, rapper Po3, and illustrator Pete Cosmos unveiled thegoodnews, a hip-hop band presented in mostly cartoon form, by releasing an EP titled ''This Just In!'' as a [[Record Store Day]] exclusive. The album was produced with help from guitar and pedal engineer Taka Tozawa along with [[Juan Alderete]] of [[The Mars Volta]].<ref name='wcs2025'>{{cite |url=https://westcoaststyles.com/news/2025/03/del-the-funky-homosapien-unveils-new-group-thegoodnews-with-single-avg-hype-announces-upcoming-ep-this-just-in/ |title=Del The Funky Homosapien Unveils New Group thegoodnews. With Single “avg.hype” + Announces Upcoming EP This Just In!}}</ref>