Stresmatic

Bay Area rapper Stresmatic began his career as part of the hardcore trio Federation before branching out as a solo artist. Born Thomas Jackson, the Fairfield, California MC joined Federation in 2002 with fellow rappers Goldie Gold and Doonie Baby (aka Doon Koon) and producer Rick Rock. Early figures of the hyphy movement, they released their debut, The Album, in 2004 on Virgin. The album broke into the Billboard 200 before they parted ways with the label. The follow-up, It's Whateva, was issued on Warner Bros. in 2007 and featured appearances by Travis Barker, E-40, and Snoop Dogg. While Federation's output remained scant in the following years, Stresmatic continued to appear on tracks by area artists like Nump, the Jacka, Lil Raider, Too $hort, and E-40, who would recruit Stresmatic on his multi-release Revenue Retrievin' album series. Stresmatic also collaborated with high-profile acts like Snoop Dogg and Busta Rhymes on "Powder on My Clothes," with Redman on "Dope Man," and with Raekwon and Ghostface Killah on "Yes Sir." In 2015, he issued the Mobbin EP and the mixtape, Broadcasting Live from Yo Bitch House. The year after, he released a trio of tapes: Matic, Work a Twist, and #Rappinasstj. In 2017, the Faded EP arrived, promoted by the introspective single "Overdose." ~ Neil Z. Yeung