Quarashi

Though Icelandic rap-rock outfit Quarashi finally saw their U.S debut released in early 2002, the band had been honing its music since the mid-'90s. Producer/drummer Sölvi Blondal and vocalists/rappers Hössi Olafsson, Steini Fjelsted (a former Icelandic skating champion as well as a graffiti artist), and Omar Swarez formed Quarashi (pronounced "kwa-ra'-she") in 1996. The band's name, a term meaning "supernatural," was adopted from a nickname given to Fjelsted. The quartet's full-length debut was recorded in October of 1997. In support of the album, the band opened for the Fugees and the Prodigy, while Blondal remixed the Prodigy's "Diesel Power." In 1999, Quarashi released Xeneizes, selling another 6,000 copies and earning them a second consecutive gold record in Iceland. Jinx, Quarashi's U.S debut, was released in March 2002. The first single, "Stick 'Em Up," was included on the Orange County soundtrack. ~ Kenyon Hopkin, Rovi