Pigeon John
{{Short description|American rapper}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{BLP sources|date=August 2013}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Pigeon John
| background = solo_singer
| image = Pigeon John 2011.jpg
| image_size =
| landscape =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name = John Kenneth Dunkin
| alias = MC Pigeon
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1972|11|30}}
| birth_place = Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.{{cite news|first=Matt|last=Kettmann|url=http://www.independent.com/news/2010/sep/20/pigeon-john/|title=Pigeon John|newspaper=Santa Barbara Independent|date=September 20, 2010}}
| origin = Los Angeles, California
| genre = Underground hip hop
| years_active = 1992{{ndash}}present
| label = Syntax, Basement, Discograph, Quannum Projects
| associated_acts = Brainwash Projects, L.A. Symphony, Rootbeer, Wordburglar
| website =
}}
John Kenneth Dust (born John Kenneth Dunkin:{{cite web|author=Pigeon John|title=About|url=http://www.pigeonjohn.com/about|publisher=Pigeon John|access-date=October 31, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150916224022/http://www.pigeonjohn.com/about|archive-date=September 16, 2015|url-status=dead}} November 30,{{cite web|author=Pigeon John (dothepigeon)|title=Thanks for all the birthday wishes. Love y'all. Ill be rocking Denver tonight with @therealgrouch & @therealeligh at Cervantes! Come party!|url=https://twitter.com/dothepigeon/status/274612378409246721|publisher=Twitter|access-date=October 31, 2015|date=November 30, 2012}} 1972),{{cite web|author=Intelius|title=John K Dunkin in Los Angeles, CA|url=http://www.intelius.com/results.php?ReportType=1&qf=John&qmi=K&qn=Dunkin&qcs=Los+Angeles%2C+CA&focusfirst=0|publisher=Intelius|access-date=October 30, 2015|author-link=Intelius}} better known by the stage name Pigeon John, is an American rapper based in Los Angeles, California.{{cite web|first=Dan|last=Thomas|url=http://www.tahoedailytribune.com/article/20080221/ACTION/896347323|title=Hip-hop star Pigeon John at Whiskey Dick's on Friday|publisher=Tahoe Daily Tribune|date=February 21, 2008}} He is a former member of L.A. Symphony.{{cite magazine|first=Josh|last=Langhoff|url=http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/136627-pigeon-john-dragon-slayer/|title=Pigeon John: Dragon Slayer|magazine=PopMatters|date=March 10, 2011}}
Early life
Pigeon John claims that his stage name was provided by Jesus who was driving around Inglewood: "He hopped out and handed me a dead pigeon. He whispered, 'Please have a good time, you're really bumming me out.' I watched him sink back into the cushioned seats and drive, quickly away. And that's when it happened, the pigeon started shaking violently and became awake, picked up and flew away. I don't think I had a choice... it was 'pigeon' or die."{{cite news|url=http://www.laist.com/2007/01/11/laist_interview_pigeon_john.php|access-date=December 1, 2007|date=January 11, 2007|publisher=LAist|title=LAist Interview: Pigeon John|author=Anti|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080905030143/http://laist.com/2007/01/11/laist_interview_pigeon_john.php|archive-date=September 5, 2008}} He later explained that he was discussing his need for a stage name with a friend when the friend suggested "Chicken John", taken from the character Chicken George in Roots. The friend's mother then interjected that John didn't look like a chicken, claiming that he looked like a pigeon and should therefore be called "Pigeon John".{{cite web|url=http://www.maximumfun.org/blog/2008/01/podcast-jordan-jesse-go-ep-49.html|date=January 21, 2008|title=Jordan, Jesse, Go!: Conventions|author=Anti}}
Career
In the early 1990s, Pigeon John and his childhood friend B-Twice formed the hip-hop duo Brainwash Projects.{{cite book|last=Powell|first=Mark Allan|title=Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music|year=2002|publisher=Hendrickson Publishers|location=Peabody, Massachusetts|isbn=1-56563-679-1|edition=First printing|chapter=Brainwash Projects|page=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofco00mark/page/105 105]|chapter-url-access=registration|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofco00mark/page/105}} Brainwash Projects contributed the single "Muchas Muchachas" to the Christian rap compilation "Sanktifunctafyd" released by N-Soul Records in 1995. Brainwash Projects eventually released a record titled The Rise and Fall of Brainwash Projects on the independent label Jackson Rubio."[https://web.archive.org/web/19991103064409/http://www.jacksonrubio.com/bpstats.html the rise and fall of the BRAINWASH PROJECTS]". Published by Jackson Rubio. Available through the Internet Archive. One reviewer characterized The Rise and Fall as "pure, uncut, holy hip-hop" but gave mixed reviews of its beats and lyrics.{{cite web|last=Jones|first=Justin W.|url=http://www.tollbooth.org/review99/brainwash.html|title=Brainwash Projects : The Rise and Fall of|date=March 1, 1999|publisher=The Phantom Tollbooth}}
Between 1997 and 2000, Pigeon John recorded the songs that became his first solo album, Is Clueless. The album was released in 2001 by The Telephone Company and then re-released in 2002 by The Telephone Company/Syntax Records with three new tracks and new artwork. Pigeon John then signed to Basement Records and released Is Dating Your Sister (2003) and Pigeon John Sings the Blues (2005). In 2005, Lyrics Born saw Pigeon John on the Cali Comm Tour and brought him into Quannum Projects.{{citation needed|date=August 2013}} That same year, Pigeon John's single "Deception" was featured on a series of Nestle Crunch commercials.{{cite web|url=http://www.sweetdisaster.com/archives/2005_05.html|date=May 12, 2005|title=Sweetdisaster Newsblog Archives|publisher=Sweetdisaster}} In 2006, after signing to Quannum, Pigeon John released his fourth solo album, And the Summertime Pool Party. The album has received positive reviews from many sources, including LA Weekly, Entertainment Weekly, and Vibe.{{cite news|title=L.A. Music '06: Welcome to Indie Land: Retro-Futuristic Postmodern House Party|author=Sullivan, Kate|date=December 6, 2006|newspaper=LA Weekly|url=http://www.laweekly.com/general/features/la-music-06-welcome-to-indie-land/15139/|url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061219232444/http://www.laweekly.com/general/features/la-music-06-welcome-to-indie-land/15139/|archive-date=December 19, 2006}}{{cite journal|date=June 8, 2006|journal=LA Weekly|title=Pigeon John}}{{Page needed|date=August 2015}}{{cite magazine|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|date=September 2006|title=Pigeon John}}{{Page needed|date=August 2015}}{{cite journal|date=October 2006|journal=Vibe|title=Pigeon John}}{{Page needed|date=August 2015}}
A new album, entitled Dragon Slayer, hit physical and digital retail October 12, 2010.{{cite web|author=I.G.O.D.|url=http://www.the9elements.com/2010/08/pigeon-john-will-slay-some-dragons-this.html|title=Pigeon John Will Slay Some Dragons This October|website=The9elements.com|date=August 25, 2010|access-date=August 11, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306064714/http://www.the9elements.com/2010/08/pigeon-john-will-slay-some-dragons-this.html|archive-date=March 6, 2012}} With the aid of General Elektriks' Herve Salters, he produced the whole record, including, for the first time, sampling original instrumentation rather than flipping samples from records.{{Cite web |url=http://pgamusic.com/Artist.aspx?ArtistID=88 |title=P.G.A. - the Progressive Global Agency |access-date=September 15, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101024035444/http://pgamusic.com/Artist.aspx?ArtistID=88 |archive-date=October 24, 2010 |url-status=dead }} A single{{which|date=October 2020}} from the album, The Bomb, was used to promote the premiere of the Cartoon Network live-action TV film Level Up in late 2011.{{citation needed|date=October 2020}} In 2014, he released an album titled Encino Man.{{cite web|url=http://www.popmatters.com/review/182890-pigeon-john-encino-man/|title=Pigeon John: Encino Man|work=PopMatters|first=Adam|last=Finley|date=July 25, 2014|access-date=August 19, 2015}}
In 2019, he released "They Don't Make Em Like Me", included in the official Motorola Razr advertisement, which was based on Motorola's default ringtone for the new Razr.{{Cite web|url=https://nerdist.com/article/new-motorola-razr-bendable-screen/|title=$1,500 Razr with Bendable Screen Being Released by Motorola|website=Nerdist.com|access-date=December 3, 2019}} On April 24, 2020, he released his eighth studio album: Gotta Good Feelin{{'}}.{{Cite web|url=https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/pigeon-john/gotta-good-feelin/|title=Gotta Good Feelin' [Album11409514]|website=Rateyourmusic.com|access-date=April 24, 2020}}
The single "Step on Out" by Pigeon John and Spencer Ludwig was prominently featured in television and online advertisements for the 2024 Chevrolet Trax compact crossover SUV.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.ispot.tv/ad/1Qjo/2024-chevrolet-trax-stay-connected-safe-and-charged-song-by-pigeon-john-spencer-ludwig-t2 |title=2024 Chevrolet Trax TV Spot, 'Stay Connected, Safe and Charged' Song by Pigeon John, Spencer Ludwig [T1] |language=en |access-date=2025-01-02 |via=www.ispot.tv}}
Personal life
John was married to Harmony Dust from 2002 to 2010.{{cite web|url=http://iamatreasure.com/2010/12/important-announcement/|title=Important Announcement | Treasures|website=Iamatreasure.com|access-date=August 11, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120311040531/http://iamatreasure.com/2010/12/important-announcement/|archive-date=March 11, 2012}}{{cite web|url=http://www.thechristianrock20.com/album-review-dragon-slayer-by-pigeon-john/|title=Album Review: Dragon Slayer By Pigeon John « Christian Rock 20|publisher=Thechristianrock20.com |access-date=August 11, 2012}}{{cite web|url=http://filtermagazine.com/index.php/news/entry/qa_pigeon_john |title=News - Q&A: Pigeon John (plus podcast!)|publisher=FILTER Magazine|date=October 15, 2010|access-date=August 11, 2012}}
Discography
{{Main|Pigeon John discography}}
=Studio albums=
- Is Clueless (2001)
- Is Dating Your Sister (2003)
- Sings the Blues (2005)
- And the Summertime Pool Party (2006)
- Dragon Slayer (2010)
- Encino Man (2014)
- Good Sinner (2016)
- Rap Record (2017)
- Gold (2017) (with Flynn, as Rootbeer)
- Gotta Good Feelin' (2020)
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website}}
- {{Discogs artist|Pigeon John}}
{{Pigeon John}}
{{Quannum Projects}}
{{LA Symphony}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pigeon John}}
Category:Quannum Projects artists
Category:American performers of Christian hip-hop
Category:Midwest hip-hop musicians
Category:Musicians from Omaha, Nebraska
Category:Rappers from Nebraska
Category:Musicians from Hawthorne, California