Defari represents hip-hop and all of its disparate forms with equal skill and intensity.

Defari's relationship with hip-hop first began in 1982 as a DJ and later evolved into a new phase in 1987 when he began emceeing. 1995 marked Defari's debut on wax in the form of "Big Up", a song produced by E-Swift and featured on Immortal's Next Chapter Compilation. In 1997, Defari teamed with producer-emcee Evidence of Dilated Peoples and dropped two highly regarded singles, "Bionic b/w Change & Switch" and People's Choice b/w Bottom Line on ABB Records. Defari gained notoriety and built a reputation as an artist whose music transcended regional barriers. In May of 1998, Defari signed with Tommy Boy Records. Focused Daily, his first album, arrived in 1999 and became a critical favorite thanks to such songs as ''Likwit Connection'' and ''Never Lose Touch''

But just as soon as Defari was establishing himself as a prime-time hip-hop player, Tommy Boy started crumbling. As the label disintegrated, Defari's clout continued rising. He appeared on Dr. Dre's Chronic 2001 album, as well as releases from Xzibit, Dilated Peoples and Tha Liks, among others.

Now set to release Odds And Evens on his own Herut Music, which has a joint venture deal with High Times Records, Defari the rapper-CEO knows where to focus his attention.

''I'm marketing everything that I do to my core fanbase,'' he says. ''I'm doing everything for the people that supported me since day one. Focused Daily is officially blown out of the water. There's no sophomore jinx here.''