Division One

Division One (Ro Knew and Mic Logik) has been making music together for the better part of the last decade. Ro & Mic penned their first rhymes together as 11-year-olds in 1996, and it wasn't long before they were in studios laying down vocals and trying to make their own mark in the highly talented Chicago hip hop scene. In 2002, Ro Knew left to attend college at the University of Illinois, in Champaign-Urbana. While earning his degree in economics, he also began to dominate the freestyle battle scene in this tough but underexposed town, and was taken under the wing of Chicago hip-hop elder statesman Akdamoe - formerly known as Prince Akeem - who had recorded and toured extensively with Public Enemy in the early 1990s. Meanwhile, Mic Logik was back in Chicago making sure that the group's name was not forgotten - linking up with Kaz 1 of Gravel Records and forming alliances with a number of well-known artists and producers. Between 2003-2007, Mic and Ro recorded, wrote, and struggled to get an album done, starting from scratch many times due to strained friendships with former group members, financial hardships, and a competitive nature that kept the duo re-recording songs many times over. This process is what the album's title, "The Drawing Board" refers to. Interestingly enough, the beat from the title track was the first track that Kaz 1 ever produced for the group, back in fall of '03, for an album that would not be released until summer 2007. The album is a mix of in-your-face, witty aggression, subtle political commentary, and honest self-reflection. With "The Drawing Board," Division One hopes to make sure that hip-hop fans - Chicago and worldwide - remember the names of the faces that have been seen around the city for the last 6+ years. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.