The Biography
ATAK Worldwide (which has since morphed into truehiphop.com) was
created as a resource for underground hip-hop groups and DJs so that
they can focus on their art and ATAK could focus on their business.
This was a small, grassroots operation designed to gather, organize,
and distribute tapes and vinyl (and eventually CDs) from the artists
and hopefully reach new listeners locally, nationally, and
eventually, internationally. A mail order catalog was constantly
updated as new music and artists joined the ATAK family, and this
catalog was available at Bay Area record stores and hip-hop related
shops, plus it was sent to contacts across the country.
More Boring Bio Info
The inspiration to create ATAK, strangely enough, came from Bay Area
punk rock scene in which P-Minus' sister, housemates, and several
friends were involved. At almost every show, especially at the Gilman
St. Project in the East Bay, people were selling affordable music,
and rarely was such a thing seen at local hip-hop shows. ATAK wanted
to fill that void and give people a chance to pick up low-priced
music from local groups and DJs. Later, the mail order catalog was
put together to let others outside of the Bay Area enjoy this
fantastic music. ATAK was not designed to carry strictly local music;
it is open to anyone, anywhere, who has good music available, but we
wanted to start with the people and the groups with whom we were
familiar. Eventually, ATAK exposed Bay Area hip-hop to the rest of
the world, plus exposed the rest of the world to the Bay. Since the
ATAK site was one of the first underground mailorder spots, we hoped
we could inspire people to support underground music while inspiring
underground artists to continue to make music independently ("by the
people, for the people") because there is a newly found demand for
it.
Even More Useless Bio Info
Paul Gembus, widely known throughout hip-hop's inner circles as
P-Minus (and occasionally Paulie Paychex), lived in the Bay Area for
almost 9 years, before recently moving down to the warmer climes of
Southern California. He is a transplant from the hip-hop mecca state
of Missouri, where he attended high school and college. He has an
English degree and a Black Studies minor from the University of
Missouri-Columbia, at which he was also the rap director for the
college radio station, KCOU. He maintained such a lofty reputation
there that he once shook the hand of Shorty No Mass (of De La Soul
fame), hugged (twice!) Lauryn of the Fugees before she blew the fuck
up, and received an apology from Queen Latifah after her bodyguard
treated him like a chump.
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