Sole (hip-hop artist)

{{short description|American hip-hop artist}} {{for|the other hip-hop emcee with a similar name|Solé}} {{Infobox musical artist  | name = Sole | image = | background = solo_singer | birth_name = James Timothy Holland Jr.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/bigsole/photos/a.464325626209/10152151478656210/?type=3 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/facebook/59670321209/10152151478656210 |archive-date=2022-02-26 |url-access=limited|title=sole|website=www.facebook.com|access-date=8 February 2019}}{{cbignore}}</ref> | alias = Mansbestfriend Blazefest | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1977|09|25|mf=yes}} | birth_place = Portland, Maine, US | death_date = | origin = New York City, New York, United States | instrument = | genre = Underground hip-hop, conscious hip-hop, political hip-hop, alternative hip-hop, experimental hip-hop | occupation = Rapper, producer | years_active = 1992–present | label = {{hlist|Anticon|Fake Four Inc|Mush Records|Morr Music|6months|45 Below|Black Canyon}} | website = [http://www.soleone.org/ www.soleone.org] }} '''James Timothy "Tim" Holland Jr.''' (born September 25, 1977), better known by his stage name '''Sole''', is an American underground hip-hop artist from Portland, Maine. He is one of eight co-founders of the record label Anticon.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.xlr8r.com/news/2010/02/sole-ends-his-time-anticon|title=sole Ends His Time at anticon|publisher=XLR8R|first=Thomas|last=Rees|date=February 11, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413145912/http://www.xlr8r.com/news/2010/02/sole-ends-his-time-anticon|archive-date=April 13, 2014}}</ref> He has been a member of the groups Northern Exposure, Live Poets, Deep Puddle Dynamics, So-Called Artists, Da Babylonianz, Sole and the Skyrider Band and Waco Boyz.

==Career==

In 2000, Sole released his first official solo album ''Bottle of Humans'' on Anticon. As So-Called Artists, he released ''Paint by Number Songs'' with Alias and DJ Mayonnaise in 2001. Sole's second solo album ''Selling Live Water'' was released in 2003 and received positive reviews; Pitchfork Media gave it a 7.3,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/7319-selling-live-water/|title=Sole: Selling Live Water|publisher=Pitchfork Media|first=Chris|last=Dahlen|date=March 26, 2003}}</ref> Metacritic gave it a score of 77 out of 100.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.metacritic.com/music/selling-live-water |title=Selling Live Water |website=Metacritic }}</ref>

Later that year, he moved to Barcelona. Two years later, he released the third solo album ''Live from Rome'' in 2005. Soon after, he moved back to the United States, relocating to Flagstaff, Arizona.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://madisonhouseinc.com/sole-and-skyrider-band|title=Sole and the Skyrider Band|publisher=Madison House|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120515154056/http://madisonhouseinc.com/sole-and-skyrider-band|archive-date=2012-05-15}}</ref>

In 2007, Sole released ''Sole and the Skyrider Band'' as Sole and the Skyrider Band. Its second album ''Plastique'' was released in 2009. In 2010, Sole left Anticon, citing a desire to further experiment with his music, independently of the collective, and also due to his belief that the label developed away from what he initially intended it to be.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pitchfork.com/news/37845-sole-leaves-anticon/|title=Sole Leaves Anticon|publisher=Pitchfork Media|first=Tom|last=Breihanon|date=February 9, 2010}}</ref>

==Personal life== Sole is based in Brunswick, Maine. He married Yasamin Al-Hussaini on January 1, 2004, and her name is referenced occasionally in his lyrics. While living in Denver, Sole was active in the local outpost of the Occupy Wall Street political movement,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/02/sole-denver-based-hip-hop_n_1071946.html|title=Sole, Denver-Based Hip-Hop Artist And Member Of #OccupyDenver, Talks Music And Life As An Occupier|work=The Huffington Post|first=Matt|last=Ferner|date=January 30, 2012}}</ref> various anarchist projects<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.soleone.org/news/2015/8/16/in-depth-interview-with-its-going-down|title=In Depth Interview with Its Going Down|website=SOLE|date=16 August 2015 |access-date=8 February 2019}}</ref> and hosts a podcast about revolutionary politics and radical philosophy called "The Solecast."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.soleone.org/|title=Soleone.org|website=SOLE|access-date=8 February 2019}}</ref> He is an anarchist.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Patrin |first1=Nate |title=Sole's Second Act as a Rapper, Podcaster, and Political Theorist |work=Bandcamp Daily |date=2016-10-20 |url=https://daily.bandcamp.com/features/sole-interview |access-date=2025-10-23 |df=mdy-all |quote=I identify as an anarchist. }}</ref>

==Selected discography== {{Main|Sole discography}} '''Sole''' * ''Bottle of Humans'' (Anticon, 2000) * ''uck rt'' (2001) * ''Selling Live Water'' (Anticon, 2003) * ''Mansbestfriend Pt. 2: No Thanks'' (2003) * ''Live from Rome'' (Anticon, 2005) * ''Mansbestfriend Pt. 3: Myownworstenemy'' (2005) * ''Poly.Sci.187'' (Anticon, 2007) * ''Desert Eagle'' (2008) * ''A Ruthless Criticism of Everything Existing'' (Black Canyon, 2012) * ''No Wising Up No Settling Down'' (Black Canyon, 2013) * ''Crimes Against Totality'' (Black Canyon, 2013) * ''Mansbestfriend 7'' (Black Box Tapes, 2015) * ''Let Them Eat Sand'' (Black Box Tapes, 2018) * ''Destituent'' (Black Box Tapes, 2019) * ''MBFX'' (Black Box Tapes, 2021)

'''Sole & DJ Pain 1''' * ''Death Drive'' (Black Canyon, 2014) * ''Nihilismo'' (Black Box Tapes, 2016) * ''No God nor Country'' (Black Box Tapes, 2019) * ''Post American Studies'' (eMERGENCY hEARTS, 2022)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://floodmagazine.com/97235/sole-dj-pain-1-surrounded-premiere/|title = Sole Processes Parenting During the Pandemic on New Cut with DJ Pain 1 "Surrounded"}}</ref>

'''Sole and the Skyrider Band''' * ''Sole and the Skyrider Band'' (Anticon, 2007) * ''Plastique'' (Fake Four Inc., 2009) * ''Hello Cruel World'' (Fake Four Inc., 2011)

'''Whitenoise''' (Sole with Yasamin Holland) * ''No More Dystopias'' (Black Canyon, 2013) * ''Ruins'' (Black Box Tapes, 2015)

'''Other collaborations''' * ''What's It All About'' (45 Below, 1996) (with Moodswing9, as Live Poets) * ''The Taste of Rain... Why Kneel?'' (Anticon, 1999) (with Alias, Doseone & Slug, as Deep Puddle Dynamics) * ''Red Dawn: A Baybridge Epic'' (2001) (with Pedestrian, as Da Babylonianz) * ''Paint by Number Songs'' (Mush, 2001) (with Alias & DJ Mayonnaise, as So-Called Artists)

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * [http://www.soleone.org Official website] * [http://www.discogs.com/artist/Sole Sole] on Discogs

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sole}} Category:1977 births Category:Anticon Category:American atheists Category:East Coast hip-hop musicians Category:Libertarian socialists Category:Living people Category:Rappers from Maine Category:Underground rappers Category:21st-century American rappers Category:Morr Music artists Category:American anarchists Category:Musicians from Portland, Maine Category:21st-century anarchists Category:21st-century American male rappers