Not the typical breeding ground for rap music, Waco, TX, is the home of producer and rapper S1 (which is short for Symbolyc One). His soulful and imaginative beats can mainly be found supporting the rhymes of Texas underground trio the Strange Fruit Project of which he is a member. The influential producers from whom he has taken notes include Quincy Jones, Pete Rock, and Jay Dee, but he owes his musical upbringing to the church, where he learned to play the piano, drums, and keyboards. Before forming the Strange Fruit Project with his cousin Myth and friend Myone, S1 and Myth had a group called Symbolyc Elementz in the mid-'90s, but the short-lived venture saw no significant releases. S1's work began receiving praise when he teamed up with New Jersey beat-maker Illmind on the 2005 release The Art of One Mind, especially because of their underground hit Milk 'Em, featuring acclaimed MC Ghostface Killah. It helped set the stage for the Strange Fruit Project's 2006 follow-up, The Healing, which surpassed by a large margin the amount of attention their 2004 debut, Soul Travelin', received. ~ Cyril Cordor, Rovi