Gonjasufi
Gonjasufi inBudapest,Hungary, 2011.
Background information
Birth name	Sumach Ecks
Also known as	Sumach Valentine
Origin	San Diego,California, United States
Genres	Hip hop[1] psychedelic[2]
Occupations	Vocalist rapper producer DJ yoga teacher
Instruments	Vocals turntables guitar
Years active	1990s–present
Labels	Warp A.I.R.
Website	www.sufisays.com

Sumach Valentine^[3] (born 1978),^[4] better known by his stage nameGonjasufi, is an American vocalist, producer, disc jockey, and yogi.^[5]

Ecks was born in 1978 to aMexican mother and anAmerican-Ethiopian father.^[3] He spent his formative years inChula Vista, California.^[5]

Ecks got involved early on in the arts, playingHelios the Sun God in the operaPersephone.^[6]

In the early 1990s, he began releasing music within theSan Diego hip hop scene; notably with the Masters of the Universe crew.^[7][8] Touring under the stage namesSumach Ecks andRandy Johnson,^[7] his first band was called Plant Lyphe.^[6]

Ecks gained notice fromWarp Records in 2008 after an appearance on Californian musicianFlying Lotus' albumLos Angeles, on which he sings on the track "Testament".^[8] His Warp debut album,A Sufi and a Killer, was released March 8, 2010.^[9]

Ecks' voice has been described byPitchfork as "a scraggly, scary, smoked-out croak that creeps like the spiritual offspring ofGeorge Clinton andLead Belly".^[8] He attributes his singing style to his day job teaching yoga, where he was forced to learn how to "project from [his] stomach more".^[8] His music is largely experimental, fusing urban beats withpsychedelic flourishes.^[10][11]

Besides singing and rapping,^[12] Ecks also serves as a producer,^[13] DJ,^[14] and yoga teacher.^[5]

On August 19, 2016, Gonjasufi released the album,Callus, which featured contributions fromPearl Thompson.^[15]

• A Sufi and a Killer (2010)
• MU.ZZ.LE (2012)
• Callus (2016)

• The Caliph's Tea Party (2010)
• Mandela Effect (2017)

• The Ninth Inning EP (2011)
• Untitled (2013)(split withRas G)

• "Holidays" b/w "Candylane" (2009)
• "Kowboyz&Indians" b/w "My Only Friend" (2010)
• "Kobwebz" b/w "Speaketh" (2010)
• "Nickels and Dimes" (2010)
• "Ninth Inning" (2011)
• "The Blame" (2012)

• Flying Lotus – "Testament" fromLos Angeles (2008)
• The Gaslamp Killer – "I'm in Awe" fromDeath Gate (2010)
• Humansuit – "Lawnmower Man" fromHumansuit (2012)
• The Gaslamp Killer – "Veins" and "Apparitions" fromBreakthrough (2012)
• Old English – "The Omen" fromBand in Amerikkka (2013)
• Perera Elsewhere – "Giddy" fromEverlast (2013)
• Awol One & Gel Roc – "Flight" fromThe Cloaks (2014)
• Dag Savage – "Bad Trip" fromE & J (2014)
• The Bug – "Save Me" fromAngels & Devils (2014)
• L'Orange &Mr. Lif – "Strange Technology" fromThe Life & Death of Scenery (2016)
• The Gaslamp Killer – "Good Morning" fromInstrumentalepathy (2016)
• A7pha – "Hater Hate It" fromA7pha (2017)

• Official website
• Gonjasufi discography atDiscogs

• American hip-hop musicians
• American people of Ethiopian descent
• American musicians of Mexican descent
• 1978 births
• Living people
• Rappers from San Diego
• Warp (record label) artists
• People from Chula Vista, California
• Musicians from San Diego
• African-American male rappers
• 20th-century American male rappers
• 21st-century American male rappers
• Hispanic and Latino American musicians
• 21st-century African-American musicians
• 20th-century African-American musicians

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