DJ Rasoul

With a predilection for the deepest and funkiest of deep funky house, DJ Rasoul (real name Guy Nado) has done much to put the Bay Area on the map as a hip and happening place. Originally from the Ivory Coast in West Africa, he moved to the States as a young boy in 1975. Rasoul dabbled in all sorts of music as a teenager but became serious about house after hooking up with San Francisco's pioneering 3rd Floor Productions team in 1990. Amongst others, the group included such noteworthy characters as DJs Digit — who went on to set up the famous BPM Records label — and EFX. Throughout the early '90s, Rasoul released his own records and remixed for others under a variety of monikers including the Mad African and Dredman. Then, following a brief stint in London working mostly as a DJ, he returned home in 1996 to again concentrate on production work. Over the next few years, Rasoul did no harm to his reputation by working with some of America's most respected underground dance labels — Large, 83 West, and Guidance. During this period, his Soul Searching series of albums released on Large proved especially popular.