Formed in the fall 1997, united under the credo “disturb the equilibrium,“ the Anti-Pop Consortium came together as a divergent force to resist the evil empire Hip-Hop was slowly becoming. Three vocalists (Priest, Beans and M. Sayyid) & the aural alchemy of E. Blaize converged as a matter of happen stance at the downtown off-shoot of the Nuyorican Theatre entitled “Rap meets Poetry,” hosted by poetry slam stalwart Bob Hollman. Priest states “...at that time our style was an ill hybridization of the both rap and poetry so we had love from both sides of the fence.” Both Blaize and Priest encountered Beans as spectators. His cathartic tales and childhood reflections delivered with a rapid fire staccato flow were a smash. Through a mutual appreciation for each others work, their collaborations resulted in the now classic underground composition “Disorientation” featuring Apani-B-fly MC of the PolyRhythymAddicts.

At its inception, the “Consortium” was series of cassette only releases on the then fledgling Anti-Pop Recordings. After circulating the cassettes among divergent tastemakers of the NYC underground, the 4-man crew became known as the Anti-Pop Consortium. With an almost religious fervor the team began their assault with an infamous Xerox and sticker campaign the landed Priest in jail for vandalism under Giuliani's “increased standard of living regime.” Fortunately the police thought that Priest was working for a promotions company and let him off easy with the promise that he would cease his defacing of public property (yeah right). Coupled with the verbal pyrotechnics of their live show, the Consortium gained the favor of both the staunch B-boy purists as well as the experimental heads.

Currently, the aim is to unite their divergent talents to continue their assault. Both Priest and Sayyid have background in film. Sayyid, an alumnus of San Francisco's Survival Research Lab has earned credits as technical advisor on the Sundance Award winning film “Hurricane Streets.” The highly sought after producer/engineer E. Blaize has lent his talents to innumerable major label releases. Beans continues to increase his profile, lending voice to likes of Arto Lindsey & Vernon Reid along with his solo releases. At the helm of Anti-Pop Recordings, Priest continues provide an outlet for the group's more “extreme” material while still maintaining the credo... disturb the equilibrium.