D.U.S.T.

Dustin Sharpe, known worldwide as D.U.S.T. was born in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1981. Since birth he has always been surrounded by music. Son of world famous South African drummer Ian Herman, D.U.S.T. traveled as a child with his father’s group Tananas around the African continent for several years. Following in his father’s footsteps, D.U.S.T. started playing drums at age 5. His earliest musical influences from Africa; Ladysmith Black Mombazo, Hugh Masekela, Vusi Mhatlasela were fused with exposure to American sounds of artists like Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, and Lionel Richie. His earliest hip-hop influences included Run DMC, LL Cool J, Ice T, and DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince and by age 9 D.U.S.T. was rapping. He soon started performing and recording his own songs wherever he could in Jo’burg. D.U.S.T.’s life changed dramatically when he moved with his father to New York City in 1996.



D.U.S.T.’s life in New York was filled with the sounds of Wu-Tang, Notorious BIG, Mobb Deep, and Nas. He honed his craft by stepping up to every open mic he could at many venues and clubs like SOB’s. During this time he also recorded his first full demo over homemade beats which ended up being placed as the music score/soundtrack for a documentary called “From South Africa to New York”. His time in New York was highly influential but would not last long, and at the age of 17 D.U.S.T. moved out west to California.



In California D.U.S.T. continued performing at open mics, and soon he formed his first live band. He played shows at small clubs in Berkeley like La Pena and Blake’s on Telegraph where he was noticed by underground hip-hop group Zion I who asked him to be part of their show. As part of the Zion I crew D.U.S.T. performed as Zion’s hype man as well as having opportunities to highlight his own material during shows they played accross the entire USA as well as multiple tours through Europe. The group started bringing D.U.S.T. into the studio and together they went on to make classic material like the well-known song ‘Finger Paint’. D.U.S.T. continued working on solo material and side projects throughout his time with Zion I and many releases followed. D.U.S.T. has performed solo shows across the states and also back in South Africa and with the release of his first solo full length album “Diamonds & Dynamite” look for much more to come.



D.U.S.T. HAS PERFORMED LIVE WITH:

De La Soul, KRS-One, Digital Underground, Ice- T, Wu Tang, Cypress Hill, Public Enemy, Kanye West, Redman, Method Man, Busta Rhymes, Gang Starr, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Tribe Called Quest, Pharoae Monch, Rage Against The Machine, Kool Keith, Tech N9ne, Yukmouth, E-40, Keak da Sneak, Too Short, Lyrics Born, Aesop Rock, Jurassic 5, Living Legends, Heiroglyphics, Dead Prez,Dave Chapell,Anthony B, Gyptian, Jr Reid, and many more.??



FEATURES/RECORDING COLLABORATIONS WITH:

Chali 2na

One Drop Scott

Frontline (“Came 2 Bus”)

Balance (“What We Came For ft. Martin Luther”)

a-plus and peplove(heiro) Crew

Rashaan Ahmad & Crown City Rockers

Planet Asia and Rasco, (“Fight to the Flo”)

Zion I (“Finger Paint”, “Curb Serving”, “Le Le Le”, “Target Practice”)

Deuce Eclipse (“Blackout”)

Bayliens (“Wood Grain”)

Cava (“Give In Let Go”)

GNOC (“African Diamonds”)

Key Man (“Take A Journey”)



OFFICIAL DISCOGRAPHY:

GAZZI “One Hundred Lives” 2001

“Loose Cannon” 2000 (first mixtape)

“Global War-ning Mixtape Vol.1” 2003

“Global War-ning Mixtape Vol.2” 2005

“Rub-A-Dub Mixtape” 2008

“Diamonds & Dynamite” 2008-2009 (LP)