Jacob "Jake" Anderson was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and grew up in the city"s Powderhorn neighborhood. His mother, Colleen, had a rocky relationship with his father (who suffered from bipolar disorder and was physically abusive) whom she would later divorce and move away from, taking Anderson"s three older sisters with her.
Anderson graduated from South High School in 2002.
He released his first full-length album, Project Gampo, in 2007 and has since released two additional albums and three EPs. In 2012, City Pages named Professor on their list of Minnesota"s 20 best rappers. A co-owner of Stophouse Music Group, Professor signed to Rhymesayers Entertainment in late 2013.
In his teenage years, he developed a "comedic, dirty-mouthed rap persona" he named Gampo after a childhood friend.
In 2010, Professor was part of Rhymesayers" Welcome to Minnesota tour. lieutenant was at one such show that Professor would meet his manager, Mike Campbell.
Professor and Campbell, along with Dillon Parker, later became co-owners of the Stophouse Music Group, a record label that owns and manages their eponymous Stophouse Studios in northeast Minneapolis. The staff of City Pages named Professor as Minnesota"s 19th-best rapper in 2012, citing his musical dexterity, "his impressive singing voice", and his ability to engage and make audiences laugh.
Professor has been noted as one of the few Minneapolis rap acts (in addition to Doomtree and several Rhymesayers artists) who are capable of selling out the city"s famed First Avenue Mainroom, and the only to do so in recent years without the backing of Minnesota Public Radio station 89.3 The Current.
In May 2013, when Busta Rhymes failed to show up at the Soundset Music Festival in Shakopee, Minnesota, Professor substituted for him with only an hour"s notice. On December 3, 2013, Professor signed to Rhymesayers Entertainment. The Star Tribune reported on the occasion that Professor would release another album in 2014.
In a May 2015, Professor announced his debut record on Rhymesayers, entitled Liability.
The album is slated to be released on September 4, 2015. In the same interview, he also revealed he had signed with William Morris Endeavor for his future touring ventures.
Professor has released the single "Ghost" from the upcoming album, and the video which features Technical N9ne.
During the mid-2000s, Professor regularly performed at the Dinkytowner bar, giving "drunk show" with partner and hype man Rahzwell - which meant beginning their set only after Rahzwell had vomited from every shot and beer that the duo received from the members of the audience.
