Background
Ecks was born in 1978 to a Mexican mother and an American-Ethiopian father.
Ecks was born in 1978 to a Mexican mother and an American-Ethiopian father.
He spent his formative years in Chula Vista, California. Ecks got involved early on in the arts, playing Helios the Sun God in the opera Persephone. In the early 1990s, he began releasing music within the San Diego hip hop scene.
Notably with the Masters of the Universe crew.
Touring under the stage names Sumach Valentine and Randy Johnson, his first band was called Plant Lyphe. Ecks gained notice from Warp Records in 2008 after an appearance on Californian musician Flying Lotus" album Los Angeles, on which he sings on the track "Testament".
His Warp debut album, A Sufi and a Killer, was released on March 8, 2010. His music is largely experimental, fusing urban beats with psychedelic flourishes.
Ecks currently lives in Las Vegas, Nevada.