PHILADELPHIA, PA – Longtime underground enigma, the commanding and gruff voiced MC, Chief Kamachi, has made a successful career out of collaboration and 12” releases (over 16 of them! – see discography). Hold up, stop, rewind as The City Of Brotherly Love officially welcomes its next export to the world stage with his long-awaited solo debut, Cult Status, on Good Hands Records, early 2004. Often billed as an international man of mystery, hungry fans click and click, googling for fresh news on Chief while ransacking file-sharing sites for traces of new material. Chief’s latest can be heard on“The Popoff,” with Baby Blak, the B-side of DJ Sat-one’s single,“Aftermidnite.”

Chief quickly solidified a following in the late 90’s with his membership in indie supergroup, Army of The Pharoahs alongside Jedi Mind Tricks, 7L & Esoteric, Virtuoso and Bahamadia. With “The Deer Hunter,” from Jedi Mind Tricks’ huge-selling indie album, Violent by Design, the internet dissection of his spiritually complex lyrics had begun. Year by year, more wax dropped, from AG to Last Emperor to Maylay Sparks, rhyming partnerships were formed and Chief’s foundation was laid. 2002 saw a Philly-fied smash with Grand Agent and Baby Blak stomping all over the "Soldierz" 12”. From appearances on the Sway and Tech’s prestigious The Wake Up Show Vol. 5 compilation to this year’s “Divine Evil” with Outerspace and “Trinity” alongside King Honey, GOS and Hezekiah, the circle nears completion with Cult Status.

Keeping guest appearances to a minimum, Chief chose wisely, hand picking a veteran, Guru of Gang Starr, local battle-tested MC, Reef, and, rookie, label-mate Charon Don to share his 11 track debut. While not overtly underground, or commercial, the beats, lyrics and subject matter of Cult Status push hip-hop forward and away from such easy categorizations. On the horn-backed intro, Chief roars mightily, mystically over production by Sean “S.Dot” Francis (State Property’s “When You Hear That,” Freeway’s “Scratchin & Survivin”). Other beatmakers include rising talent, Pittsburgh’s E-Dan, Sat-One and Eastern Conference Records’ Mighty Mi. On the album’s first single, “The Best,” Philly’s own DJ Kwestion laces the beat while Guru and Kamachi trade soon-to-be classic bars. Come first quarter ‘04, Philadelphia moves to the forefront again with a bona fide locally masterminded industry-shaking release;Cult Status let’s the collabo-kid show and prove.

Philadelphia-based independent label, Good Hands Records released the acclaimed 12”, Elix’s “The Beast Within” featuring Chief Kamachi and Mr. Eon, B/W “Keystone Cops” featuring Charon Don.