The Birdman

On the tune "Do the Pigeon," he spells out his mission while rapping, "All these dudes telling lies for the fame and wealth/I'd rather kick back and just be myself." He's also the type of MC who can kick rhymes about Phil Collins, Ping-Pong, and Boogie Down Productions in the same stanza. Self-deprecating to the hilt, he typically casts himself as the nerdy underdog. Such a shtick in the wrong hands can be annoying and cheesy, but Pigeon John comes off genuinely funny. Like on the song "Freaks! Freaks!" when he plays off of lyrics from the Beastie Boys' "No Sleep 'til Brooklyn" to goof on his own status: "Like a lemon to a lime, a lime to a lemon/Underground hip-hop equals no women/Except for a Slug show/So you know where the Pigeon go."

Though he's firmly in the underground for now, Pigeon John's profile is rising, thanks to the deal he recently inked with Quannum Projects — the Northern California label famously founded by DJ Shadow, Blackalicious, Lyrics Born, and Lateef the Truth- speaker — after impressing Lyrics Born night after night on tour a couple of years ago. "It's been dope," Pigeon John enthuses. "I'm like, this is freakin' fresh, and it hasn't even been a year yet! More opportunities and tours and a lot of doors opening up... it's just been faster, and more, because of Quannum."

Still, even if it's certain to become less and less of a challenge to win over crowds, he insists he'll never grow complacent, saying that he continues to approach every gig like he's got something to prove, like he's back at those open-mic nights from all those years ago.

"They're like ghosts, those people from the Good Life. Those eyes are still in the audience looking at me, making sure I don't ever get dull."