03/01/2007

WONWAY's BIO:

A neighbor's illegal cable connection would forever
change the life of a then 9 year old Wonway aka Juan
Amador. The year was 1988, and Yo! MTV Raps made its
television debut. Already exposed to the HipHop
culture through his Uncle's connection to the SF
graffiti scene, Juan was hooked. Within a year, he had
formed a group with his friend and was writing and
recording raps on an old boom box, channeling
influences from the Native Tongues to NWA.

Seeing no future in rapping, Juan focused his
time on his graffiti and deejay talents, until a
fateful battle in the cafeteria his senior year. His
opponent was an emcee later known as BS. The respect
earned that day, would later influence BS to ask Juan
to form a group with him and another emcee from
school, Ray Dub, for an upcoming talent show. They
decided on the name Secluded Journalists, and the
group was born.

Around the same time, Wonway (Juan) began making
frequent trips to Telegraph Ave. in Berkeley where he
met young aspiring emcee/entepeneurs on the block
selling HipHop cassetes. Through his visits, he met
emcees such as Murs of Living Legends, the Kemetic
Suns, and Hobo Junction. Aside from showing him that
music could be made independently, he learned the
concept of true freestyling, or rhyming off the top of
the head.

Through Kemetic Suns, Wonway met Ayentee, who
later became a member of Secluded Journalists. With a
recently returned BS, the group began performing in
1999 and with his schooling in freestyle, Wonway began
entering battles shortly after.

Secluded Journalists has performed at over 150
shows from Pittsburg to San Francisco to New York to
Puerto Rico, and has opened or performed alongside
acts such as Digable Planets, MF Doom, Quannum, Jeru
the Damaja, Masta Ace, Atmosphere, Hieroglyphics,
Aesop Rock, Mr. Lif, Living Legends, Little Brother,
One Self, Crown City Rockers, Immortal Technique,
J-Live, Zion I and more. Secluded Journalists has
released one album in 2002 "Who Are We" with plans of
a much anticipated sophmore release in 2007. Wonway
has also made occasional cameos on other projects,
most recently on DJ Platurn's "Best of A Tribe Called
Quest" mixtape.

After literally thousands of freestyle cyphers
and taking his lumps in battles early on, Wonway made
himself a presence on the freestyle and battle scene,
winning numerous battles including Zulu Nation's 2 on
2 , Mighty 4, IC3, Hush Hush lounge, 26 mix, and most
recently taking the gold in the Freestyle Olympics
before announcing his retirement from battling. His
love for freestyle continues in jam sessions with
various bands around the bay area, radio shows, and
his offshoot creation "Who's Rhyme is it Anyway?", a
performance troupe blending improv theatre and
freestyle. 2007 and beyond promises more music from
Wonway in the form of another Secluded album, various
collaborations, and a long overdue solo release.