Still, he's a talented rapper and producer, closer to seriously humorous rappers like Gonzales than the hip-hop satire of MC Paul Barman. He was born Topher Lafata and grew up in Reading, PA, parlaying an early interest in skateboarding and hardcore punk into a band influenced by post-punk and industrial. He kept on performing while at college in Connecticut, and broadened his interests to include playing with a live hip-hop act. Lafata also bought a four-track, along with sampler and drum machine, and began recording his own tracks. One of his first productions was a tape called Gold Chains: Music for a Higher Society, which contributed his performing name by the time he started doing shows in San Francisco. Support gigs for Kit Clayton and Kid 606 paid major dividends; his first wide release, Gold Chains EP, appeared on Clayton's Orthlorng Musork label in late 2001, and his second, Straight From Your Radio (another EP), was issued by Kid 606's Tigerbeat6. ~ John Bush