<=> Born and raised in the Deep West, Higher Minds have come a long way from their earliest freestyle cyphers and home-made audiotapes. MileSeven and Stevie-b are both San Diego natives and, although separated by a few years, traveled many of the same streets growing up in sunny Southern California. In contrast to the heavy-hitting hip hop powerhouses of the past few decades like New York and L.A., they hailed from a relatively untapped community just beginning to give birth to a new surge of originality and authenticity in music. Determined to be a part of this growing force, Stevie-b and MileSeven set out to hone and sharpen their lyrical skills and release their first ever full length album: Evolution. Recorded at Studio West in Rancho Bernardo, CA in 2002, Evolution was the aptly named genesis of Higher Minds, and the perfect project for Miles and Stevie to begin molding the heart and soul of one of the most promising and burgeoning new hip hop groups on the West Coast. This album was soon to be followed and surpassed by the next addition to their growing recording archives: Higher Minds EP 1. This CD was leaps and bounds beyond the songwriting and recording quality of previous releases, thanks in part to the studio production skills of DJ KutKaper, the founder and owner of Three Legged Dog Productions (3LDP) in Vista, CA. Recorded in the midst of three legged pit bulls and backyard barbecues, EP 1 was the first Higher Minds project to exceed 1,000 copies in circulation. It was also the first to incorporate DJ KutKaper, who hailed from Los Angeles and was already well respected for his impressive turntablist circuit throughout Hollywood and the rest of L.A.. This was to become the original formation of the Higher Minds trio: MileSeven, Stevie-b, and DJ KutKaper -- and together they form the core of San Diego's most demanded and respected new hip hop family. In 2003, the new Higher Minds joined full forces for The SunUP EP, which immediately spread throughout San Diego and beyond. It's numbers quickly exceeded 2,000 copies and set them on course to play some of the best venues in California, Arizona, Colorado, Maine, Australia, and London. Over the past few years, Higher Minds have performed with the likes of The Pharcyde, Digable Planets, AfroMan, 2 Live Crew, Ruff Ryders, People under the Stairs, and Lit. The most recent and acclaimed Higher Minds release is Cali Gold, a full length album line-up of hip hop hits that has all of Southern California bobbing it's head. Recorded at Real Time Recording (Portland, ME) and Left Coast Studios (Long Beach, CA) with final mastering completed at Bob Ludwig's Gateway Studios (ME), the album was released Fall 2006. With over 10,000 albums in circulation, Higher Minds are poised to take their crowd-pleasing blend of raw hip hop, expansive beats, and forward insights right to the top as they stride towards the future with their feet on the ground and their minds in orbit. Higher Minds just came out of the studio with a BRAND NEW ALBUM for 2010. Get ready. <=>