California rapper Scarub established his lyrically acrobatic style both in his solo work and as a member of the esteemed Living Legends hip-hop collective. He's worked consistently since the late '90s, bringing intelligent, often socially conscious rhymes to albums like 2014's Want for Nothing. Scarub was born Armon Collins and grew up in Los Angeles. He was active in underground rap circles from an early age, working on music with peers like Murs and Eligh during his teen years. With these like-minded collaborators, Scarub was part of collective groups, with early projects like Boogalu Badboys (his old school duo with Eligh formed when the two were still in middle school) morphing into acts like Log Cabin and 3 Melancholy Gypsys. In the late '90s, 3 Melancholy Gypsys joined forces with the Grouch and Mystik Journeymen to form the Living Legends crew. While still active with that group and a variety of other side projects, Scarub began releasing solo material in 1997 with his album The Answer 2wo the Meaning, originally released only on cassette. He followed two years later with A Fact of the Matter, and released his third album, Heavenbound, in 2000. In addition to material released with Very under the Afro-Classics moniker, Scarub's solo output continued with 2004's A New Perspective and 2006's One for the Road, Vol. 1. Various guest appearances, EPs, and singles were released before his next proper album, Want for Nothing, materialized in 2014. The colorful and positive album had a multitude of guest features, including appearances from Mimi Fresh, Afton Moody, Anderson .Paak and many others. Five years later, Scarub returned with the new album Girls Girls Girls. ~ Fred Thomas