‘Nstinct
Biography


The Westcoast M.C, Hakem Jibri Burns, better known as ‘Nstinct, was born in 1982.
At the age of 14, ‘Nstinct began writing raps one night, listening to 2Pac instrumentals. Besides just a hobby, rap and poetry has become a release for life struggles, living in the hoods of Oakland, California.
By 11th grade, ‘Nstinct began recording with an Oakland producer named Cam, and was signed to WeeSeed Records recordings label; this gave him the opportunity to be kept part of talent showcases. ‘Nstinct opened for artists such as No Limit’s Steady Mobbin’, The Delinquents, and Malika, contestant on the P.Diddy’s “Making the Band 3”. In 2001, ‘Nstinct recorded the title track for WeeSeed Records’ first compilation “5-1-0 We still Ridin’”. You can also find him on SleepDank’s “Bookalation”, JLM Entertainment’s “Westcoast Ballin’” and Malika’s debut album “You Don’t Know”.
At the Ruff Ryders’ Go Hard or Go Home Talent Search, ‘Nstinct got the opportunity to compete and meet Ruff Ryders west coast representative, Don. Following this encounter, on September 12, 2002, ‘Nstinct opened for Ruff Ryders’ Asian icon Gin at the Limelight in Mountain View, CA.

Now, ‘Nstinct runs his own label, Eternal Records. Independently producing under this recording label, he sold over 7,000 copies of the street album “Unreleased” in less than 2 ½ years. In this period of time he also recorded a song titled “What Life Iz”, which was originally produced in Germany and has been released on Midnite Productions’ compilation “Midnite Productions Vol. 1”.
Among many appearances ‘Nstinct has performed at the Club Element Lounge in downtown San Francisco, in February 2007. He also participated in shows thrown by San Francisco State University students, and performed at some of the University Jewish Fraternity’ parties.
Diversifying his materials and expanding his popularity, ‘Nstinct made his music available to different kinds of audiences, including all age groups, college students and even busy professionals in the Financial District of San Francisco. Following this path, not only has he developed a Myspace page, allowing an even broader public to appreciate his sound, but he also released to the streets “Unreleased 2nd Edition” in March 2007. The quality of that album and the positive public response allowed him to perform for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society “Five Designers and a Poodle” Fashion Show, at the Mezzanine venue in San Francisco. Between March and December 2007, ‘Nstinct independently sold more than 4,500 copies of the “2nd Edition”.

End of December 2007, ‘Nstinct released his official debut album “Hardluck Story”. This album is hoped to make enough noise to be distributed at least nationwide and to get his talent acknowledged by major record and distribution companies, who may propose future contracts. (Hardluck Story has been out for 10 months and 4,900 copies have been sold hand-to-hand).
In February 2008, ‘Nstinct was publicized in Harlem West magazine; a San Francisco publication whose goal is to fuse Jazz and Hip Hop into one source to bridge the gap of two generations.

“My music shows off my perception of this world; my purpose is to offer a progressive message, wrapped in a raw and uncut delivery. Most of my lyrics expose the life of the streets, the hate, the violence and everything that comes out of it, but the real message is to move away from their glorification. And that’s the reason why it’s also good to rap about the good things in life…” All in all, ‘Nstinct is not your “stereotypical” Bay Area rapper, focusing only on the Bay and its Hyphy Movement: “My music is diverse and can address all topics and issues. I aim at bringing together the hood and Corporate America”.