| Saul Williams, born in Newburgh, New York in | | | | music to a wider audience. |
| 1974, is an American rap artist, writer and | | | | |
| actor known for his eclectic blend of poetry | | | | His friendship with Trent Reznor led to an |
| and hip-hop. He is also known for his role as | | | | agreement that Reznor would produce Williams' |
| Ray Joshua in the independent film 'Slam', | | | | next album, 'The Inevitable Rise and |
| which won the Grand Jury Prize for a Dramatic | | | | Liberation of NiggyTardust!' Released last |
| Film at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival. | | | | November, it is only available at |
| | | | niggytardust.com, where users can download |
| Unlike most mainstream rap artists, who at | | | | mid-quality mp3s (192 kbps) of the album for |
| least claim to have lived a former life of | | | | free, or, if they choose to, pay $5 via |
| sin before turning to rap, Saul entered the | | | | credit card to support Williams directly and |
| world of music after pursuing an academic | | | | choose between mid-quality mp3s, high-quality |
| career. After graduating from Morehouse | | | | mp3s (320 kbps) and lossless FLAC files. |
| College with a B.A. in Philosophy, Williams | | | | |
| went on obtain a Master's Degree in acting | | | | Reznor posted on the Nine Inch Nails homepage |
| from New York University. While at NYU he | | | | that as of the beginning of this year, close |
| found himself at the centre of the New York | | | | to 155,000 people had downloaded the record, |
| cafe poetry scene, where he would hone his | | | | and of those, 28,322, or just over 18% had |
| poetry reading skills and in 1996 he won the | | | | chosen to pay for it. Out of those paying, |
| title of Nuyorican Poets Cafe's Grand Slam | | | | 3220 chose mid-quality mp3s, 19,764 chose |
| Champion. Fame on the spoken-word circuit led | | | | high-quality mp3s and 5338 chose FLAC. |
| him onto the lead role in the 1998 feature | | | | |
| film 'Slam', and eventually to blend his | | | | Though these figures aren't enough to warrant |
| oratory skills with his love of rap music. | | | | a Platinum certification, the business model |
| | | | gives fans an impetus to do the right thing |
| After releasing a string of EPs, he released | | | | by giving them a hassle-free way to show |
| his debut album, 'Amethyst Rock Star', | | | | support for Williams, with no restrictions |
| produced by Rick Rubin, to critical acclaim | | | | like DRM placed on the music, and as such, it |
| in 2001. Labelled everything from prog-hop to | | | | can be seen as a success, especially |
| aggressive, urban chanting, Williams breathed | | | | considering his last album sold 33,897 copies |
| fresh air into an increasingly stale and | | | | in the three years since its release. |
| clichéd genre. After touring in support of | | | | |
| the album, he released his eponymous | | | | Whether this way of releasing music will |
| follow-up in 2004, which attracted attention | | | | become a trend is yet to be seen, but the |
| of Nine Inch Nails front man, Trent Reznor, | | | | fact is that more people have listened to |
| who would select Williams to be NIN's support | | | | Saul than ever before, and hopefully this |
| band while touring Europe on the 2005 'With | | | | year will see him receive the mainstream |
| Teeth' tour. He also supported the Mars Volta | | | | recognition he rightly deserves. |
| and played Lollapalooza in 2006, bringing his | | | | |