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