Hometown: Berkeley CA Aliases: 510 Japanda Thug/ Iron Panda Kensho Kuma has lived/ performed throughout mainland China, Japan and the Bay Area, and promotes the education, preservation, and global dominance of Hip Hop culture. Kuma is forever a student of the traditional boom- bap sound, and is influenced by highly- technical MC\'s such as Kool G Rap and Big Pun. He began his recording career at the age of 18, when he was featured on the \"Cattacombs\" compilation released by a major- label in Japan; he has spent the last decade paying dues independently and has expanded into scenes in countries outside of the U.S. Kuma has been featured on numerous projects in different countries; including veteran Japanese beatsmith KK\'s \"Light in a Fog\" album, Bay Area independent artist compilation \"Below the Surface,\" and DJ Mr. Tsang\'s\"Family Business,\" which is being distributed throughout China by the upstart Shanghai Eno Label. Kuma released his first album late \'06. \"Rewritten Code ov Honor\" took approximately 4 years to complete and properly showcases Kuma\'s intricate penmanship, emotional yet solid delivery, and production which features alot of live instrumentation by producer Jovian. The album gained national distribution in Japan, and was a successful debut project. \"Rewritten Code ov Honor\" also features production by Jern Eye and the global street banger \"V.O.L.S w/ Shing02.\" The local scenes of Tokyo, Shanghai and Chengdu anticipate Kuma\'s return, but for now, he is re- establishing himself in the Bay and is working on completing his next- project. Peace