Binary Star (Pontiac, MI) – “Reality Check” [Masters of the Universe – 2000]
Binary Star is a hip-hop group formed in 1998, composed of One Be Lo and Senim Silla. The pair met and formed the group during their time in Hiawatha Correctional Facility.
Binary Star’s debut effort, Waterworld was produced on a $500 budget and released in 1999, under the label Terrorist Records. An extensive tour of Michigan followed, as both members of the duo were on parole and were not permitted to leave the state. Binary Star then switched to Subterraneous Records and released Masters of the Universe, named for a track on the album. This album was essentially just a remixed version of Waterworld, but garnered more attention, selling 20,000 copies. However, the pair were not getting along particularly well, and, citing creative differences, Binary Star was disbanded. They reunited briefly in 2002, doing a concert together at Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont, but they did not record any new material.
The group reunited in 2012, and announced it was working on an EP, tentatively titled “Light Years Apart,” which was to be a prequel to a full-length LP.”
On March 29, 2013, Binary Star released its first album in over thirteen years, a self-titled EP, as a celebration of its 15th anniversary as a duo.
| # | Title | Producer(s) | Performer (s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | “Reality Check” | OneManArmy | OneManArmy, Senim Silla |
| 2 | “Conquistadors” | Decompoze | OneManArmy, Senim Silla |
| 3 | “Solar Powered (Intro)” | *Interlude* | |
| 4 | “Solar Powered” | OneManArmy | OneManArmy, Senim Silla |
| 5 | “Slang Blade (Intro)” | *Interlude* | |
| 6 | “Slang Blade” | Decompoze | Senim Silla |
| 7 | “Binary Shuffle (Intro)” | *Interlude* | |
| 8 | “Binary Shuffle” | Senim Silla | OneManArmy, Senim Silla |
| 9 | “Fellowship” | OneManArmy | OneManArmy, Senim Silla, Athletic Mic League, Decompoze |
| 10 | “New Hip Hop” | Decompoze | OneManArmy, Senim Silla |
| 11 | “Masters of the Universe” | Decompoze | OneManArmy, Senim Silla |
| 12 | “Indy 500” | Decompoze | Decompoze |
| 13 | “Evolution of Man” | Decompoze | OneManArmy, Brenda J |
| 14 | “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Part 1)” | Decompoze | Senim Silla |
| 15 | “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Part 2)” | Decompoze | OneManArmy |
| 16 | “Honest Expression” | OneManArmy | OneManArmy, Senim Silla |
| 17 | “Honest Expression (Outro)” | *Interlude* | |
| 18 | “Glen Close” | Decompoze, OneManArmy | OneManArmy |
| 19 | “Wolfman Jack (Intro)” | *Interlude* | |
| 20 | “Wolfman Jack” | Decompoze, OneManArmy | OneManArmy, Senim Silla |
| 21 | “OneManArmy” | OneManArmy | OneManArmy |
| 22 | “The KGB (Intro)” | *Interlude* | |
| 23 | “The KGB” | OneManArmy | Malaki, Senim Silla, Texture, Elzhi, O-Type, Lacks, OneManArmy, J.U.I.C.E. |
| 24 | “Album Outro” | *Interlude* |
