Born in 1987 to immigrant parents, Adam Rashid Traore better known by his stage name A-1, is a first generation American rapper from the San Francisco Bay Area. Born and raised in the Mission District of San Francisco, A-1 was brought up by his Italian mother and mentored by his Senegalese father who both introduced him to an extreme diversity of cultures from a young age. Being exposed to so many walks of life helped define A's open-minded and charismatic nature, as well as added to his artistic creativity.

Since debuting as a solo artist in early 2009, A-1 has dropped 6 independent mixtapes and is releasing his 7th mixtape, "After School Special" in August 2010.

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