Flipsyde

Flipsyde is an American rap/R&B/rock band from Oakland, California. Flipsyde currently consists of singer/guitarist Steve Knight, lead guitarist Dave Lopez, and rapper The Piper (Jinho Ferreira). Originally they had a fourth member in DJ D-Sharp (Derrick Robinson), who is now replaced by a live band. They have toured extensively with Fort Minor, The Black Eyed Peas, Snoop Dogg and on the Anger Management Tour. Flipsyde’s single, "Someday", was chosen as NBC’s theme song for the 2006 Winter Olympic Games held in Torino, Italy, as well as part of the soundtrack for the 2008 film Never Back Down. Their debut album, We the People, also featured three other singles ("Happy Birthday", "Trumpets (Never Be The Same Again)", and "Angel").

In 2008, following the departure of D-Sharp and the addition of singer Chantelle Paige to the group, Flipsyde once again had a song of theirs selected as a theme song for the Olympics. This time their song "Champion" was chosen as the theme for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, as well as the primary song for EA Sports NBA Live 09 video game. They enjoy touring in India, where their first tour took place in 2005 via VH1’s Hip Hop Hustle, and have already performed there twice and may be planning a third trip. Later that year it was announced through their MySpace that they had started touring with Akon, promoting their second studio album, State of Survival, produced by Akon under Konvict Muzik.[1] The album was released on varying dates across the world via Kon Live Distribution and Cherrytree Records in 2009, and contrary to earlier reports Akon did not feature vocally on any tracks. During the production of Lady Gaga’s first single, "Just Dance", the members of Flipsyde made a cameo in the video with the members displayed sitting around in a screen shot and Chantelle holding a disco ball sitting next to Piper. Steve Knight and Dave Lopez are seen in the lower corners of the screen.

In March 2009, Ferreira ("Piper") was selected to present his original screenplay "Walter’s Boys" in the Tribeca All Access Program (TAA) at the Tribeca Film Festival in Lower Manhattan, New York. "Walter’s Boys" is about "a clandestine training operation led by an ex-CIA agent recruits urban teens, but faces treacherous consequences from the trainees’ intent to break free with the help of a former mentor." Ferreira describes "Walter’s Boys" as "an action thriller inspired by my brother-in-law Sgt. Elijah Warren’s service in the Army’s 5th Special Forces Group. After he committed suicide I felt compelled to share the story I had created with others." On April 24, it was announced that Ferreira’s script won best screenplay at the festival, netting him a $7000 prize as well as an original art piece.

Unfortunately, on September 5, 2009, after months and months of push-backs, Flipsyde was notified that Interscope Records was considering dropping them from the label rather than releasing State of Survival in the United States. Touring plans beyond the month of September were abandoned, and at that time the future of Flipsyde came into question. Piper presumably returned to his screenwriting endeavors and Lopez went on to become part of the experimental Latin band Bang Data.

In early January 2011, Flipsyde announced that they were regrouping but this time with only three members. A new track was posted by the band entitled "Act Like a Cop Did It" which is strongly influenced by the original style of music the group was known for prior to the addition of Paige, such as in the album We the People. The second single by the band was entitled "Livin’ It Up". Their EP entitled The Phoenix has been released as of July 26, 2011.

In June 2012, Flipsyde announced that the new EP entitled Tower of Hollywood will be released on July 31, 2012. It was later pushed back on September 11, 2012.