Artist Bio

Ras Ceylon is an emcee, educator and community organizer based in Oakland, California. With over 30 years of recording and performing Hip Hop and Reggae music, he is widely recognized as the first Sri Lankan rap artist to release an album in the West (debuting in 1999). Alongside his work in education and grassroots organizing, his songs are rooted in raw lyricism, spirituality and the preservation of revolutionary history, earning him a respected place internationally within independent music and social justice movements. You can find him performing live across diverse stages and communities bringing the same message to audiences locally and globally.

Beyond the stage, Ras Ceylon has spent decades advancing youth empowerment, movement building, and political change. A longtime associate of Chairman Fred Hampton Jr. and the Black Panther Party Cubs, Ras Ceylon is also a member of Sizzla Kalonji's Judgment Yard family and the Wu-Tang Killa Beez collective. His ninth album, Scrollz of Lion Rock, is co-hosted by Timbo King and executive produced by the late Oliver "PoWer" Grant. Featuring collaborations with Cappadonna, Prodigal Sunn, DJ Mathematics and more. This project continues his lifelong commitment to using music as a vehicle for knowledge, consciousness, and liberation.