Casual (rapper)

Casual
Casual performing in 2006
Background information
Birth name	Jon Owens
Born	(1973-12-19) December 19, 1973 (age 50)
Origin	Oakland, California, United States
Genres	Hip hop
Occupations	Rapper producer
Instrument	Vocals
Years active	1992–present
Website	casual1.bandcamp.com

Jonathan Owens (born December 19, 1973), known by his stage name Casual, is an American rapper, producer, and one of the founding members of the alternative hip hop collective Hieroglyphics.^[1][2] He also reads and has been studying Egyptian Hieroglyphics for many years, makes videos on the subject on his YouTube channel Smash Rockwell as well writing about it on his blog Rap God. As a rapper Casual initially became known for his freestyle battle rhymes in the Bay Area hip hop scene and later developing into a solo artist. He is known for diverse lyrics, a complex multisyllabic East Coast influenced flow but with a distinctive Oakland accent. Casual's debut album Fear Itself released on Jive records in 1994 when he was 17 years old garnered both critical and commercial success. Along with Del the Funkee Homosapien Casual went on to become one of the most prominent and recognizable faces of the Hieroglyphics crew, releasing three albums all on the Hieroglyphics crew's own label, Hiero Imperium. He has released thirteen solo albums as of 2023.