Artifacts

The Artifacts were an American hip hop duo from Newark, New Jersey, composed of El Da Sensei and Tame One. They are best known for their first two albums, 1994’s Between A Rock And A Hard Place and 1997’s That’s Them, the latter being named after the duo’s original name. Both albums are highly praised in the underground hip hop community. They are also known for their songs Wrong Side of da Tracks, Art of Facts, C'mon Wit Da Git Down, and The Ultimate. They broke up in 1997 and briefly reunited in 2009, and did not officially reunite until 2013. Their final album, No Expiration Date, was released on November 4th, 2022, and was produced entirely by Buckwild. It was the first Artifacts album in 25 years.

Tame One passed away on November 5th, 2022, just a day after the release of their third album, from heart failure at age 52. DJ Kaos was also a member for a short time but passed away as well before Tame One did. El Da Sensei continues to make music.