Source of Labor was a rap band formed in 1989 in Seattle, Washington, consisting of Wordsayer, Negus I, DJ Kamikaze, and later, Vitamin D.[1] Wordsayer and Negus I are brothers and Kamikaze was their roommate when they began performing at Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center in Seattle's Central District in 1989.
[2] Source of Labor began a collective at that time that evolved into a record label called Jasiri Media Group.
[3] Source of Labor was loosely associated with the female rap act Beyond Reality, whose lead, MC Kylea, was Wordsayer's partner and mother of his first child.
[3] Source of Labor has been an inspiration to many other artists like Nardwuar the Human Serviette, Ryan Lewis, Strath Shepard, and Thee Satisfaction.
Some credit the group's front man, Wordsayer, with personally moving hip-hop out of Seattle's Central District and into the rest of the city.