Polyester the Saint

Forget gangster rap. A new generation is leading L.A. hip-hop towards a brighter future defined more by the city's sunny skies than its criminal underbelly. The Dr. Dre figure overseeing this transformation is Polyester the Saint. The producer, rapper, singer and multi-instrumentalist was the driving force (along with co-producer Lazy Lou) behind 2009's LAUSD Presents: Curly Tops & Nautica Jackets, a scene-capturing, L.A.-artists-only mixtape that featured Pac Dic, U-N-I, Blu and Dom Kennedy, among others. Now Polyester, who's also produced for Too Short and E-40 and collaborates regularly with electro-soul duo J*DaVeY and Sa-Ra's Taz Arnold, is stepping out with his own solo album, Peace Love Unity Respect. Far from traditional hip-hop, his eclectic, leftfield sound borrows equally from jazz and funk—think Andre 3000's The Love Below, if it came from the West Coast in 2010. Born Christian St. James Cleveland on October 10, 1982, Polyester the Saint (The unusual stage moniker comes from his preference for funky '70s gear, and his middle name) grew up knee deep in music. His grandfather was the late Rev. James Cleveland, the father of modern gospel music, and his uncle is Jeffrey Daniels of Shalamar and Soul Train fame. His own father, Andre Cleveland, was a producer and promoter whose parties in the 1990s gave a young Poly the opportunity to rub elbows with everyone from Snoop to Usher while still in his teens. A drummer since the age of 5, his plan initially was to become a touring musician. But his life changed when a close friend of his father's—none other than Stevie Wonder—gave him a Yamaha keyboard for Christmas at age 13.