Parker & the Numberman began a hip-hop trio featuring Jack King (aka Parker Edison), Jamal Smith (aka 10 19), and Brandon Zamudio. According to the band, “The proclaimed college graduates would contribute to Negro advancement by grabbing the bull by the horns and leading the uneducated masses to the Promised Land. Du Bois dubbed the future leaders the Talented Tenth.”
The group says its aim is to create “socially relevant tracks aimed squarely at the average Joe.” In 2011, they released a seven-video DVD documentary called Lorna Doone, as well as an EP called Shortbread and another DVD called Shortbread: The Movie.
Their EP Early was nominated for Best Hip-Hop Album at the 2011 San Diego Music Awards. After recording a collaborative EP with Broken Dreams, their early 2012 EP Clockwork Slang was produced by Mr. Ridley (Orko Eloheim, Black Mikey, etc.). In summer 2012, a mixtape called Gondola was posted as the first of a series in a London-based art magazine, Art Wednesday.
The mixtape features mostly new and unreleased Room E tracks (including two live studio sessions with Room ro), two new tracks from Parker & the Numberman (with whom Room E recorded an album of “more straight forward hip hop beats”), and selections from Al Green, the Moody Blues, and more.
In August 2012, the band (now a duo) won Best Hip-Hop Album at the San Diego Music Awards. A solo 4-song cassette tape was released by 10 19 The Numberman in 2014, the Natalie Rose EP.
Parker Edison executive produced a 2015 compilation called Reclaiming the Community, featuring Aki Kharmicel, Odessa Kane, Tiny Doo, and others. In April 2016, Edison released his Parker Meridien EP, produced by Mr. Ripley.