Serengeti & Polyphonic, an avant-garde hip-hop duo from Chicago, didn't officially form until 2007 with the release of their debut full-length, Don't Give Up, but the two musicians had long been a part of the city's experimentally rich music scene since the early part of the millennium. Polyphonic, born Will Freyman (also known as Polyphonic the Verbose), grew up in Champaign, IL, playing classical piano and jazz trombone, among other instruments, performing in everything from Indonesian gamelan to Medieval choruses to a 12-piece hip-hop big band he put together himself. After studying classical musical composition at the University of Illinois, Freyman began to delve into production: as part of the group Dolce Stil Nuovo (who released albums in 2001, 2003, and 2004), and for Pugzlee Atomz's 2001 record Playing with Matches, as well as co-producing experimental rapper Wick's debut, Locket in a Well in 2006. That same year, Polyphonic released his solo debut, Abstract Data Ark, which featured a number of guest MC spots, including one from Serengeti, whom he had met at party a couple of years before.