Sumach Valentine Ecks (born 1978), better known by his stage name Gonjasufi, is an American vocalist, songwriter, producer, instrumentalist, disc jockey, actor and yoga teacher from San Diego, CA.

Valentine is the family name, given to me, Ecks is the name I took on. X – but I spelt it phonetically just to fuck with it. It’s crazy that Valentine is my family name – it makes sense because I’ve got a lot of heart to give. But at the same time, because I’ve got a lot of heart, I get a lot of pain, to the point where I can’t give any more. X is like drawing a line, X, this goes no further, this is it, man, let’s move on from here.

He studied Islam at college, being attracted to the pursuit of divine unity pioneered by Sufi mystics (who will later inspire his moniker Gonjasufi). He has also studied the Rastafari movement and the teachings of Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita.

Born to a Mexican mother and an American-Ethiopian father, both Coptic Christians, he was raised in Chula Vista, CA. He took his first steps in the hip-hop scene as a member of the San Diego-based Masters Of The Universe collective.

In the early 2000s he released two self-produced albums, Dead Midget on Stilts (Crutches) and Flamingo Gimpp, under the name Sumach.

In 2008 he signed for Warp thanks to an appearance on Flying Lotus‘ album Los Angeles, where he provides vocals on track “Testament.”

Two years later, he released his critically acclaimed debut album A Sufi and a Killer, produced by The Gaslamp Killer, Flying Lotus and Mainframe.