Big Beat Battalion
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Big Beat Battalion | ||
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| Image:Bbb2.jpg BBB in 2006, left to right: Jeff Johnson (Smooth J) and Tyler Leavitt (Grammar G)
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| Background information | ||
| Origin | Boulder City, Nevada | |
| Genre(s) | Nerdcore Big Beat Hip Hop Rock |
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| Years active | 1980's — Present | |
| Label(s) | None | |
| Website | BigBeatBattalion.com | |
| Members | ||
| Jeff Johnson (Smooth J) Tyler Leavitt (Grammar G) |
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Big Beat Battalion is an American two-man hip hop group centralized in Las Vegas, Nevada. Famous for its unique rapping style and clean messages, Big Beat Battalion is different from all other hip hop groups in existence. The Battalion (as it is frequently called by fans) has performed at numerous events around the Las Vegas area and are recognized widely with high school students.
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[edit] History
Smooth J and Grammar G first began their lyrical crusade in the late 1980’s. Smooth, originally from Minnesota, began his hip-hop career in junior high school. He entertained at school dances by mixing the hottest rap tracks and showing off the latest break dancing moves with Lee’s on his legs and Adidas on his feet. Meanwhile, Grammar G was honing his incomparable beat box and practicing his signature metaphorical style. Soon the two would cross paths and begin their hip-hop conquest.
At first, Smooth and Grammar used the instrumental b-sides of cassettes to flow on, but later began creating their own tailor made beats. At present, the Big Beat Battalion have mastered their own instruments to give the duo a unique sound: old school rap meets alternative rock with sample driven block rocking beats. The Big Beat Battalion has performed with Elektra recording artists Better Than Ezra and was recently featured at length in several local newspapers.
[edit] Music Influences
According to Smooth J and Grammar G, the biggest influences on their music have been Run DMC, Public Enemy, the Beastie Boys, Beck, the Beatles, Weezer, the Smashing Pumpkins, Oasis, and U2. Although they are a hip-hop group, the Battalion tends to employ rock emphasis on most of their tracks. This, in turn, produces a sound very similar to the works of the Beastie Boys and Beck.
[edit] Discography
The Big Beat Battalion currently has two studio albums, two underground albums, and a third studio album in the works. "Geek Mythology" and "Changing the World One Song at a Time" were produced before the BBB gained their fame. "Big Beat Battalion" (self-titled) and "Laptop Hip Hop" are the two mainstream albums the BBB has produced. Both studio albums are hailed by Las Vegas journalists as "the big bar of Dial in rap's potty mouth".
[edit] Geek Mythology
1. Intro
2. Look Out
3. Cross-Format Warning
4. Acoustic MCs
5. Lyrical Miracle
6. Doogie Howser MC
7. Extermination
8. Grammar G Headphone Pain
9. It's Like That
10. Jerry Tarkanian
11. The Commish
12. Musty
13. Dolly
14. At the Top
15. Elle-a-Mental
16. As Good As It Gets
17. Angster Rap
18. Illumination
19. The Heck with the NCAA
[edit] Changing the World One Song at a Time
1. Don't Sell Your Soul
2. Tell You Something
3. Keepin' It Realistic
4. Rhymes In Your Head
5. You Can't Stop the Hip Hop
6. Do You Want Some B3?
7. Happy
8. Drop 'Em (Statix)
9. House Broken
10. Shine On
11. Believe
12. CHS Area Codes
13. CHS Fight Song Beat Box Outro
14. CHS Fight Song Remix
[edit] Big Beat Battalion (self-titled)
1. The Preamble
2. Shake It
3. Acoustic MC's
4. We Rock (Geology)
5. Mildew On the Microphone
6. The Fever's Back
7. Keepin' It Realistic
8. Tell You Something
9. High Voltage
10. Don't Sell Your Soul
11. Make Her Mine
12. Can't Stop the Hip Hop
[edit] Laptop Hip Hop
1. This Is How We Rock and Roll
2. Back In the Place
3. Geek Mythology
4. Rhyming Spree
5. B-Boy Stance
6. Stereo Blasting
7. Jabberjaw
8. Illumination
9. Flip the Script
10. Tell You Something (acoustic)
11. Be the One
12. Shake It
13. We Rock (Geology)
[edit] Untitled Third Album
The Big Beat Battalion show no signs of retirement from the nerdcore hip hop scene. A third album is currently in production, with an unknown release date.
