M.O.P.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| M.O.P. | |
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| Origin | New York City, USA |
| Years active | 1994 – Present |
| Genres | Rap & Hip-Hop |
| Labels | Select Street Records (1993-1994) Relativity Records (1995-1999) Loud Records (2000-2002) Roc-A-Fella (2002-2004) G-Unit/Interscope (2005-present) |
| Members | Billy Danzenie Lil' Fame |
M.O.P., short for Mash-Out Posse, is a hardcore American hip hop duo from Brownsville, Brooklyn, comprised of rappers Billy Danzenie (born Eric Murray, November 15, 1974), and Lil' Fame (born Jamal Grinnage, on April 11, 1976). The duo are known for their colorful (and often violently aggressive) delivery. Although they maintain a strong underground following, they had some minor mainstream success in the early 2000s with the songs "Cold As Ice" and "Ante Up (Remix)". The group has frequently collaborated with DJ Premier.
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[edit] Biography
Childhood friends, Billy and Fame, grew up in a rough section of Brownsville and were members of a neighborhood gang named Mash Out Posse headed by Fame's older brother, Big Mal. With a desire to express themselves through rap, they formed a group named after their gang. Originally, Fame was the DJ of the group. With encouragement from Big Mal, Fame began to write his own rhymes.
Unfortunately, Big Mal was gunned down shortly before M.O.P. debuted in 1993, with the single "How About Some Hardcore?" which appeared on the soundtrack for House Party 3. The underground success of the single, promoted by a gritty, low-budget video from then-unknown director Hype Williams, led to their debut album To the Death. It was a dark and raging LP, released in 1994 on the small label Select Records. The album was fully produced by DR Period.
In 1996, M.O.P. released their second effort, Firing Squad. Hoping for better promotion, they signed with Relativity Records. Changing record labels and production duties (the album was partly produced by Gang Starr's DJ Premier and by Lil' Fame himself), the group still kept their hardcore and energetic style, and gained a slightly larger following this time round. 1998 saw the Handle Ur Bizness EP, which was soon followed by the album First Family 4 Life . Working with the same formula, again with a heavy percentage of the record produced by DJ Premier and Lil' Fame, the album featured guest appearances by Guru of Gangstarr, Treach of Naughty By Nature and Jay-Z. During this time, both Fame's and Danze's mothers died.
M.O.P.'s fanbase was loyal but remained rather small until 2000, when they released Warriorz, this time on Loud Records. Mainstream radio began playing the first single, "Ante Up", produced by DR Period whom they had not worked with since their debut. The single, containing a sample from Sam & Dave's "Soul Sister, Brown Sugar", was a major radio hit and propelled the album to #25 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart. The follow-up single, the self-produced "Cold As Ice" (which featured a sample from "Cold As Ice" by Foreigner), also received radio airplay, although almost half of the song's lyrics had to be censored for the radio version.
In 2001, a remix of "Ante Up" was released featuring Busta Rhymes, Remy Martin, and Teflon, which was also very well received. That same year, they collaborated on a song titled "Life is Good" with the teen pop boy band Lyte Funky Ones. The song reached #82 on the Billboard Singles chart. Both singles continued the Posse's long-awaited mainstream success.
Warriorz is the last major-label release from M.O.P. to date. In 2002, Loud Records folded, leaving the group stranded. In 2003, Loud's parent label Sony/Columbia issued a greatest hits album titled 10 Years And Gunnin'. M.O.P. later joined Jay-Z and Damon Dash's Roc-A-Fella Records. The move appeared to cement the group's future for greater mainstream success. Their first recording for the label was a guest appearance on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint 2: The Gift & the Curse; they were set to release their album titled Ghetto Warfare, but the eagerly anticipated album was shelved. According to M.O.P. themselves, two other albums were recorded: one under the title The Last Generation, the other entitled Kill Nigga Die Slo Bluckka Bluckka Bloaoow Blood Sweat Tears and We Out. [1]
During this waiting period the group kept busy by releasing a slew of mixtapes and appearing on soundtracks to films such as Bad Boys II. They also contributed two songs ("Ground Zero" and "Put it in the Air") to the popular game NFL Street 2, and another ("Fire") to Fight Night 2004 - another video game. Also in 2004 M.O.P. joined the successful rapcore band Linkin Park on the second stage of the Projekt Revolution Tour along with other acts such as Downset, Nu Metal Starters, KoRn and Snoop Dogg.
The group also released a mixtape called Marxmen Cinema (under the name The Marxmen), as well as a self-titled rock-rap album (under the name Mash Out Posse). In 2004, Damon Dash sold his share of Roc-A-Fella to new Def Jam president, Jay-Z, and kept M.O.P. on his new label, Dame Dash Music Group. The group was left feeling uncomfortable with the situation.
In June 2005, M.O.P. officially announced their signing with 50 Cent's G-Unit Records, around the same time as Queens rap duo Mobb Deep. 50 Cent is a big fan of the group, and has stated his plans to gain the group more mainstream success. Months after the signing, M.O.P. released a compilation album entitled M.O.P. Salutes the St. Marxmen, consisting of several tracks recorded while the group was signed to Roc-A-Fella.
In July 2006, M.O.P released the long-shelved Ghetto Warfare.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- 1994 To The Death (Select Records) - April 7, 1994
- 1996 Firing Squad (Relativity) - October 22, 1996
- 1996 Handle Ur Bizness [EP] (Relativity) - 1996
- 1998 First Family 4 Life (Relativity) - August 11, 1998
- 2000 Warriorz (Loud) - October 10, 2000
- 2002 Blakka Blakka Piow (Mixtape) - 2002
- 2003 10 Years and Gunnin'' (greatest hits) (Sony) - April 1, 2003
- 2004 Mash Out Posse (Family First Productions) - May 25, 2004
- 2004 Marxmen Cinema (2-Cd)(Mixtape) - 2004
- 2005 St. Marxmen (Koch Records) - October 18, 2005
- 2006 Ghetto Warfare (Copppertop) - July 25, 2006
- 2007 Yearly Physical (G-Unit/Interscope Records) - May, 2007[2]
[edit] Singles
- "How About Some Hardcore" (1993)
- "Rugged Neva Smoove" (1994)
- "Dead & Gone" (1996)
- "World Famous" (1997)
- "Handle Ur Bizness" (1998)
- "G Building" (2000)
- "Ante Up" (2000)
- "Ante Up (Remix)" (feat. Busta Rhymes, Remy Ma & Teflon) (2001)
- "Cold As Ice" (2001)
- "Hilltop Flava/Ground Zero" (2004)
- "Murder Rate" (feat. Papoose) (2006)
[edit] Appearances
- "When Death Becomes U" (50 Cent)
- "Stand Clear" (Adam F)
- "New York Giants" (Big Pun)
- "Bumpy Bring It Home" (Freddie Foxxx)
- "1/2 & 1/2" (Gang Starr)
- "The First ,The Last ,And The Only" (Memphis Bleek)
- "U Don't Know (Remix)" (Jay-Z)
- "W.O.L.V.E.S." (Krumbsnatcha)
- "Jealousy" (Kurupt)
- "My Planet" (Teflon)
- "My Will" (Teflon)
- "Rawness" (Teflon)
- "Let It Bang" (X-Ecutioners)
- "From B.K. to L.A." (Xzibit)
- "Symphony" (EPMD))
- "Let It Go" (Cormega)
- "The Mastas" (Bumpy Knuckles)
- "B.I. vs. Friendship" (Gang Starr)
- "Who Got Gunz?" (Gang Starr)
- "Life is Good" (Lyte Funky Ones)
- "Sit 'Em Back Slow" (AZ)
- "Heads Off (My Niggas)" (Lil Jon & The Eastside Boyz)
- "Ready For War" (Busta Rhymes)
- "Stop The Show" (The Alchemist)
- "No Mercy" (Pharoahe Monch)
[edit] Trivia
- Lil' Fame has been featured as a producer in the March/ April 07 issue of Scratch magazine.
