This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
M.O.P. | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Also known as | Mash Out Posse, The Marxmen |
Origin | Brooklyn, New York City, U.S. |
Genres | |
Years active | 1992–present |
Labels |
|
Members | Lil' Fame Billy Danze |
M.O.P. (short for Mash Out Posse) is an American hip hop duo composed of East Coast rappers Billy Danze and Lil' Fame. [1] [2] After years of underground performance, they gained mainstream recognition in 2000 with the song "Ante Up", which would become their biggest hit. [1] [2] The group has frequently collaborated with DJ Premier and is part of the Gang Starr Foundation. Fame sometimes produces under the moniker Fizzy Womack, and has produced tracks on every M.O.P. release since 1996's Firing Squad . He has also worked for other artists including Kool G Rap and Wu-Tang Clan. [3]
Lil' Fame (Jamal Grinnage; born April 9, 1975) [4] and Billy Danze (Eric Murray; born November 15, 1971) [4] grew up together in the neighborhood of Brownsville, Brooklyn, New York City, New York. They formed a street gang called Mash Out Posse. [2] They later formed a hip hop duo under the same name. Danze reported that they kept "losing people in between albums;" their music often reflects emotional themes with a driving beat. [5]
After contributing to the 1992 compilation The Hill That's Real, M.O.P. debuted in 1993 with the single "How About Some Hardcore?", which appeared on the soundtrack for the film House Party 3 . [6] The underground success of the single, promoted by a low-budget video from then-unknown director Hype Williams, led to their debut album To the Death . [5] It was released in 1994 on the small label Select Records, almost fully produced by DR Period.
In 1996, M.O.P. released their second effort, Firing Squad, [7] under the slightly larger label Relativity Records. Production duties now involved Gang Starr's DJ Premier and Lil' Fame himself, and the group continued to grow their following. In 1998 M.O.P. released the Handle Ur Bizness EP, soon followed by the album First Family 4 Life . Once again, much of the record was produced by DJ Premier and Lil' Fame. The album also featured guest appearances by Guru of Gang Starr, Treach of Naughty by Nature, OC of Diggin' in the Crates Crew and Jay-Z. The album was the most-stolen album from New York City's HMV stores in 1998. [6]
M.O.P.'s fan base was loyal but remained 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, with whom they had not worked with since their debut. The single was a hit and propelled the album to #25 on the Billboard 200 chart. [8] The follow-up single, self-produced "Cold As Ice" (which featured a sample from "Cold As Ice" by Foreigner), also received radio airplay, [5] although several of the song's lyrics had to be censored for the radio version. It was used in the UK on a TV advert for Maclean's Ice Whitening toothpaste. Both "Ante Up" and "Cold as Ice" reached the top ten on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at #7 and #4 respectively. [9] In 2001, M.O.P. collaborated with Krumbsnatcha to make the song "W.O.L.V.E.S.", which appeared on the soundtrack for the film Training Day . [10]
In 2001, a successful remix of "Ante Up" was released featuring Busta Rhymes, Remy Ma, and Teflon. [5] That same year, they collaborated on a song titled "Life is Good" with the pop group LFO. The song reached #40 on Billboard's Hot Singles Sales chart. [11] Both singles continued the Posse's mainstream success.
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. [5] 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 anticipated album was shelved. Two other albums were recorded: one titled The Last Generation, and the other titled Kill Nigga Die Slo Bluckka Bluckka Bloaoow Blood Sweat Tears and We Out. [12] A Dash-produced track "It's That Simple" with Spice Girl Victoria Beckham was created, and received a premiere on radio stations in July 2003. This generated mixed reviews and further criticism, specifically that Beckham was unconvincing as an urban act.
During this period, the group released a slew of mixtapes and appeared on soundtracks to films such as Bad Boys II . They contributed two songs ("Ground Zero" and "Put it in the Air") to the video game NFL Street 2 , and ("Fire") to Fight Night 2004 . They also contributed Ante Up to the third installment of the popular Midnight Club video game series. In 2004, M.O.P. joined the American rap rock band Linkin Park on the second stage of the Projekt Revolution Tour. [3]
The group also released a mixtape called Marxmen Cinema (under the name The Marxmen), as well as a self-titled rap rock album (under the name Mash Out Posse) recorded as a collaboration with heavy metal group Shiner Massive. [6] 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. Following this, the group announced their departure from Roc-A-Fella and Dame Dash in May 2005. [12]
In 2005, M.O.P. began affiliating with 50 Cent's G-Unit Records, around the same time as Queens rap duo Mobb Deep. [13] In July of the same year they were signed to the label. [14] The duo completed the song "When Death Becomes You" with 50 Cent which was featured on the Get Rich or Die Tryin' soundtrack, [15] and also contributed their rap vocals in a remix of "I'll Whip Ya Head Boy". [16] At the end of the year, M.O.P. released a compilation album entitled M.O.P. Salutes the St. Marxmen , consisting of both new and old tracks. [17] In July 2006, M.O.P released the long-shelved Ghetto Warfare . [18]
In February 2008, M.O.P. separated from G-Unit Records, due to creative differences. [19] Billy and Fame released their next album, The Foundation, in 2009 on E1 Music. The album featured production from DJ Premier, Statik Selektah, The Alchemist, and Jake One, and guest appearances from Heltah Skeltah, Busta Rhymes, Jadakiss, Beanie Sigel, Styles P and Redman. [20] The first single from the album "Blow the Horns" featuring Busta Rhymes, and "Street Life," a collaboration with dancehall artist Demarco, were both released on the internet.
On October 14, 2008, M.O.P. filed suit in a New York Federal Court against World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and John Cena. The group claims that Cena and the WWE stole parts of their song "Ante Up" for Cena's theme song "The Time is Now". The theme song is also featured as the first track on Cena's album You Can't See Me . The lawsuit has since been dropped, and it is unknown if a settlement was reached outside of court. [4]
In June 2009, Wu-Tang Chamber Music compilation album was released, majority of which was produced by Lil' Fame (as Fizzy Womack). [21] M.O.P. themselves appeared on the track "Ill Figures" alongside Raekwon and Kool G Rap. [22] Lil' Fame also produced the 2011 Wu-Tang Clan compilation Legendary Weapons alongside Noah Rubin and Andrew Kelley. [23]
On October 24, 2011, M.O.P. released "Get Yours", [24] their first single from their collaborative album Sparta with the German production team Snowgoons, on Babygrand Records. [25]
Lil Fame and Termanology teamed up on a collaborative album, Fizzyology . It was released on November 6, 2012, via Brick Records. [26]
On November 18, 2014, M.O.P. released a new EP, Street Certified, on Nature Sounds. It is executive produced by DJ Premier and features guest appearances from Maino, Mobb Deep and Busta Rhymes. [27] In 2019, M.O.P. released the single "Never Give Up" with DJ Tomekk. [28]
Danze and Fame each contributed a verse to DJ Kayslay's 2020 track "Rolling 50 Deep" alongside 48 other MCs. [29]
Clifford Smith, Jr., better known by his stage name Method Man, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. He is a member of the East Coast hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan, and is half of the hip hop duo Method Man & Redman. He took his stage name from the 1979 film Method Man. In 1996, Method Man won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for "I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By", featuring R&B singer Mary J. Blige, with whom he currently stars in Power Book II: Ghost, a spin-off of Power.
Jason Richard Hunter, better known by his stage name Inspectah Deck, is an American rapper and hip hop producer. He is a member of the groups Wu-Tang Clan and Czarface.
Roc-A-Fella Records was an American hip hop record label and music management company founded by record executives and entrepreneurs Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, Damon Dash, and Kareem "Biggs" Burke in 1994. Carter issued his debut album, Reasonable Doubt (1996) as the label's first release, in a joint venture with Priority Records. The label has signed and released albums for acts including Kanye West, Cam'ron, Beanie Sigel, Memphis Bleek, Juelz Santana, Freeway, Jadakiss, Teairra Marí, State Property, and The Diplomats before its dissolution in 2013.
Joseph Anthony Hernandez, professionally known as Tony Touch, is an American hip hop break dancer, rapper, record producer and DJ of Puerto Rican descent.
Loud Records, LLC. is a record label founded by Steve Rifkind and Rich Isaacson in 1991. Rifkind served as the chief executive officer while Isaacson served as the president of the label.
A Gangster and a Gentleman is the debut studio album by American rapper Styles P. The album was released on July 9, 2002, through Ruff Ryders Entertainment and Interscope Records. Styles P was the second member of the Lox to record a solo album, after Kiss Tha Game Goodbye by Jadakiss was released in August 2001.
Aaron Ocosice Phillip, better known by his stage name Afu-Ra, is an American underground rapper. A member of the Gang Starr Foundation, he has worked closely with its members, including Gang Starr, Jeru the Damaja, Big Shug and Group Home.
Warriorz is the fourth full-length studio album released by M.O.P., a hip hop duo composed of emcees Billy Danze and Lil' Fame. The album was released on October 10, 2000. Despite the growing popularity of M.O.P., this album marked their last major-label-affiliated release until Foundation in 2009, as Loud Records folded in 2002. Warriorz is M.O.P.'s most successful album by far. It debuted 65 places higher on the Billboard 200 charts than its previously highest-selling album, First Family 4 Life.
American hip hop duo M.O.P. have released six studio albums, three compilation albums, one mixtape, one extended play (EP) and twenty-seven singles.
Wu-Tang Chamber Music is a compilation album endorsed by Wu-Tang Clan, which was released through E1 Music/Universal Records on June 30, 2009. The album features performances by several Wu-Tang members and affiliates. The album was released to positive reviews from music critics. This album was followed up with the 2011 compilation album Legendary Weapons.
Foundation is the fifth studio album by the American hip hop duo M.O.P., from Brownsville, New York. It was released on September 15, 2009 via E1 Music. Production was handled by DR Period, Statik Selektah, DJ Green Lantern, DJ Premier, Kil, M-Phazes, Nottz, Ron G, Taylor Made, and member Lil' Fame under his Fizzy Womack alias, with Laze-E-Laze serving as executive producer. It features guest appearances from DeMarco, Redman, Rell, Styles P, Termanology and The Revelations.
Blakroc is a studio album by American rock band The Black Keys, in collaboration with Damon Dash, co-founder and former co-owner of Roc-A-Fella Records, who oversaw the project. The album features guest appearances from several hip hop and R&B acts, namely Mos Def, Nicole Wray, Pharoahe Monch, Ludacris, Billy Danze of M.O.P., Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest, Jim Jones and NOE of ByrdGang, as well as Raekwon, RZA and Ol' Dirty Bastard of Wu-Tang Clan.
Snowgoons is a German underground hip hop production team composed of DJ Illegal and Det Gunner. In 2011, producers Sicknature from Denmark and J.S. Kuster from Germany joined the group.
"Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory)" (rendered on digital platforms as "Ante Up (Robbin Hoodz Theory)", and also simply known as "Ante Up") is a song by American hip hop duo M.O.P. from their fourth studio album Warriorz (2000). Seen as their breakthrough single, it was released in 2000 and reached number 7 on the UK Singles Chart. A remix of the song features Busta Rhymes, Remy Martin and Teflon. The remix CD includes an additional version which features Funkmaster Flex.
Shante Scott Franklin, better known by his stage name Currensy, is an American rapper. Born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, he was signed to hip hop labels such as Cash Money and Young Money before founding his own label Jet Life Recordings, in 2011.
Michael Januario better known by his stage name M-Dot is an American rapper and producer. Before becoming a rap musician, Januario played college basketball at BHCC, MCLA and Fitchburg State.
Wu Block is a collaborative studio album by American rappers Ghostface Killah and Sheek Louch. Louch announced the album in 2011, in an interview. The album was released on November 27, 2012, by E1 Music. The album features guest appearances from Raekwon, Jadakiss, Cappadonna, Method Man, Styles P, Masta Killa, GZA, Erykah Badu and Inspectah Deck.
Fizzyology is the first collaboration album from Termanology and M.O.P. member Lil' Fame. It was released on November 6, 2012 on Brick Records. Guest appearances by Bun B, Freeway, Busta Rhymes, Styles P, Lee Wilson, and Kira. Fizzy Womack produced the majority of the songs with the help of DJ Premier, The Alchemist, Statik Selektah, and J-Waxx Garfield.
#WakeDaFucUp is the sixth studio album by American hip hop group Onyx, released on March 18, 2014 by Goon MuSick. The album is entirely produced by Snowgoons. The album features guest appearances from Sean Price, Makem Pay, Papoose, Cormega, Dope D.O.D., Reks, Snak the Ripper and ASAP Ferg.
"Champions" is a collaborative song by hip hop artists Damon Dash, Kanye West, Beanie Sigel, Cam'ron, Young Chris and Twista. It is listed as the first track on the second disc of the Paid in Full soundtrack. The song includes a sped-up sample of "We Are the Champions" by Queen. It was originally scheduled to be a bonus track on West's album The College Dropout (2004).