Demigodz are an American hip hop collective founded by Connecticut rappers Open Mic and Reflex. The group was originally named "The Nobility" but Open Mic renamed the group "The Demigodz" with inspiration from one of his own verses. The group has changed several times through the years. As of 2012, the group consists of; Apathy, Celph Titled, Ryu, Esoteric, Motive, & Blacastan.[citation needed]
The group was originally formed in 1990 by Connecticut emcees Open Mic and Reflex. Apathy joined the group after hearing a demo on the University of Connecticut radio station 91.7. The group expanded during the 1990s to include several other members, and they took frequent outings to New York City in order to expose themselves to the East Coast hip hop scene. In the late 1990s, Apathy shifted his focus towards developing his solo career, but the group re-formed in 2000 with Celph Titled, Rise, Open Mic, One-Two, L-Fudge, Louis Logic, and 7L & Esoteric, as well as producer Chum the Skrilla Guerilla. After touring extensively in Europe, the group released the EP "The Godz Must Be Crazy" in 2002.[citation needed]
In 2004, a number of members left the group, leaving only Apathy, Celph Titled, and 7L & Esoteric. New members were subsequently added, including Motive, Blacastan, and Ryu from Styles of Beyond. In 2007, they released the LP "The Godz Must Be Crazier."[1]
In March 2013, Demigodz released their second full-length album, Killmatic, which features guest appearances from Scoop DeVille and R.A. the Rugged Man and production from DJ Premier.[2][3][4][5] After performing as a group for the first time with all members present in November 2012 in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, Apathy and Celph Titled embarked on a tour to promote the new album including venues in the U.S. and Australia.[6] The album received critical acclaim for its adherence to the lyricism and aesthetic of golden age hip hop.[5][7]
History
The Demigodz were founded in 1990 and were originally called The Nobility by rappers who were in their teens at the time; Reflective and Open Mic from Connecticut; they were strongly influenced by the progressive hip-hop of the time, including the Native Tongues Posse and Public Enemy. The pair recorded countless tracks in Reflex garage with lyrics focusing on sci-fi and conspiracy theories.
In an effort to be recognized, the do connected with Connecticut Radio's DJ; Cool C. He played their songs over the local college airwaves, the gossip created by local talk resulted in numerous battles with local rappers, this also increased recognition of the increasingly popular teens. It was also during this time that Open Mic renamed the group to "The Demigodz", this was due to inspiration from one of his own verses. One day when the band played at UConn's 91.7 radio station, they caught the attention of rapper, Apathy, who was also in his teens at the time.
They met Force Five, The Well Vu & Feedback, who taught them the many skills mainly on the "output stage of rap" by allowing them to record together.[citation needed]
By the end of 199 Reflection and Feedback left the group and formed a separate rap group called "Skin N Bones". Open Mic brought in Apathy (who was then known as Apathy Alien tongue) as a member of the group. Alien Nation rap affiliates; MC Eternia and Naptron were chosen to join The Demigodz roster. They put out a new demo that circulated around the underground rap scene and created gossip on the independent hip hop scene.[8]
In 1996, Apathy made contact with Jedi Mind Tricks' Vinnie Paz (then known as "Ikon the Verbal Hologram"). Paz invited Apathy and MC Eternia down to Philadelphia to record verses with each other he was later featured on Jedi Mind Tricks The Psycho-Social, Chemical, Biological & Electro-Magnetic Manipulation of Human Consciousness, on the tracks "The Three Immortals", "Omnicron" and "The Apostles' Creed". Due to good relation with Jedi Mind Tricks, it led to several extensions and new members to join, including duo 7L & Esoteric.
By mid-1997, Eternia and Naptron left The Demigodz group due to personal and musical differences, this also meant the end of the groups relationship with Alien Nation. Apathy began to work as a solo artist and put out several singles and appeared on many compilation discs. Apathy kept the Demigodz name alive by successfully competing in frequent rap battles and openings for acts as Rakim and Black Sheep.[citation needed] Apathy was introduced to Celph Titled, who was attached to a distribution company in New York, soon moved up to the city get a chance to see him personally. Celph also introduced Apathy to the Bronx Science label with which he signed a contract and went on to produce an album Vinyl 12" for the record label.[9]
In 2000 Apathy officially reformed the Demigodz. The new line up included Apathy, Celph Titled, Rise and One Two. Apathy also brought Open Mic out of retirement in the following months and several more additions were made, including L-Fudge, Louis Logic, Spin 4th, and longtime friends 7L & Esoteric. The culmination of their efforts during this era was their EP The Godz Must Be Crazy, which was released in 2002.[10]
In 2004 most of the members left the group; the only members that remained were Apathy, Chum the Skrilla Guerilla, Celph Titled and 7L & Esoteric. They then affiliated with Los Angeles-based Styles of Beyond and joined the Jedi Mind Tricks supergroup collective Army of the Pharaohs.
Apathy released a single on January 15, 2007 named "DemiGodzilla" featuring Motive and Celph Titled.[11] The album was renamed to The Godz Must Be Crazier and was released on November 20, 2007.[12]
In 2009, Get Busy Committee was formed in Los Angeles, California by longtime friends Ryu (Styles of Beyond), Apathy and Scoop DeVille. All production was done by Scoop DeVille and Apathy, while vocals are given by everyone in the group. Their debut album, Uzi Does It, was released for pre-sale download on October 27, 2009 at www.getbusycommittee.com, and available on iTunes and other outlets on November 10.[13] As a result of this, DemiGodz production was put on halt.
On 23 November 2011, Apathy uploaded a new song onto YouTube called "Demigodz Is Back", which featured Apathy, Ryu and Celph Titled, produced by Apathy.[14] The song marked the return of Demigodz.
On May 10, 2012, the pair announced in an interview with hiphopauthority.com that they are working on a new Demigodz album, titled Killmatic.[15] Celph said that the album would contain all six members "Which is: Apathy, Celph Titled, Ryu, Esoteric, Motive, Blacastan." Killmatic was officially released March 5, 2013.[16]
In March 2013, Demigodz released their second full-length album, Killmatic.[2] It features artists from[Scoop DeVille and R.A. the Rugged Man and production from DJ Premier.[3] After performing as a group for the first time with all members present in November 2012 in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, Apathy and Celph Titled embarked on a tour to promote the new album including venues in the U.S. and Australia.[6] The album has received critical acclaim for its adherence to Golden Era hip-hop aesthetics and lyricism.[5][7]
In April 2014, Apathy announced that, he and Celph Titled will be working on another album, as a duo, titled Will Sing for Vengeance and is likely to be released during 2015.[17]
Record label
Oil And Gas Records (sometimes credited as Oil and Gas Entertainment) is a record/entertainment company owned and run by Demigodz. It was originally established on September 10, 2016 by Open Mic & One Two of the original Demigodz rap group but since has been run under Demigodz since Apathy took control of the group. It is an independent record label company. Oil And Gas Records was begun because Demigodz did not think that a regular label would want to produce or market the level of output he wanted to produce. Apathy felt that with his own distribution, he would be able to better control his art and image. He was also of the opinion that the industry-standard "record label" was a defunct business model.
7L & Esoteric (7LES) are an American underground hip hop duo from Boston, Massachusetts, known for battle rhymes and boom bap production. 7L is the duo's DJ/producer and Esoteric is the MC. 7L & Esoteric are both prominent members of underground hip-hop collectives Army of the Pharaohs and Demigodz, as well as being 2/3 of Czarface along with Wu-Tang Clan member Inspectah Deck.
Army of the Pharaohs is an American underground hip hop collective originating from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, formed by Jedi Mind Tricks founder Vinnie Paz in 1998. The collective has strong links to other underground east coast groups such as OuterSpace, Snowgoons, La Coka Nostra, Demigodz, 7L & Esoteric, and JuJu Mob. AOTP's affiliations and member roster has changed several times since its formation.
Styles of Beyond was an American underground hip hop group from the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, California. The group consists of MCs Ryan Patrick Maginn (Ryu) and Takbir Bashir (Tak), Colton Raisin Fisher, and producer Jason Rabinowitz. They have released two LPs, one mixtape and were heavily featured on Mike Shinoda's Fort Minor project in 2005. At one point they were also signed to Shinoda's Machine Shop Recordings label, although they left the label in late 2008. They are also heavily associated with the underground rap group Demigodz which features similar underground artists such as Apathy, Celph Titled, and 7L & Esoteric.
OuterSpace is an underground hip hop duo from North Philadelphia. Originally a trio consisting of three Puerto Rican friends that then took the artist names Planetary, Jedeye and Crypt the Warchild. The founding member Mario Collazo (Planetary) was then attending 10th grade, while the other two, Richard Cruz (Jedeye) and Marcus Albaladejo, were in 8th grade.
Chad Aaron Bromley, better known by his stage name Apathy, is a rapper and producer from Willimantic, Connecticut.
Vincenzo Luviner, better known as Vinnie Paz, is an Italian-born American rapper and producer behind the Philadelphia underground hip hop group Jedi Mind Tricks. He is also the frontman of the hip hop collective Army of the Pharaohs.
The Torture Papers is the debut album by underground hip hop collective Army of the Pharaohs, released March 21, 2006 on Babygrande Records. The crew was established in 1998 by Jedi Mind Tricks frontman Vinnie Paz, and originally featured Jedi Mind Tricks, Chief Kamachi, 7L & Esoteric, Virtuoso and Bahamadia. Virtuoso and Bahamadia later split from the group, which now consists of Paz, Kamachi, 7L & Esoteric, Apathy, OuterSpace, King Syze, Reef the Lost Cauze, Des Devious, Celph Titled and Faez One. An Army of the Pharaohs collaboration album was rumored to be in the works for years, but was often delayed due to separate projects and internal problems, however a mixtape titled After Torture There's Pain was released in 2007.
Marcus Albaladejo, better known by his stage name Crypt the Warchild, is an underground rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Albaladejo is one half of the rap duo OuterSpace and is a member of Army of the Pharaohs. Crypt the Warchild is the older brother of rapper King Syze, who is also a member of Army of the Pharaohs.
David Albaladejo is an underground rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, of Puerto Rican descent. He is a member of the underground hip hop supergroup Army of the Pharaohs (AOTP), having featured on all their studio albums. He is known for his frequent collaboration with AOTP members; OuterSpace. Outside of rap, Albaladejo works as a member of a trade union which has inspired the names of many of his studio albums.
Mario Collazo, better known by his stage name Planetary, is an American underground rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is one half of the rap duo OuterSpace and a member of Army of the Pharaohs.
Kenneth Greene, better known by his stage name Doap Nixon, is an American hip hop artist and rapper who is a former member of supergroup Army of the Pharaohs. He has collaborated with a variety of underground hip hop artists and released his debut full solo album, Sour Diesel in 2008.
The discography of the hip hop group Styles of Beyond.
Wanna Snuggle? is the second solo studio album by American rapper and record producer Apathy. It was released on October 6, 2009 via Demigodz Enterprises. Recording sessions took place at The Sneakerbox Mansion, Temple Studios in Los Angeles, The Chrome Depot, Ducada Studios and Triple Threat Studios. Production was handled by Teddy Roxpin, Joey Doughnuts, Mike Shinoda, Smoke The World, and Apathy himself. It features guest appearances from Emilio Lopez, Skylar Grey, Blacastan, Blue Raspberry, B-Real, Celph Titled, Chip Fu, Dose, J-Live, King Magnetic, Mike Mass, Motive, Phonte, Ryu and Veze Skante.
Get Busy Committee was a hip hop group consisting of underground rapper Apathy, Styles of Beyond's Ryu, and producer Scoop DeVille.
Victor Mercer, better known by his stage name Celph Titled, is an American rapper and record producer who is a member of the hip hop supergroup Army of the Pharaohs, as well as the Demigodz along with Connecticut rapper Apathy, Ryu from Get Busy Committee, and rapper Blacastan and Esoteric.
In Death Reborn is the fourth studio album by the underground hip hop collective Army of the Pharaohs. The album was released on April 22, 2014, via Vinnie Paz's independent record label, Enemy Soil. The album features members Vinnie Paz, Apathy, Blacastan, Block McCloud, Celph Titled, Crypt The Warchild, Demoz, Des Devious, Doap Nixon, Esoteric, King Magnetic, King Syze, Planetary, Reef the Lost Cauze and Zilla, with a guest appearance by Lawrence Arnell. The only member who did not appear on the album was Jus Allah, also affiliated with Jedi Mind Tricks; it was later confirmed that Allah had left both groups.
KILLmatic is the second studio album by American hip hop collective Demigodz. It was released on March 5, 2013 via Dirty Version Records. Recording sessions took place at HeadQcourterz Studios in New York. Production was handled by Teddy Roxpin, Chumzilla, DJ Premier, Marco Polo, Skammadix, Snowgoons, Will C., and Apathy, who also served as executive producer together with Celph Titled and Open Mic. It features guest appearances from Eternia, Panch, Planetary, R.A. the Rugged Man, Scoop DeVille and Termanology.
The Gatalog: A Collection of Chaos is a compilation album by underground rapper and Army of the Pharaohs/Demigodz member Celph Titled. The album was released with a four disc special. Mercer released a compilation titled The Gatalog, a four-disc set of his guest appearances and freestyles, going back to his early releases from 1998, as his official first offering to a thriving fanbase that already viewed him as a seasoned veteran. After the release of The Gatalog and a move back to Tampa, Mercer spent three years working with the Diggin' In The Crates (D.I.T.C.) multi-platinum producer, Buckwild, on his first album, Nineteen Ninety Now, released on October 26, 2010, on No Sleep Recordings.
The discography of Celph Titled, an underground rapper from Tampa, Florida.
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