Rack-Lo

Last updated
Rack-Lo
BornGeorge Billips
Brooklyn
OccupationRapper and Author
NationalityAmerican

George Billips, better known by his stage name Rack-Lo, is an American author and rapper [1] [2] from Brooklyn, and a founding member of the Lo Lifes. [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

Contents

Lo Lifes

In 1988, Rack-Lo co-founded the Lo Lifes, a Ralph Lauren Polo "racking" or "boosting" (shoplifting) crew that formed from the union of two smaller crews from Brownsville and Crown Heights neighborhoods in Brooklyn. [6] [8] [9] [10] His nickname combines "rack" with "lo", short for Polo. [3] In an interview with Fader, Rack-Lo recalls the appeal of Polo:

"By seeing the clothing it inspired us to know that there was more to life than being in Brooklyn and being stuck here, living at this limited pace. It inspired us to pursue those things: to go yachting, to be on Fifth Avenue, to be a part of the rich and the elite, and to try and acquire the American Dream the way we know how to do it. And that was through fashion and boosting." [6]

In 2016, powerHouse Books published Rack-Lo and Jackson Blount's book about the Lo-Lifes entitled Lo-Life: An American Classic. [4] A book review in the F-Stop Magazine called it a "remarkable story of a small group of teenagers fighting to make a name for themselves", [7] and one in the New York Journal of Books considered it "somewhat of a revelation as it is not a varnished and glorified telling of fashion but much more of a down and dirty gritty tale of the sociological, visual, and material value." [11]

In a 2018 interview, Rack-Lo stated "Yes, I have been caught on many occasions. As a result I was locked up in juvenile detention and I was an inmate on the infamous ‘Riker’s Island’. But in my case I was still fortunate because I never spent time in prison — only in city jails for very short time periods. The longest I spent incarcerated was four months." [12]

Discography

Rack-Lo has released several albums and songs, [13] [14] [1] often in collaboration with or production by fellow Lo-Life Thirstin Howl the 3rd. [15]

Albums: [13] [14]

Singles and EPs: [13] [14]

Some songs: [14]

Related Research Articles

Southern hip hop, also known as Southern rap, South Coast hip hop, or dirty south, is a blanket term for a regional genre of American hip hop music that emerged in the Southern United States, especially in Georgia, Texas, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Florida—often titled “The Big 5,” five states which constitute the "Southern Network" in rap music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terry Crews</span> American actor and football player (born 1968)

Terry Alan Crews is an American actor, television host, and former football player. He played Julius Rock in the UPN/CW sitcom Everybody Hates Chris, which aired from 2005 to 2009, and portrayed Terry Jeffords in the Fox and NBC sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013–2021). Crews starred in the BET reality series The Family Crews (2010–2011), and hosted the U.S. version of the game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire from 2014 to 2015. He has appeared in films, including Friday After Next (2002), White Chicks (2004), Idiocracy (2006), Blended (2014), the Expendables series (2010–2014), and Rumble (2021). Crews began hosting America's Got Talent in 2019, following his involvement in the same role for the program's spin-off series America's Got Talent: The Champions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dave Jerden</span> American record producer

Dave Jerden is an American record producer, engineer, and mixer who has worked with artists in various genres including alternative rock, punk rock and metal. However, Jerden has stated that he dislikes the term "producer", preferring to refer to himself primarily as an engineer.

Derrick Harris, better known by his stage name True Master, is an American hip-hop record producer and rapper, known for his affiliation with the Wu-Tang Clan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mathematics (producer)</span> Rap music producer

Ronald Maurice Bean, better known professionally as Mathematics, is a hip hop producer and DJ for the Wu-Tang Clan and its solo and affiliate projects. He designed the Wu-Tang Clan logo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rah Digga</span> American rapper

Rashia Tashan Fisher, known professionally as Rah Digga, is an American rapper and actress. She is best known as a longtime member of the Flipmode Squad, a hip hop group led by Busta Rhymes. Her debut album, Dirty Harriet (2000), peaked in the top-20 of the Billboard 200, and she released her second album, Classic, in 2010. She starred in the horror film Thirteen Ghosts (2001) as Maggie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tragedy Khadafi</span> American rapper and record producer (born 1971)

Percy Lee Chapman, known by his stage name Tragedy Khadafi, is an American rapper and record producer. Chapman hails from the Queensbridge Housing Projects in Queens, New York City, and helped spawn other hip hop artists such as Mobb Deep, Capone-N-Noreaga, Nas. He is documented to be the first to use the phrase "illmatic" in 1988 on a record called "The Rebel", from the Marley Marl album In Control, Volume 1, which was an inspiration and influence on fellow New York rapper Nas.

Omar Gerryl Credle, better known by his stage name, O.C., is an American rapper and member of the group D.I.T.C. He has been involved with several underground hip hop groups, namely Crooklyn Dodgers '95, Luv NY, and Perestroika.

Victor DeJesus, better known by his stage name Thirstin Howl the 3rd, is an American rapper, producer, author and entrepreneur from Brownsville, Brooklyn. Howl owns and operates his own label, Skillionaire Enterprises. He is also a founding member of the Lo Lifes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guilty Simpson</span> American rapper

Byron Dwayne "Guilty" Simpson is an American rapper and songwriter from Detroit, Michigan whose recording career spans more than 20 years. He is signed to Stones Throw Records, and is known for being one of the late producer J Dilla's favorite rappers.

Below shows the discography for the American rapper and Wu-Tang Clan member, Ol' Dirty Bastard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daddy-O (rapper)</span> American rapper

Glenn K. Bolton, widely known as Daddy-O, is an American rapper and record producer. He began his career by founding the hip-hop group Stetsasonic. He is known as an early advocate of sampling in music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amber Coffman</span> American singer-songwriter

Amber Dawn Coffman is an American singer-songwriter based in Los Angeles, California, formerly based in Brooklyn, New York. She was formerly a guitarist for Sleeping People, and was later a guitarist and vocalist for the indie rock band Dirty Projectors. She released her debut studio album as a solo artist, City of No Reply in June 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Have a Nice Life</span> American post-punk band

Have a Nice Life is an American rock band founded in Middletown, Connecticut in 2000 by Dan Barrett and Tim Macuga.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pro Era</span> American hip hop collective

Pro Era is an American hip hop collective group from Brooklyn, New York. The group is a collective of rappers and record producers that includes East Coast rappers Joey Badass, CJ Fly, Kirk Knight, Nyck Caution, Dyemond Lewis, Aaron Rose, Dessy Hinds, Dirty Sanchez 47, and Rokamouth, along with producers Chuck Strangers and Powers Pleasant. The collective was formed in 2011 by Capital STEEZ and Powers Pleasant, with Joey Badass and CJ Fly among its founding members.

<i>Rugby Thompson</i> 2012 studio album by Smoke DZA

Rugby Thompson is the second studio album by American rapper Smoke DZA. The album was released on June 19, 2012, by High Times Records and Cinematic Music Group. The album is entirely produced by Harry Fraud. The album features guest appearances from Currensy, Domo Genesis, Schoolboy Q, Sean Price, A$AP Twelvyy, Action Bronson, Thirstin Howl III, NymLo and Meyhem Lauren.

Lo Lifes was a Brooklyn-based movement and street gang founded by rapper Rack-Lo, devoted to the shoplifting and wearing of Polo Ralph Lauren apparel and other fashion brands.

Sowmya Krishnamurthy is an American music journalist and author. She has contributed to Time, Rolling Stone, XXL, Complex, Billboard, Playboy and NPR. Sowmya is the author of Fashion Killa: How Hip-Hop Revolutionized High Fashion.

Dallas Penn was an American fashion designer, sneaker head, musician and internet personality.

References

  1. 1 2 3 George "Rack-Lo" Billips (2002): Aracknofoebia: The Art of Webslinging. Digital music album, produced by Thirstin Howl III, distributed by Bandcamp.
  2. 1 2 George "Rack-Lo" Billips (2021): Lo Life - An American Classic Soundtrack. Digital music album. Claimed to be the "sound track" to Rack-Lo's book "Lo Life: An American Classic". Mixed by DJ Mathmatics (Australia), recorded at All Elements Studios. Available through Bandcamp.
  3. 1 2 Diaz, Angel (23 September 2015). "Lo End Theory: The Secret History of the Lo-Life Crew". Complex. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  4. 1 2 Jackson Blount and George "Rack-Lo" Billips (2016): Lo-Life: An American Classic. PowerHouse Books, 232 pages. ISBN   9781576878125
  5. ↑ George "Rack-Lo" Billips (2024): Lo-Life: The Autobiography of Rack-Lo. PowerHouse Books, 320 pages. ISBN   9781648230455
  6. 1 2 3 Kemet High (2016): "The Real And Raucous Story Of The Lo Life Crew". Online article at The Fader website, posted on 2016-12-07. Accessed on 2021-03-04. Archived on 2024-07-27
  7. 1 2 Carey Benbow (2017): Book Review of Lo-Life: An American Classic by George “Rack-Lo” Billips and Jackson Blount. Posted in 2017-01 at the F-Stop Magazine site. Accessed on 2021-03-04.
  8. ↑ Max Berlinger (2016): "Brooklyn Gang Struts in Vintage Ralph Lauren". The New York Times online, Fashion section, dated 2016-07-12. Accessed on 2024-07-27.
  9. ↑ Sowmya Krishnamurthy (2023): Fashion Killa: How Hip-Hop Revolutionized High Fashion. Gallery Books, 304 pages. ISBN   978-1982176327.
  10. ↑ Sowmya Krishnamurthy (2023): "The Lo Lifes: The Hip-Hop Shoplifters Who Birthed Street Culture". Excerpt from Fashion Killa on the Lo Lifes. On the Vice magazine website, dated 2023-10-16. Accessed on 2024-07-27.
  11. ↑ Jeffrey Felner (2016-12-09): Book review of Lo Life: An American Classic. On the New York Journal of Books website. Accessed on 2021-03-04.
  12. ↑ Anonymous (2018): "An Interview with Rack Lo". Posted on the Oi Polloi] blog site, 2018-06-22. Archived on 2024-07-27.
  13. 1 2 3 Rack-Lo discography at the Discogs website. Accessed on 2024-07-27.
  14. 1 2 3 4 "Rack-Lo" discography at the Bandcamp website. Accessed on 2024-07-27.
  15. ↑ Greg Watkins (2007-02-05): Review of album Lo Down & Dirty at the AllHipHop.com website. Accessed on 2021-03-04.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.