Yo Majesty

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Yo! Majesty
Sonar 2008 - Yo Majesty - Shunda K.jpg
Yo! Majesty's Shunda K performing at Sonar 2008, Barcelona, Spain
Background information
Origin Tampa, Florida, U.S.
Genres Dirty rap, alternative hip hop, electro
Labels GMEQCA/Matriarch Records
Members
Shunda K
Shon B
Website yomajesty.bandcamp.com/music

Yo! Majesty is an American hip hop group consisting of singer and rappers Shunda K and Shon B, produced by UK-based electro group HardfeelingsUK. [1]

Contents

Yo! Majesty was mentioned as one of the 'Top 11 new bands of 2008' by NME magazine [2] as well as one of the '25 Most Exciting Bands in America'. [3]

Biography

Yo! Majesty's current members are W, [4] Shon Burt, stage name Shon B, and LaShunda Flowers, known as Shunda K. The group members are openly lesbian [5] and self-identify as Christian. [6] Their sound is a hybrid of crunk, Baltimore club music, [7] [8] and electro, [9] and they have garnered comparisons to punk for their defiance of labels and creation of new sounds. [10]

Rappers Shunda K and Shon B started out as a duo named Yeah Majesty before they were rounded out circa 2001 by gospel-raised vocalist Jwl B. [10] They started collaborating with London-based electronica duo HardfeelingsUK (David Alexander and Richard Winstanley), who supplied Yo! Majesty with their electro-rap club beats, in 2002. [11] After a hiatus during Shunda K's marriage, Yo! Majesty regrouped. [10] Once they established a name for themselves on the underground club circuit, both in the US and the UK, Yo! Majesty self-released their first official release, the Yo EP, in 2006. [12]

They "made a splash" at SXSW in 2007 [13] and that year toured alongside CSS and Gossip. [10] Yo! Majesty has also toured with Peaches and was featured in her parody video of the Black Eyed Peas' "My Humps" called "My Dumps". [14] The group signed with Domino Records in 2007, [15] and the label released an EP and full-length record by the band in 2008, which included a track produced by Basement Jaxx. [16]

A documentary based on the band, Das Wassup, directed by Johannes Schaff, was released in 2017.

Discography

Albums

YearAlbumRecord label
2006Yo EPOut There
2008Kryptonite Pussy EPDomino
2008Futuristically Speaking... Never Be Afraid
2020Bumpin' Too Hard f/ Basement Jaxx SingleGMEQCA/Matriarch Records
2021FLEX Maxi Single
2021Make Em' Regret EP'
2021Return of The Matriarch Album
2022The Belgian Stallion FLEX Remix


Appears on

YearSongAlbumRecord label
2008"Pony Girl"Dub Gabriel – Anarchy & AlchemyDestroy All Concepts
2008"Sweat Shop Stainless Style by Neon Neon Lex
2011"Flavor" featuring Yo MajestyCarbon Copy by ★STAR GUiTAR

Singles

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References

  1. Robson, Eddie. "Yo Majesty". New-noise.net. Archived from the original on November 21, 2008. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
  2. Richards, Sam (January 12, 2008). "New Noise 2008". NME.
  3. Elan, Priya (August 2, 2008). "Reborn Indie USA". NME.
  4. "Jwl B Discography at Discogs". Discogs . Retrieved June 14, 2009.
  5. Andrews, Gem (March 30, 2009). "Jail, money, music and ex-bandmates: Yo! Majesty's Jwl B talks to Lesbilicious". Lesbilicious. Retrieved March 30, 2008.
  6. "Spreading the word: Yo! Majesty". Gay News Network. December 30, 2011. Archived from the original on February 21, 2014. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
  7. Mackay, Emily (2008). "NME Reviews: Yo! Majesty: Futuristically Speaking...Never Be Afraid". NME.
  8. Kharas, Kev (September 29, 2008). "Yahoo! Music Album Review:Yo Majesty - Futuristically_Speaking_Never_Be_Afraid". Yahoo Music. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
  9. O'Dair, Marcus (September 5, 2008). "Ones to Watch: Yo Majesty". The Independent . Archived from the original on January 19, 2009.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Castillo, Arielle (May 21, 2008). "Yo! Majesty: "Kyptonite Pussy" and God". Miami New Times.
  11. Luger, Kara (May 1, 2008). "Yo! Majesty hype (and are hyped about) their upcoming album". Rocky Mountain Chronicle.
  12. "Band to watch: Yo Majesty". Stereogum. December 13, 2006. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
  13. Hawthorne, Mark (October 14, 2008). "Music: Yo Majesty: Futuristically Speaking… Never Be Afraid". The A.V. Club. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
  14. Elan, Priya (April 14, 2009). "Peaches: sex and the seminal woman". The Sunday Times . Retrieved July 23, 2010.
  15. Thompson, Paul (September 21, 2007). "Yo Majesty Sign to Domino Records, Tour". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on July 25, 2008. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
  16. Maher, Dave (June 18, 2008). "Yo Majesty Enlist Basement Jaxx for Domino Debut". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on October 29, 2008. Retrieved November 8, 2008.