No Face (rap duo)

Last updated
No Face
Origin New York City
Genres Hip hop
Years active1990s
Labels Columbia Records, No Face Records, Rush Associated Labels
Past members Mark Sexx, the Shah

No Face (originally known as Funktion Freaks) [1] was a New York City-based rap duo active in the early 1990s, known for their outrageous, obscene lyrics. [2] Their music became very controversial because of how over-the-top and obscene it was, with most radio programmers, including black ones, refusing to play even censored versions of their songs. [3] The duo's members were Mark Sexx and the Shah; [4] Ed Lover was also a member for a time. [1] Their only studio album, Wake Your Daughter Up, was released in 1990 on No Face Records, a label affiliated with Russell Simmons' Rush Associated Labels. The album was distributed by both Def Jam Recordings and Columbia Records. [3] [5] The album featured the song "Fake Hair Wearin' Bitch", which featured 2 Live Crew. [3] In 1994, they released the single "No Brothas Allowed" on Interscope Records, accompanied by the B-side "Smashin' Fruit". [6] [7] The group's only hit, "Half", was released as a single from Wake Your Daughter Up and peaked at #47 on Billboard 's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. [4] [8]

Contents

Critical reception

Jon Pareles gave Wake Your Daughter Up a very negative review in the New York Times , writing, "Any two teen-age boys with a drum machine could make a better album than this inept, calculating attempt to ride the 2 Live Crew bandwagon." [9] The Chicago Tribune 's Greg Kot was more favorable, giving the album 2.5 out of 4 stars and writing that it "is funkier, funnier and far more inventive than anything on As Nasty as They Wanna Be ." [10]

Discography

Albums

Singles

List of singles, with selected chart positions
TitleYearPeak chart positionsAlbum
US
R&B/HH

AUS
[11]
"Revenge of the Bat (He's a Bat Mutha)"1989Non-album singles
"Hump Music"64
"Half"199047Wake Your Daughter Up
"Fake Hair Wearin' Bitch"
(featuring 2 Live Crew)
1991
"Payback (Is a Mutha)"/"Player"1993Non-album singles
"No Brothas Allowed"1994

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References

  1. 1 2 "Dr. Dre and Ed Lover". Contemporary Black Biography. 2005. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  2. Goldstein, Patrick (26 August 1990). "Geffen vs. Geto Boys: Double Standard?". Los Angeles Times.
  3. 1 2 3 Goldstein, Patrick (18 November 1990). "Mark Sexx: A Liberated Male He's Not". Los Angeles Times.
  4. 1 2 Bush, John. "No Face Biography". AllMusic.
  5. Kot, Greg (14 December 1990). "Record Label Boss Censors Line From Female Rap Record". Sun-Sentinel.
  6. Gabriel, Trip. "Rappers finding that life is good in the Poconos". The Baltimore Sun.
  7. Stancell, Steven (1996-06-01). Rap Whoz Who: The World of Rap and Hip Hop. Omnibus Press. p. 212. ISBN   9780028645209.
  8. "No Face Chart History". Billboard.
  9. Pareles, Jon (30 December 1990). "The Best Show? In the Court, Not the Concert Hall". The New York Times.
  10. Kot, Greg (29 November 1990). "Wake Your Daughter Up (Columbia)". The Chicago Tribune.
  11. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 204.