Rap Groups feat Tajai & Von Pea
This is an episode about rap groups.
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When's the last time you got excited about a new rap group? Can you even name a new rap group? It seems that these days solo acts are the only ones getting any love, and that makes me sad. Did you guys know that the first X XL freshman issue included rap groups? Well, they did. My group, Tanya Morgan and a few others were in it.
And while they may have stopped giving groups coverage, rap groups still need to be celebrated. The rap group is a quintessential part of hip hop's. Going all the way back to the Sugar Hill gang who were responsible for one of rap's first hit records.
Not to get all back in my day, but back in my day, the rap group reigned Supreme. But before we get into specific examples of groups over time, let's take a minute to define what a rap group is. I have an expert panel made up of Tajai from Souls of Mischief and Von Pea from Tanya Morgan to help us establish a definition .
First off, what's the difference between a posse, a crew, and a group.
Okay? A, a posse is you. Plus you know civilians, right? You know your posse. It's your entourage. Half of them dudes don't rap. Get you in trouble at shows , Eat up your backstage food, beat people up for you, et cetera. You know, all that stuff. I say a crew is people all who are non civilians. So that could be your, your dj, your dancers, the mc. You know, your, your, um, your road manager, all that kind of stuff. That's the crew. Uh, you know, but it's not just all rappers. The DJs and producers are included in that. And then I would say a rap group are the guys who make music and perform it.. For instance, Premier is in the rap group, Gangstar, but he's also producer, right? So he, he produces for a lot of people, but he's not in a group with them. So I would say the. Is the group that performs the music. You know, like if, if you're not a performer, you're not really in the group.
Tajai
They just, the homies back in the, back in, in Oakland. That's the posse, you know.the people that's like, yo, Taja, I need a plus five for the show that's the possum. Hiro is a crew versus Souls of Mischief you know what I mean? Tanya Morgan's the group, you know what I mean?
Von Pea
If you had to put an optimal number of members on a group, like what would be the perfect number for a rap group? People included in the group?
I, I'm gonna, you know, be cliche and say four man. The only problem with four though is that there's a possibility of a, a deadlock when, when making votes. So maybe an odd number might be better for that. But If we are deadlock somebody, you know, then we go into the filibuster part of the, um, conversation where somebody gets a good point and we, and we roll with it.
Tajai
A good tight three to four. if you wanna go all the way in and be totally honest. You gotta keep in mind the splits. How much money are y'all splitting? . Y'all making a, y'all making a hundred dollars a show. And it's 10 of y'all. That's $10 a person.
Von Pea
And are, are there any necessary roles that each member should play or that one member should play? Or that, you know what I'm saying? Like, are there, or does the, does the dynamic kind of flow naturally from the personalities?
Yeah, I would say it's, it's mostly the voice. And if you have the same voice, then y'all gotta have a different perspective. The clips, they have a, they have the same voice that they brothers, but they're little brothers. But the perspective is different. It works for them. Pusher is pusher. T is kind of like sheep in the locks, where it's like more. Yo, I'm coming in, I'm knocking shit over. I'm mushing people. I'm gonna punch you in your face. At malice, is kind of like, man, we gotta stop knocking stuff over and punching people in the face, . But it's how we grew up. It's how we was raised, you know what I mean? , But I think in most rap hoops, people have a different voice. I'm a little more monotone. And you a little bit more like hype.
Von Pea
I think there has to be somebody. We call, we call him bad ghost. That's what we always call, you know, the, uh, you think about ghosts and rayquan and it's always like Ray being like, yo, chill ghosts. You know, and ghost being like, yo. So we always be like, who finna be bad ghosts tonight? You know what I'm saying though? There's always gotta be somebody that's willing to be bad ghosts and be seen as an asshole so that the group's needs are, are. In a, in a business capacity. I've grown into that role, you know, after several years of delegating that, and it's cool, but sometimes it's like, Hey y'all, I still gotta rap too. You know what I'm saying? Like, yeah, let's, let's handle this business. But please be conscious that we all are rapping, you know, and, but I also have to keep in mind for them, Hey fellas, I know y'all gotta be in the right space, so let me make sure you are in the right space as well.
Tajai
And with that established let's continue on.
As a member of the rap group, Tanya Morgan it's a vast understatement to say that I've got a soft spot for rap groups but their influence throughout history just can't be overstated. It also feels like rap groups are becoming a bit of an anomaly and that's such a bummer to me because rap groups are way more interesting than solo acts.
It's why people get excited when solo acts like Drake and 21 Savage team up for full-length projects. Or why after four excellent albums with Hit Boy people are still hung up on Nas and DJ Premier linking up for a full album. It's why people still talk about the idea of a Black Hippy project
I'm not saying that a singular vision from one mind can't be great but, what I am saying is that an agreed upon vision from several minds coming together in unison is pretty spectacular. Before albums became a compilation of producers and guest appearances the rap group was the unit that defined its sound. By having dedicated in-house production, DJs, producers and MCs locked in and created a unique style that was rarely shared with other artists and since biting wasn't allowed, you had to get a crew and find your own sound if you wanted to stick out. Groups like Outkast, A Tribe Called Quest, Three 6 Mafia and De Las Soul are great examples of this and respectfully some of the most influential acts of all time. In recent years, it's been discovered that the Beastie Boys who were direct descendants of Run DMC were the template for NWA. Ice Cube appeared on Mike D's Echo Chamber podcast and said that the song Paul Revere changed the lives of a budding NWA.
This how we knew our style would work. We did a version of Paul Rivera in the show. When the crowd went crazy, he changed the words, made dirty, made ours. The crowd went crazy, but we knew, alright, this our style. You had a big influence on us, especially the early record. I don't know if your early record called Ma Posse. Oh my God. You be like, yo, those kids biting us. They biting the Beastie Boys.
Ice Cube, Echo Chamber
NWA has a few songs that allude to this Beasties influence, but you can draw a direct line between Hold It Now Hit It by the Beasties and Dope Man by NWA. The 808 pattern and the way Cube attacks the track just hit different when you understand that they were students of License To Ill.
New rap groups are still popping up to this day and some are even winning big. Acts like the City Girls, Earth Gang, and Armand Hammer are a few notable examples. We've even got Supergroups as well, like Mount Westmore, which is Ice Cube, E-40, Too $hort and Snoop Dogg all teaming up for one album.
Rap groups embody the spirit of communal creativity and shared vision in a way that feels utopian to me. They're all about brotherhood and sisterhood and creating a family business with chosen family, and sometimes even blood relatives.
My conversation with Tajai and Von Pea speaks about these topics, their overall experiences with being in their respective rap groups and much much more. There’s also a mix of music by a few of my favorite rap groups as well
TRACKLIST
Knuck If You Buck - Crime Mob
Tear Da Club Up 97 - Three 6 Mafia
Mighty “O” - Outkast
Comin Out Hard - 8Ball & MJG
Get Your Roll On (MF DOOM Special Blend) - Big Tymers
Pimp Clinic - Above The Law
Mayor - Pac Div
I Ain’t Playin - Tanya Morgan
Good Morning - De La Soul
My Mic Sounds Nice - Salt N Pepa
Shook Ones (DJ Parle Remix) - Mobb Deep
Young World - Czarface
Streets Won’t Let Me Chill - Diamond District
Borough Check - Digable Planets
Black Spasmodic - A Tribe Called Quest
Shakiyla - Poor Righteous Teachers
Make Room - The Alkaholiks
Ladies & Gentlemen - 80 Blocks From Tiffanys
Freestyle - The Girll Codee
Take Yo Man - The City Girls
Run’s House - Run DMC
Straight Out The Jungle - The Jungle Brothers
PRTY & BLSHT - Tiron & Ayomari
93 Til Infinity - Souls of Mischief
Beats To The Rhyme (Live) - Black Star
I’m Housin - EPMD
Last Kiss - Overdoz
YRN - Migos