Skratch Bastid, M.O.P., Mobb Deep, et Conductor Williams

Comprised of friends Lil’ Fame (Jamal Grinnage) and Billy Danze (Eric Murray), Mash Out Posse started as a Brownsville, Brooklyn gang, however soon changed when the pair learnt to express themselves through rap. The duo’s first release came with a contribution to the 1992 rap compilation “The Hill That’s Real” where the M.O.P. debuted the single “How About Some Hardcore?”. The song later appeared on the soundtrack for the film “House Party 3” and became popular in the underground scene for their abrasive lyrical delivery and hardcore subject matter.

The single’s success led to M.O.P. debut album “To the Death” being released in 1994 on Select Records with a low-budget video directed by the then-unheard-of Hype Williams. With a lack of commercial or critical success the pair changed labels moving to Relativity Records for their sophomore full-length “Firing Squad” released in 1996. The album was produced by DJ Premier and Lil’ Fame and earned slightly more popular appeal than the old material. M.O.P. subsequently released the EP “Handle Ur Bizness” and the album “First Family 4 Life” with notable guest appearances from Guru of Gang Starr and Jay-Z.

In 2000 the rap duo earned their first taste of mainstream success with the release of their fourth studio album “Warriorz” on Loud Records. The album’s lead single “Ante Up” received regular radio airplay in the U.S., peaked at No. 7 in the UK chart and helped catapult the album to No. 25 on the Billboard 200. The year after in 2011 a remix of “Ante Up” was made featuring Busta Rhymes and Remy Ma and M.O.P. collaborated with the pop group LFO on a song titled “Life is Good”, cementing the duo’s mainstream stay.

Following the collapse of their label Loud Records in 2002, M.O.P. moved to Roc-A-Fella after some time adrift and appeared on Jay-Z’s “The Blueprint 2: The Gift & the Curse”. The pair’s planned album release on the label was shelved and M.O.P. parted ways with Roc-A-Fella and took up tenure with G-Unit Records in 2005. Lil’ Fame and Billy Danze then appeared on the 50 Cent film soundtrack “Get Rich or Die Tryin’”, released a compilation entitled “M.O.P. Salutes the St. Marxmen”, and in 2006 released their long-awaited full-length “Ghetto Warfare”

In 2008 the group left G-Unit Records and released their fifth studio album “Foundation” on E1 Records featuring the singles “Blow the Horns” feat Busta Rhymes and “Street Life”. Subsequently M.O.P. have released the album “Sparta” alongside production team Snowgoons and the EP “Street Certified”.

The duo came together when they both enrolled at the High School of Art and Design in New York City. When they first formed, they were the self proclaimed ‘Poetical Prophets’, but changed their name to Mobb Deep to “reflect their reputation on the streets”.

Their reputation began to grow when they found success with their second album, “The Infamous” which was released on April 25th 1995. The album was described as a narration of street life, and it was the single “Shook Ones Pt. II” that received positive critical acclaim within the hip-hop community. With a career that was growing exponentially, Mobb Deep’s third album, entitled “Hell on Earth”, released on November 19th 2006, on Loud, RCA and BMG Records that climbed into the Billboard 200 and reached a peak position of #6. The two singles from the album “Front Lines (Hell on Earth)” and “G.O.D Pt. III” made it to 13 and 18 in the Hot Rap Singles Chart.

Mobb Deep were on the front line of the East Coast vs West Coast hip-hop rivalry, which was of course promoted by the media. It began when Snoop Dogg and the West Coast group, The Dogg Pound released “New York, New York”, to which Mobb Deep alongside Capone-N-Noreaga and Tragedy Khadafi lashed back with “L.A L.A”.

They released the album “Infamy in 2001, which was a step in another direction musically diverting away from the raw and stripped-down sound. With change, comes criticism, especially fans claiming that their favourite act have sold out. Their career would go on to earn a place in the video game “Grand Theft Auto IV”. With a new label signing on 50 Cent’s G-Unit Recrods, they released their seventh studio album “Blood Money” on May 2nd 2006. The album features guest appearances from Nate Dogg and Mary J.Blige.

On April 1st 2014, the hip-hop duo released their eighth studio album, “The Infamous Mobb Deep". The album features guest appearances from Busta Rhymes, Snoop Dogg and Juicy J.