Brand Nubian

Founded by rappers Grand Puba (Maxwell Dixon), Sadat X (Derek Murphy), and Lord Jamar (Lorenzo Dechalus), alongside DJ Alamo in 1989, Brand Nubian released their debut single “Brand Nubian” the same year. Picked up by Dante Ross of Elektra Records, the group issued their debut full-length “One For All” in 1990 earning positive reviews for its flow and listenability. Despite this, Brand Nubian’s music was laden with Five-Percenter references, and much controversy greeted the albums’ singles “Drop the Bomb” and “Wake Up” for what was considered severe racism. The video for “Wake Up”, which featured a black man in white makeup was subsequently banned from MTV, despite this “All for One” proved a popular album boasting proficient lyricists.

Following the release, Grand Puma, arguably the group’s focal point and figurehead, departed alongside DJ Alamo, and Brand Nubian enlisted the services of DJ Sincere, who arrived in 1992. Later in 1992 the group came under more scrutiny for their single “Punks Jump up to Get Down” which contained strong homophobic content, and was revised in subsequent versions. Brand Nubian’s sophomore album “In God We Trust” arrived in 1993 marked by an outspoken pro-Islam rhetoric supporting the proudly-controversial Minister Louis Farrakhan. By this point the group were finding it hard not to isolate their listeners, and following their 1994 full-length “Everything is Everything” the group’s members went solo.

The original Brand Nubian lineup returned in 1998 to release the studio alum “Foundation”. Spawning the singles “The Return”, “Don’t Let It Go to Your Head”, and “Let’s Dance” the record peaked at No. 59 on the Billboard 200, and earned popular reviews from the critical press. Following another hiatus, the group released “Fire in the Hole” in 2004, noted for its continuation of seductive beats yet relaxed rhetoric. The full-length “Time’s Runnin’ Out” followed in 2007 featuring a collection of recordings made almost ten years earlier in 1997 and 1998.