Boyz N Da Hood "The
Story"
They're everywhere.
Every block. Every city. From Atlanta's notorious
Zone 3 to Chicago's coldest ghetto to the very
heart of Compton. You might see them hustling in
the trap or ballin' in the clubs or just plain ol'
chillin' on the block and having a good time. But
it's when they put it down musically that the rest
of the world gets an up close and personal view of
what it's like to be Boyz N Da Hood.
Comprised of Duke, Big Gee, Jeezy and Jody Breeze,
Boyz In Da Hood is a collaboration of four of the
grimiest, truest rappers to ever come from the ATL.
These dirty south ambassadors convey the realities
of their 'hood in a way that is so authentic, so
undeniably real, that it commands a level of
respect from the streets and the industry alike.
"There ain't no sound out there like that right
now," says Duke. "That's why people refer to us as
the NWA of the south because it's gangsta all the
way around. It's not gangsta rap over R&B tracks
with R&B singing hooks." Gee adds, "To me it
represents gutter life, people coming from the
ghetto striving, trying to have something, getting
in where they can."
When it comes to rap skills, few can hold a candle
to these Boyz. "Every one of us can rap for real,"
Duke offers. "We're not just some dudes from the
south out here hoopin' and hollerin' on records,
doing the crunk stuff. We really can rap. Each one
of us got our own sound. Each one of us got our
own flow pattern and all of us real niggas that
just came together." And each of them, says Jeezy,
speaks to a different segment of the masses: "Duke
got the OG's," he explains. "They gon' listen to
him. Big Gee got all the killers - everybody that
wants to do anything wild, he's got 'em. Jody's
got all the little wild niggas that's gon' bounce
around the club and go crazy and any nigga that's
even thinking about money or wants something, I'm
gon' motivate them to get it..We got some shit
that you can just ride to, some shit where you
'bout to go do something crazy, and some shit you
might wanna go to the club and get your ball on.
Our chemistry is just crazy."
So crazy is the chemistry amongst these Boyz that
the very first song they ever recorded together,
an electrifying joint called "Dem Boyz," ended up
being their first single. "When we did it we knew
the chemistry was gonna come together," says Duke.
"We knew we had chemistry. We knew we sound good
together. Everything else just seems like it fell
into place."
Duke said the group came together about a year ago
after he met Boyz In Da Hood founder Block. "I had
the idea for three years," says Block. "It was
like I watched how Eazy E put together NWA and I
wanted to do some shit that niggas from the hood
could hear and understand."
For Block, putting the group together had nothing
to do with what was hot in the industry at the
time, nothing to do with an 'industry look' or
style. It had everything to do, however, with
finding true hood brothers with a knack for
keeping it real. "If you break the hood down,
there's always an OG in the hood, always a hustler
in the hood, always the edge-hanging, grimy nigga
in the hood and a lotta young niggas in the hood
so this was what was happening everyday and it
really just came together like that. I didn't
follow no industry guidelines. The hood taught me
a lot and I kinda stick to those rules because
that's all I know. I stick to the basic g-code."
Once the members were put in place, the Boyz
started recording. "By the time we finished 15
songs, we had damn near a bidding war," Duke
recalls. But it was a timely call to
an-initially-reluctant P. Diddy that really set
things in motion. "Block was good friends with
Puff's girlfriend. After she heard our stuff she
called Puff and asked him if he was looking to
sign anybody. He said, 'not really.' She let him
hear our stuff and three days later we were
meeting with him."
Duke said P. Diddy totally grasped the Boyz In Da
Hood sound and was more than happy to allow them
to stick with their own musical direction. "He
been on the same page we been on from the rip.
When we went up there and met with Diddy I just
didn't want our sound tampered with and he was
cool with that. We had 20-plus songs done so he
heard an album and he was like, 'I want the sound
y'all gave me.' and we've only done like two or
three more songs since we've been signed."
Gee and Breeze agree that the P. Diddy connection
was solid from day one. "As long as he didn't
wanna put us in some shiny suits and all I was
with him," Gee jokes. "He's a musical genius so I
was really ready to roll with whatever he was
talking about except that - the suits and the
jumpsuits and all the dancers." "Puff been in this
for a minute," says Breeze. "He knows the
difference between Da Band and Boyz N Da Hood so I
wasn't worried about that. What I was worried
about was just making sure we're doing what we
need to do, we're sticking with what we got."
Featuring production by hip hop mainstays Jazze
Pha, Frank Nitti and DJ Toomp, Boyz In Da Hood,
the group's self-titled debut cd, covers every
inch of the unpredictable terrain of the ''hood.
It's real music that packs a real punch. Says
Breeze, "All the music is street, gutter and
grimy. The name really speaks for itself. We're
just here to bring it to life." Gee adds, "I think
everybody can comprehend our music but I think
mainly it's for people who went through what we
went through right off the bat." Breeze concurs.
"It's a whole lotta people who won't be able to
understand us straight off that bat. A lotta
people haven't been through what we've been
through but for all the people going through what
we're going through, it's easier for us to get to
them than it is to get to somebody that doesn't
know what we're talking about."
That being the case, the Boyz have learned that
reality is sometimes a bitter pill to swallow.
"For the longest we had a hard time getting our
records played because of the content," says Jeezy.
"Sometimes in the industry they say they want real
but when you give them real, they can't handle it.
But it's not my job to prove to a nigga if I'm
real or not because everything I ever said I meant
it and everything I ever said I had, I got it and
Puff knows that. When Puff met me I was driving a
Ferrari. It's different because it's so real.It's
like being a poet. If you recite your poetry and
you don't say nothing that can relate to the
audience, how they gon' applaud you? I didn't get
nothing from that. It sounded good but it didn't
touch me. I still got my same problems."
While the lead single, "Dem Boyz," has a gritty,
underground feel, The Boyz settle down a bit on
"Keep It In Da Hood," a song Duke describes as
"kinda laid back." "It just lets you know there
are some good days in the' hood too. Everything
ain't always bad in the 'hood."
Also in that 'day in the hood' vein is the song "Slizzered."
"That's talking about 'my granny up knocking at my
bedroom door but I'm still slizzered from the
night before.It's basically talking about a day in
the 'hood or what we did the night before,"
explains Duke. "Something different from being in
the trap, gettin' money."
Duke says another favorite is "Felony," which he
describes, quite simply as "just a jammin' record"
that showcases the skills of his crew. "I just
love how everybody comes in on that," he explains.
Gee said his favorites are 'Happy Jams,' 'No
Talking' and 'Don't Put Your Hands on Me.' "I like
'Happy Jams' because that's more about my personal
life," he explains. "I really did put my heart
into that song. 'No talking' and 'Don't Put Your
Hands On Me' reflect the frustration that we went
through with street living and everything. That's
why I can relate to those songs a little more
because that's how I feel."
While Boyz In Da Hood certainly wins big props as
a group, Duke stresses that each member can most
definitely hold it down on his own. In fact, he
reveals, Boyz is more a collaboration of four solo
artists than it is an actual group. "We were never
really a group," he says. "We came together for
this project."
But whether they're doing their thing together or
individually, Duke says lessons will be learned,
messages will be heard, and truths about real life
in the 'hood will be revealed through their music.
"What you hear on this Boyz N Da Hood album is
what you're gonna hear on the second, third,
fourth and fifth one," Duke explains. "But you'll
be able to tell more about us individually on our
solo albums.. You'll hear about more than just the
everyday 'hood stuff. You'll hear about what we're
doing to get up out the 'hood, what we can do to
better the 'hood and better other people's chances
to get up outta there and let them see that what
we're doing ain't something that nobody else can't
do if you got a good plan and a real team around
you and talent don't hurt."
But even when the day comes that Duke, Big Gee,
Jeezy and Jody Breeze splinter off to do solo
projects, Boyz N Da Hood will remain in tact. Says
Breeze "The name is big itself so all of what we
do or what we can do is gonna tell us where we're
gonna be." Gee adds, "I see us like the generals
of a hundred million members. We're just starting
the movement."
Duke agrees, "We're gonna keep giving the streets
something they want. We wanna be them niggas that
they want to represent them. It's not just about
me, Gee, Jody Breeze and Jeezy. It's about boys in
the 'hood everywhere. So if you're a boy in the
'hood we want you to relate to us and feel like
you're a part of what we're doing. That's what
it's all about. Boyz N Da Hood is a movement. Even
three, four or five years from now when we branch
off again it's gonna open that door for other Boyz
N Da Hood to come in there."
Adds Block, "It's just like NWA. I kinda grabbed
the baton from Dre and kinda ran with it. Boyz N
Da Hood players are gonna change - all of them
except me. But they won't change as fast as two or
three albums. Years later, Duke's son may come up
with a group. Years from now it's gon' be some
little nigga who's gon' look back at what we're
doing today and get the baton from me because
we're making history right now.
Credit:
ejams.com
|
Bad Boy Latino |
 Hip-hop power broker Sean ''Diddy'' Combs is
venturing into the Latin music world with Bad
Boy Latino, a new label the famed producer has
launched with Cuban-American Miami rapper
Pitbull. The new venture took off with a
party at Miami's Bongos Cuban Cafe. (Bad
Boy Latino) |
|
