8Ball & MJG | |
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| Origin | Orange Mound,Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1991–present |
| Labels | |
| Members | Premro "8Ball" Smith Marlon Jermaine "MJG" Goodwin |
| Website | www |
8Ball & MJG is an Americanhip hop duo fromOrange Mound,Memphis, Tennessee. They met atRidgeway Middle School in 1984. In 1993, the duo released their debut albumComin' Out Hard. They went on to releaseOn the Outside Looking In (1994),On Top of the World (1995),In Our Lifetime (1999),Space Age 4 Eva (2000),Living Legends (2004),Ridin High (2007) andTen Toes Down (2010).
8Ball & MJG first appeared on therap scene with their underground 1991 albumListen to the Lyrics.[1] In 1993, they released the more commercially-successful albumComin' Out Hard.[2] Their subsequent albums in the 1990s, including 1994'sOn the Outside Looking In, and 1995'sOn Top of the World helped cement their status as undisputed icons of the South's budding mainstream rap scene.[3]On Top of the World was particularly successful, peaking at #8 on theBillboard 200 and beingcertified gold.[3] It contained the song "Space Age Pimpin'", which was 8Ball & MJG's first single to chart, reaching #58 on theHot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart and #22 on theHot Rap Singles chart.[4] After those albums, both 8Ball & MJG each released solo attempts, the first of which was MJG'sNo More Glory in 1997, followed by 8Ball'sLost in 1998.[5][6] They reunited in 1999 to release their fourth album as a group, titledIn Our Lifetime.[7] One year later in 2000, they released their fifth group album entitledSpace Age 4 Eva.[8]
In 1996, they appeared on theRed Hot Organization's compilation CD,America Is Dying Slowly, alongsideBiz Markie,Wu-Tang Clan, andFat Joe, among many other prominent hip hop artists.[9] The CD, meant to raise awareness of theAIDS epidemic among African American men, was heralded as "a masterpiece" by the magazineThe Source.[9] In the early 2000s, they would sign withSean Combs'Bad Boy Records.[10] They already had some experience with the label, being featured on the song "The Player Way" from Bad Boy rapperMase's 1997 albumHarlem World.[11] Their first album for Bad Boy Records,Living Legends, came out in 2004 and was certifiedgold by theRecording Industry Association of America.[12] Their second album onBad Boy Records was titledRidin High and was released in March 2007.[12]
Commercially, one of the high points of 8Ball & MJG's career was their being featured onThree 6 Mafia's hit song "Stay Fly" in 2005.[13] That song peaked at #13 on theBillboard Hot 100, which is the biggest hit of Three 6 Mafia's career and the biggest hit for 8Ball & MJG.[13] The song was a collaboration between two of the most successful rap groups from the state ofTennessee, whence Three 6 Mafia also hail.[13] Today, 8Ball and MJG also head their own record labels. 8Ball heads 8 Ways Entertainment (distributed byKoch Entertainment), while MJG heads MJG Muzik.[14] On their label are the young, up and coming Memphis duo, Da Volunteers, who are widely known throughout theSouthern United States for their 2006 single, "What's Yo Favorite Color?", which glorifies their neighborhood ofOrange Mound.[14]
In September 2007, 8Ball and MJG signed deals in Sacramento, California withReal Talk Entertainment. 8Ball released a group album withE.D.I. Mean of theOutlawz entitledDoin' It Big on April 1, 2008, and MJG released a solo album entitledPimp Tight on April 29, 2008.[14][15] In June 2008 the group announced that they officially signed ontoT.I.'s record labelGrand Hustle.[16] Their eighth album as a group and their first on Grand Hustle, titledTen Toes Down, was released in May 2010.[17] It reached #36 on theBillboard 200 in its first week.[17]
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