La Coka Nostra | |
|---|---|
| Origin |
|
| Genres | Hip hop |
| Years active | 2006–present |
| Labels |
|
| Members | DJ Lethal Danny Boy Ill Bill Slaine |
| Past members |
|
| Website | lacokanostra |
La Coka Nostra (shortLCN) is an Americanhip hopsupergroup currently composed ofDanny Boy,Slaine,DJ Lethal, andIll Bill. In 2004, its creation started when Danny Boy (Daniel O'Connor) brought two young artists,Slaine (George Carroll) and Big Left (John Faster), to meet DJ Lethal (Leor Dimant), the DJ from his former groupHouse of Pain. They decided to make a group, whose name came about when O'Connor teased other members with that nickname after they had a night out. They started releasing music onMySpace, and went viral.
Eventually, it was felt that there was a void and experienced rapperIll Bill (William Braunstein) was asked to join. Eventually, former House of Pain colleagueEverlast (Erik Schrody), showed interest to join. By 2008, the group consisted of O'Connor, Carroll, Diamant, Braunstein, and Schrody (who left some time after the first album was released). Their debut albumA Brand You Can Trust was released on July 14, 2009, and it was appreciated by many for its raw sound that some felt missing from hip hop at the time.
In 2012, came their second album,Masters of the Dark Arts, which reached 176 on Billboard Top Current Albums, 40 onIndependent Albums, and 31 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. Their third albumTo Thine Own Self Be True was released in 2016. The album reached 38 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.
The genesis of the group started in late 2004, at the time hip hop artistDanny Boy O'Connor had taken time off from rap after the break-up ofHouse of Pain, O'Connor took to working in video production and fashion as well as mentoring other artists.[citation needed] O'Connor explains that he took notice of two up and comers Big Left (John Faster) andSlaine (George Carroll), and brought them to meet his former DJ fromHouse of Pain,DJ Lethal (Leor Diamant).[1] They decided to make a group with an additional rapper, who did not stay too long, that Diamant took under his wing and asked to join as well O'Connor becoming as its hype man and art director. The group's name came about, when O'Connor teased other members with that nickname, after they had a night out. O'Connor, Diamant, Carroll and Faster as La Coka Nostra released a three-song demo onMySpace, and went viral.[citation needed]
It was eventually felt that there was a void and experienced rapperIll Bill (William Braunstein) was asked to join. Eventually, former House of Pain colleagueEverlast (Erik Schrody), showed interest to join. By 2008, the group consisted of O'Connor, Carroll, Diamant, Braunstein, and Schrody.[citation needed]
In late 2008, the group signed toSuburban Noize Records and released the long delayed debut albumA Brand You Can Trust on July 14, 2009. The album took so long to complete due to O'Connor's refusal to have the members collaborate via e-mail; instead, he would gather everyone at the studio.[2] This took time due to the recording of Braunstein and Schrody's solo albums as well as various tours and other commitments.A Brand You Can Trust features fifteen tracks and guest appearances fromSnoop Dogg,Bun B,Sick Jacken,B-Real,Sen Dog,Immortal Technique, Big Left andQ-Unique. Though similar stylistically to the group's prior online releases, it features songs grounded more in reality. Subjects touched upon include politics, death, drug addiction, raising a child and terrorism.[3]AllMusic gave four out of five stars.[4] Andrew Kameka ofHipHopDX wrote that "the album is a mostly solid effort and exactly what someone would expect from a supergroup of like-minded members known for high-energy music".[5] Adam Kennedy of theBBC while praising some the moments of the album said "it’s a tantalising parting taste of potential capabilities, yet until they improve a customer satisfaction hit rate that barely troubles one in three tunes here".[6] Steve Juon ofRapReviews gave it a seven out of ten.[7] Thomas Quinlan ofExclaim! said "La Coka Nostra are an interesting collection of collaborators that live up to the hype".[8]
On March 2, 2012, it was announced that Schrody would be leaving La Coka Nostra due to his daughter's medical issues.[9][10]
That same year, La Coka Nostra released their second album,Masters of the Dark Arts.[11] It reached 176 onBillboard Top Current Albums, 40 onIndependent Albums, and 31 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.[citation needed] Adam Fleischer ofXXL magazine noted that "La Coka Nostra remain decidedly true to their core with their new album" and "that they are indeed masters of the dark arts".HipHopDX gave the album a positive review and noted that the album was a "sinister, happily violent detour from the pop-centric".[12] Peter Marrack ofExclaim! also gave the album a positive review and noted that the album was "more or less a one-way ticket to hell".[13] Nathan G. O'Brien ofScene Point Blank gave it four out five star and said "with Master of the Dark Arts La Coka Nostra’s pluperfect union of bombastic boom-bap, record scratching, and realism-based hardcore rhyming".[14]
In 2016, La Coka Nostra releasedTo Thine Own Self Be True.[15] The album reached 38 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.[citation needed] Steve Juon ofRapReviews gave eight point five out of ten and wrote "for a blissful 45 minutes it's an uncut dose of that nostalgia straight through the ear canals to the dopamine centers of my brain".[16]
| Year | Album | Title | Director | Other featured artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | A Brand That You Can Trust | That's Coke | Danny Boy (rapper) | |
| 2009 | I'm An American | n/c | B-Real | |
| Cousin of Death | Frank Sacramento | |||
| 2012 | Masters of the Dark Arts | Mind Your Business | J.F. Martin/Tom Vujcic | |
| Creed of the Greedier | Tom Vujcic | |||
| Letter to Ouisch | Danny Boy | |||
| 2015 | To Thine Own Self Be True | Dark Day Road | Bernard Rose (director) | |
| 2016 | Waging War | Tom Vujcic |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
