Ying Yang Twins | |
|---|---|
 Kaine and D-Roc before their concert inBerlin in May 2007 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | The Ying Yang Twins |
| Origin | Atlanta,Georgia, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1997–present |
| Labels | |
| Members |
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TheYing Yang Twins are an American hip hop duo consisting ofKaine (bornEric Jackson on December 16, 1978) andD Roc (bornDeongelo Holmes[1] on February 23, 1979). Despite the name, the duo are not brothers.
They debuted in 2000 and rose to mainstream popularity in 2003 collaborating withBritney Spears on her albumIn the Zone (2003) and withLil Jon on "Get Low". In 2004 and 2005, the Ying Yang Twins became more popular with party singles "Salt Shaker", "Wait (The Whisper Song)", "Shake" and "Badd". They have received recognition for their song "Halftime (featuring Homebwoi)" which is played atNew Orleans Saints homegames after most touchdowns. In 2008, the hip hop duo releasedThe Official Work mixtape. In 2009, they followed with theirYing Yang Forever mixtape. Just three months later, the duo releasedLegendary Status: Ying Yang Twins Greatest Hits. In 2013, the Ying Yang Twins released theAss in Session andTwurk or Die mixtapes.
Their debut single "Whistle While You Twurk" was played on urban and pop radio stations and peaked at #17 on theHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. They toured with Juz tha King, Kat Nu and Demo Dil. Their full-length debut albumThug Walkin' was released that year.
Immediately after discovering fellow Atlanta hip hop artistLil Jon,A&R Bryan Leach began talks with representativeMr. Collipark about signing them toTVT Records. Protracted negotiations meant that a deal was not finalized in time for the label to release their next albumAlley: The Return of the Ying Yang Twins, which instead appeared in 2002 onKoch Records.[2] The album was successful among hip-hop fans in theSouthern United States. The same year, the group appeared on the albumKings of Crunk by Lil Jon on the single "Get Low", and the song was a huge club and radio hit. As Crooms had negotiated only a one-album deal with Koch, the duo was free to finally submit to the advances of TVT, who had impressed them with their recent work with Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz.[2][3]
Me & My Brother, their first album for TVT, wascertified platinum on April 12, 2005,[4] and yielded three more hits — "What's Happenin!", "Naggin'" and the Lil Jon collaboration "Salt Shaker".[5] The same year the duo appeared onBritney Spears' albumIn the Zone on the song "I Got That (Boom Boom)" and her television special of the same name.[3] In 2004, TVT releasedMy Brother & Me, an album composed largely of remixes which featured a bonus DVD of the group's videos.[6]
A new albumU.S.A. (United State of Atlanta) appeared in Summer 2005 as its singles "Wait (The Whisper Song)", "Badd", and "Shake" were dominating popular music and rap radio stations,[3] andU.S.A. Still United, a collection ofouttakes, remixes, and collaborations similar toMy Brother & Me followed in December 2005. It, too, was accompanied by a DVD featuring music videos and other footage from theU.S. (United State of Atlanta) period.[7]
In 2005, D-Roc and his younger brothers, Mr. Ball, and Da Birthday Boy, formed the group Da Muzicianz and released their first single "Camera Phone". Their self-titled album was released on February 28, 2006.
The group's fifth albumChemically Imbalanced was released in November 2006. For this album, the Twins collaborated with producersWyclef Jean and Keith Duplessis in addition to Mr. Collipark, who produced a majority of the songs on the group's previous album.[8] The first two singles were theHall & Oates-sampling "Dangerous", featuring Wyclef Jean,[9] and "Jigglin'".[10] In 2008, the Twins released the mixtapeThe Official Work and a promo single titled "Drop". A highlight of the Ying Yang Twins' tour includes a visit to the Epsilon Mu chapter ofSigma Chi. Here they performed all their hits live in front of a sold out Texas crowd. All of the proceeds from the show went to charity. In 2009, the Twins released their latest album with Deep Records,Ying Yang Forever, and started a tour titled "Ying Yang Forever Tour".
Their song "Halftime (Stand Up and Get Crunk)" is now a standard in manyNational Football League football stadiums, and it is considered to be the unofficial anthem of the New Orleans Saints during theirSuper Bowl victory season, but it has been a staple at Saints games since 2006. This song was performed live during the victory parade.[11] The song has also been used inNFL Street 2 andMadden NFL 11 as well as theopening tip at home games for theNational Basketball Association'sSan Antonio Spurs throughout the majority of the 2000s.
On November 3, 2009, Ying Yang Twins released their greatest hits album via The Orchard and BOOTY Records. The album includes "What's Happenin!", "Shake", "Salt Shaker", and "Wait (The Whisper Song)" plus three new tracks.[12]
On June 29, 2012, Ying Yang Twins revealed on Twitter that they had signed toEpic Records and released their first single from their untitled album "Fist Pump, Jump Jump", featuring singer Greg Tecoz.[13]
The Ying Yang Twins were a featured act on the 2019 Millenium Tour, withB2K,Chingy and others.[14]
Their Christmas song "Deck Da' Club" featured heavily in the 2019 Christmas show ofThe Unbelievers Podcast.
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Get Low" (Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz featuring Ying Yang Twins) | 2003 | Kings of Crunk |
| "My Pinky" (Natalac featuring Ying Yang Twins and Drumlordz Shawty) | 2018 | Pimp of the Nation |
| International | |
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