Who is 8ball mjg

One of the pioneers of Southern rap, 8Ball and MJG , emerged from Memphis, Tennessee in the early '90s and, aligned with the Houston, Texas-based independent label Suave Records, quickly garnering a tremendous regional following while proving highly influential to a generation of aspiring, independent-minded rap artists and entrepreneurs.

The pioneering duo enjoyed increasing recognition as the years passed, releasing a couple albums, namely Comin' Out Hard and In Our Lifetime, Vol. In addition, 8Ball and MJG recorded individually, the former by far the more prolific of the two. Despite never crossing over into the mainstream -- none of their singles ever broke into the Billboard Hot ; for example, not even once they signed to Bad Boy -- and despite occasionally infrequent output, 8Ball and MJG persevered over the decades.

There were no acrimonious incidents, no run-ins with the law, no "retirements," no hangups whatsoever -- if anything, 8Ball and MJG were respectably reliable over the course of their career, always comin' out hard and always representing the South.

They shared a passion for hip-hop, which hadn't yet made a strong impact in the South, and formed their own rap duo, 8Ball and MJG. They made their recording debut in with a three-track single, Listen to the Lyrics, released on cassette and 12" vinyl by On the Strength Records, an independent label.

These early recordings for On the Strength would later be reissued in as Lyrics of a Pimp and also in as Memphis Under World. The following year, the duo reunited to release In Our Lifetime Vol. Despite the changing landscape of hip-hop swirling around them, the group never bought into the trends or fads, instead sticking to the innovative formula they had developed nearly a decade earlier.

As their popularity spread throughout the South and beyond, so did their influence, perhaps most notably in their second home of Houston, Texas. And they really created a strong movement in this game. In , they released Living Legends , their first album to reach the top spot of the Hip-Hop charts and still their best-selling album to date. In , they'd further established their lasting legacy with their third release, On Top of the World.

The album, arguably their most complete record, saw both rappers come into their own lyrically and conceptually, perfecting the style they first exhibited on Coming Out Hard and On The Outside Looking In. This is the album that helped fully create the blueprint for a lot of southern rap as we know it— raw, honest, soulful, extremely lyrical.

MJG lyrically trumped virtually everyone who was rapping at the time with his quick-fire verse. Both Ball and G were at their height, showcasing that the south didn't only "have something to say"— they were saying something you needed to hear. Ask your favorite southern rapper who's at the top of their lyrical list, and Ball or MJG will probably be high up there.

Their subsequent solo releases, 8Ball's album, Lost— which peaked at No. Their cadence was a New York cadence mixed with a southern drawl, especially Ball, so people started emulating that style. Their rhyme-style influenced a whole different movement down south. By that time, it was clear that their laid-back, sometimes gritty sound strayed left at the height of the bling era, which dominated southern rap in the early s.

Even still, their influence was felt via the slew of hits that emerged from Houston rappers at the time—from Chamillionaire to Mike Jones and Slim Thug.

While there, they released Living Legends, which is their highest charting album to date as a duo, debuting at No. Popular pages. G Busta Rhymes Jeru the Damaja. Recent blog posts Forum. Explore Wikis Community Central.