Next, he tied the rope off onto a railing and climbed back up to the roof and loaded the bricks into the bucket. Then he went back down to the ground. He knew that the bricks would be heavy, so he wrapped the rope around his hand a couple of times and then untied the end of the rope with his other hand. Produced by 8Ball & MJG. Album On The Outside Looking In. Crumbz 2 Brixx Lyrics. Player haters wanna turn crumbs to bricks”) Verse 3: MJG Nothin’ but muthafuckin’ hoe shit. 8Ball and MJG Lyrics. 8Ball and MJG Lyrics. From the Album From The Bottom 2 The Top (2010) (buy at amazon.com) Pimp Ride Lay It Down 2 From the Album Ten Toes Down (2010) (buy at amazon.com). Play Bricks n Balls Online on your Mobile Phone or Tablet - Bricks n Balls Online is a free mobile (no download) game, offered to you by Plonga.com - Tap to play!
Origin | Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.A. |
---|---|
Genres | Hip hop, Southern hip hop |
Years active | 1991–present |
Labels | Suave House, Grand Hustle, E1 Music, Bad Boy South, Real Talk |
Associated acts | Three 6 Mafia, UGK, Young Buck, Al Kapone, T.I., Lil' Flip, 112, Tameka Cottle |
Past members | Premro '8Ball' Smith Marlon Jermaine 'MJG' Goodwin |
8Ball & MJG is an American hip hop duo from Memphis, Tennessee. The two rappers met at Ridgeway Middle School (Memphis, Tennessee) in 1984. In 1993, the duo released their debut album Comin' Out Hard. They went on to release On 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) and Ten Toes Down (2010).
Career[edit]
8Ball & MJG first appeared on the rap scene with their underground 1991 album Listen to the Lyrics.[1] In 1993, they released the successful album Comin' Out Hard.[2] Their subsequent albums in the 1990s, including 1994's On the Outside Looking In, and 1995's On Top of the World cemented their status as some of the South's best rappers.[3]On Top of the World was particularly successful, peaking at #8 on the Billboard Hot 200 and being certified Gold.[3] It also contained the song 'Space Age Pimpin', which was 8Ball & MJG's first single to chart, reaching #58 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles and Tracks chart and #22 on the Hot Rap Singles chart.[4] After those albums both 8Ball & MJG released solo albums, first MJG's No More Glory in 1997 and then 8Ball's Lost in 1998.[5][6] They reunited in 1999 to release their fourth album as a group, titled In Our Lifetime.[7] One year later in 2000, they released their fifth group album entitled Space Age 4 Eva.[8]
In 1996, they appeared on the Red Hot Organization's compilation CD, America is Dying Slowly, alongside Biz Markie, Wu-Tang Clan, and Fat Joe, among many other prominent hip hop artists.[9] The CD, meant to raise awareness of the AIDS epidemic among African American men, was heralded as 'a masterpiece' by The Source magazine.[9] In the early 2000s they would sign with Sean Combs' Bad Boy Records.[10] They already had some experience with the label, being featured on the song 'The Player Way' from Bad Boy rapper Mase's 1997 album Harlem World.[11] Their first album for Bad Boy Records, Living Legends, came out in 2004 and was certified Gold by the RIAA.[12] Their second album on Bad Boy Records was titled Ridin' High and was released in March 2007.[12]
Commercially one of the high points of 8Ball & MJG's career was their being featured on Three 6 Mafia's hit song 'Stay Fly' in 2005.[13] That song peaked at #13 on the Billboard 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 of Tennessee, whence Three 6 Mafia also hail.[13] Today 8Ball and MJG also head their own record labels. 8Ball heads 8 Ways Entertainment (distributed by Koch 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 the Southern United States for their 2006 single, 'What's Yo Favorite Color?', which glorifies their neighborhood of Orange Mound.[14]
In September 2007, 8Ball and MJG signed deals in Sacramento, CA with Real Talk Entertainment 8Ball released a group album with E.D.I of the Outlawz entitled Doin' It Big on April 1, 2008 and MJG released a solo album entitled Pimp Tight on April 29, 2008.[14][15] In June 2008 the group announced that they officially signed onto T.I.'s record label Grand Hustle.[16] Their eighth album as a group and their first on Grand Hustle, titled Ten Toes Down, was released in May 2010.[17] It reached #36 on the Billboard 200 in its first week.[17]
Discography[edit]
Studio albums[edit]
- Comin' Out Hard (1993)
- On 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)
- Ten Toes Down (2010)
8Ball albums[edit]
- Lost (1998)
- Almost Famous (2001)
- Lay It Down (2002)
- Light Up the Bomb (2006)
- The Vet & The Rookie(with Devius) (2007)
- Doin' It Big(with E.D.I.) (2008)
- 8Ball & Memphis All-Stars: Cars, Clubs & Strip Clubs (2009)
- Life's Quest (2012)
MJG albums[edit]
- No More Glory (1997)
- Pimp Tight (2008)
- This Might Be the Day (2008)
- Too Pimpin' (2013)
- Too Pimpin' 2.0 (2014)
References[edit]
- ^'Eight Ball And MJG* - Listen To The Lyrics (Cassette) at Discogs'. Discogs.com. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
- ^'Comin' Out Hard: 8ball & Mjg: Music'. Amazon.com. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
- ^ ab'iTunes - Music - On Top Of The World by 8Ball & MJG'. Itunes.apple.com. October 31, 1995. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
- ^'Space Age Pimpin' [Explicit]: 8 Ball & Mjg: MP3 Downloads'. Amazon.com. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
- ^'iTunes - Music - No More Glory by MJG'. Itunes.apple.com. November 18, 1997. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
- ^'iTunes - Music - Lost by Eightball'. Itunes.apple.com. May 19, 1998. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
- ^'iTunes - Music - In Our Lifetime by 8Ball & MJG'. Itunes.apple.com. May 18, 1999. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
- ^Birchmeier, Jason (November 21, 2000). 'Space Age 4 Eva - Eightball & MJG : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards'. AllMusic. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
- ^ ab'iTunes - Music - America Is Dying Slowly by Various Artists'. Itunes.apple.com. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
- ^Langhorne, Cyrus (June 8, 2009). '8Ball Explains Bad Boy Break, Rewards Eminem W/ Rap Legend Status'. Sohh.Com. Archived from the original on December 19, 2013. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
- ^Stanley, Leo (October 28, 1997). 'Harlem World - Mase : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards'. AllMusic. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
- ^ abJeffries, David (May 11, 2004). 'Living Legends - Eightball & MJG : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards'. AllMusic. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
- ^ abc'iTunes - Music - Stay Fly (feat. Young Buck & 8Ball & MJG) - EP by Three 6 Mafia'. Itunes.apple.com. July 5, 2005. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
- ^ abc'8 Ball & 8 Ways Entertainment :: Light Up the Bomb :: 8 Ways Entertainment'. Rapreviews.com. November 21, 2006. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
- ^Rinaldi, Matt (April 29, 2008). 'MJG: Pimp Tight - 8Ball : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards'. AllMusic. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
- ^Burgess, Omar (June 16, 2008). 'T.I. Signs 8Ball & MJG While Beef Continues | Get The Latest Hip Hop News, Rap News & Hip Hop Album Sales'. HipHop DX. Archived from the original on June 19, 2008. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
- ^ abJeffries, David (May 4, 2010). 'Ten Toes Down - Eightball & MJG : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards'. AllMusic. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
External links[edit]
- Eightball & MJG at AllMusic
By: Attiyya Anthony
I’m mad that I’m 10 years late.
With nine albums under their belt, and preparing for their 10th—it’s clear that Rod and Rude of the Strangeez have been doing their thing. Ears perked up when their last album “Beyond the Fame” dropped in 2005, with corner store anthems like “Coasting” and “Good Life” featuring Lil Boosie, and club bangers like “Stop” and “Bounce with Me.”
On the surface, the Strangeez are two typical hood niggas— rapping about weed smoking, female chasing and money stacking, but unlike those other catchy-hooked, major record-deal southern artists— the Strangeez don’t just rap about being real, they live it.
Staying real seems to be an underlying theme to all the things you guys do-- even in the case of refusing major contracts with record labels like DefJam, Interscope and Slip-n-Slide Records that many rap acts would jump at. What was the reasoning behind not taking one of those deals?
ROD: We saw it as whatever they were offering we could do it on our own. Those deals were for rappers looking for chains and cars, but they end up owing all that money back to label. We on some life-changing shit over here, we eating— we ain't countin’ pennies.
RUDE: Money makes the world go round, but we ain't in it for the fame. We like what we’re doing— we’re able to eat and pay the bills.
So, honestly, all the money and the celebrity status didn’t appeal to you guys at all?
RUDE: Money isn’t everything. I could step up to some of these niggas who got money and be like, ‘What you gonna do?’ And they gonna fold— they ain’t gonna do shit, because money ain't got anything to do with it. It’s about what you got inside— it's about heart.
ROD: Our last album sold almost 4,200 digitally in 28 major chains like Best Buy and FYE. Our 'Ride Wood' album in 2003 sold 4,600 copies and was in 41 chain stores. And you can find us in a million corner stores. So, we’re good. We gave up that trying to be famous shit a long time ago.
Now you guys have established your own record label-- Major Weight Entertainment. You guys also have a recording studio, distribution company, upcoming TV show, magazine, and do club promotion. What do you have to say to those that thought you wouldn’t make it?
RUDE: I’ll make another song for them and let them hate some more.
ROD: If they don’t hate… It ain’t real.
Are you guys trying to be role models?
ROD: No, we examples of what not to do.
You guys have a very unique style? Where do your musical influences come from?
ROD & RUDE: Scarface, Jay-Z, Biggy and Tupac.
RUDE: 2 Live Crew.
ROD: We first called ourselves the Strangers because our style was so different, we sounded like we were from everywhere. We traveled a lot and picked up a lot from surrounding cities and brought it back. The hood gave us the name Strangeez, because we've been in the game so long— we’re like OGs now.
I hear there used to be four members. How has the Strangeez group dynamics changed since the split?
ROD: You got through life, trim the fat and figure out the shit that you do and don’t need. Rude and I have known each other for 20 years. He’s always whining and complaining, and always wants to argue, but he’s like family to me. He’s my Road Dog.
RUDE: Rod’s the boring one and I’m Rude, ya feel me— the total opposite—full of life. I’m night, and he’s day. But you need both night and day to make life.
Rod— you called Rude your “Road Dog.” That’s also one of the songs on your “Beyond the Fame” album. What’s that about?
8ball And Mjg Crumbs To Bricks Free
ROD: It’s this movement we got going on. It’s about brotherhood.
RUDE: We rap about life—we more on that homeboy shit, about making someone’s life better— about changing things. Like don’t be spending your money on jewelry when you know you should go pay your bills with that shit. We rap about sticking with each other through thick and thin and keeping it 100% real. I lost a lot of friends and I got people in the ground that ain’t coming back, but that’s life and that’s war.
You two have been in the game for 10 years strong and have nine albums under your belt. When can we expect from the next Strangeez album?
ROD: We looking to drop our 10th album “From Crumbs to Bricks” on Thanksgiving Day at our album release party at Club Zanzibar in Ocala. We'll have Trina in the house. She hasn't been in this area before, so we are trying to show her a good time.
You guys have opened for major artists like Rick Ross, Lil Boosie, Webbie, Plies, Jim Jones, Jeezy, Fat Joe and Baby. Do you have any special guest on this album?
ROD: 8Ball & MJG, Lil Boosie, OJ da Juiceman, Javon Black, Pastor Troy and some local artists.
So what’s next for you two?