Da Youngsta's
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| Da Youngsta's | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Illy Funkstaz |
| Origin | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Genre(s) | East Coast hip hop, Hip hop, Hardcore rap |
| Years active | 1992-1995 |
| Label(s) | Pop Art Atlantic |
| Members | |
| Taj Mahal Qu'ran Tarik |
|
Da Youngsta's is a trio consisting of two brothers Taji "Taj Mahal" Goodman and Qu'ran Goodman and their cousin Tarik Dawson hailing from Philadelphia.
The Goodman brothers are the sons of Lawrence "LG" Goodman, CEO of Pop Art Records and one of Philadelphia rap's founding fathers. The group is often considered as the best teen act in hip hop history, although greater commercial success eluded them throughout their career.
Contents |
[edit] Career
[edit] Late years
Da Youngsta's debut album, 1992's Somethin' 4 Da Youngsta's was unfortunately overshadowed by the explosive success of their kiddie counterparts Kris Kross. However, they were able to garner a strong reputation in hip hop's underground due to the fact that, unlike similar child acts of the day, they wrote their own lyrics.
Their second album, 1993's The Aftermath, featured grand influences from Das EFX and Onyx as Da Youngsta's boasted a more aggressive and dexterous rapping style and had production support from some of hip hop's heavyweights like DJ Premier, The Beatnuts, Marley Marl and Pete Rock. Hardcore tracks like "Wild Child" and "Crewz Pop" won them a bigger following; notably, Qu'ran began producing beats for the song "Da Hood", foreshadowing a future career as a producer.
Da Youngsta's third album, 1994's No Mercy, is often regarded as their best. It contains their most successful single, "Hip Hop Ride," a sunny ode to hip hop music which peaked at #21 on the Hot Rap Singles charts and #68 on the Billboard Hot 100. This time, most of the production work was left to Marley Marl and his protégé K-Def to handle.
The group released their final album in 1995 I'll Make You Famous that found them referring to themselves as Illy Funkstaz a nickname they had used sporadically for the last two albums. It contained the Mobb Deep featured single "Bloodshed and War". The album was the least successful of their releases, and nothing has been heard from them as a group ever since.
[edit] Recent years
Qu'ran has continued in the industry as a producer, most recently co-producing one of the tracks for Amerie's album Because I Love It.
Taj Mahal is currently embarking on a solo career, releasing a video for "Gingerbread Man" as a promotional tool for his upcoming solo debut. As for Tarik Dawson, little to nothing has been heard of him since the group's last album.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
| Year | Title | Chart positions[1] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heatseekers | Billboard 200 | Top R&B/Hip hop albums | ||
| 1992 | Somethin 4 Da Youngsta's | - | - | - |
| 1993 | The Aftermath | #4 | #126 | #25 |
| 1994 | No Mercy | - | - | #45 |
| 1995 | I'll Make U Famous | - | - | - |
[edit] Singles
| Year | Title | Chart positions[2] | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hot rap singles | Hot R&B/Hip hop songs | Hot Dance singles | Billboard Hot 100 | |||
| 1992 | "Pass da Mic" | #10 | - | - | - | Somethin 4 Da Youngsta's |
| 1993 | "Iz U With Me" | #9 | - | - | - | The Aftermath |
| "Crewz Pop" | #3 | #59 | #26 | - | ||
| 1994 | "Hip Hop Ride" | #21 | #62 | #21 | #68 | No Mercy |
| 1995 | "Mad Props" | #36 | - | #19 | - | |
| "I'll Make U Famous" | - | - | - | - | I'll Make U Famous | |
[edit] References
- ^ Albums chart history. All Music Guide. Retrieved on 2007-12-28.
- ^ Singles chart positions. All Music Guide. Retrieved on 2007-12-28.
