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Biography
Founded by rappers Grand Puba (Maxwell Dixon), Sadat X (Derek Murphy), and Lord Jamar (Lorenzo Dechalus), alongside DJ Alamo in 1989, Brand Nubian released their debut single “Brand Nubian” the same year. Picked up by Dante Ross of Elektra Records, the group issued their debut full-length “One For All” in 1990 earning positive reviews for its flow and listenability. Despite this, Brand Nubian’s music was laden with Five-Percenter references, and much controversy greeted the albums’ singles “Drop the Bomb” and “Wake Up” for what was considered severe racism. The video for “Wake Up”, which featured a black man in white makeup was subsequently banned from MTV, despite this “All for One” proved a popular album boasting proficient lyricists.
Following the release, Grand Puma, arguably the group’s focal point and figurehead, departed alongside DJ Alamo, and Brand Nubian enlisted the services of DJ Sincere, who arrived in 1992. Later in 1992 the group came under more scrutiny for their single “Punks Jump up to Get Down” which contained strong homophobic content, and was revised in subsequent versions. Brand Nubian’s sophomore album “In God We Trust” arrived in 1993 marked by an outspoken pro-Islam rhetoric supporting the proudly-controversial Minister Louis Farrakhan. By this point the group were finding it hard not to isolate their listeners, and following their 1994 full-length “Everything is Everything” the group’s members went solo.
The original Brand Nubian lineup returned in 1998 to release the studio alum “Foundation”. Spawning the singles “The Return”, “Don’t Let It Go to Your Head”, and “Let’s Dance” the record peaked at No. 59 on the Billboard 200, and earned popular reviews from the critical press. Following another hiatus, the group released “Fire in the Hole” in 2004, noted for its continuation of seductive beats yet relaxed rhetoric. The full-length “Time’s Runnin’ Out” followed in 2007 featuring a collection of recordings made almost ten years earlier in 1997 and 1998.
Live reviews
80s hip hop has something really exciting about it, as it was a new genre at the time, and had the wow factor of being a reasonably fresh genre of music. For Brand Nubian who began their career back in the late 80s, they’ve managed to hold on to this magic, and transfer their musical genre into something appropriate for all generations of audiences.
Their album One for All is one of their most successful albums, and rocketed them to fame when it was dubbed as the most popular alternative hip hop album of the 90s. The refreshing thing about the group is their lyrical content. Rather than focusing their hip hop around women and fast cars as is popular in the genre, they are known for making political and socially conscious statements in their music. Seeing them live, their passion for the subject matter becomes even more evident through their body language, and facial expressions, and that was something really exiting to witness that you just can’t comprehend through listening to a recorded track.
They played their hits as well as newer tracks, the audience went crazy for Let’s Dance, and the band encouraged everyone to do just that. They were great at interacting with everyone in the crowd, getting them into the vibe of the music, whilst putting on a knock out show.
yazhow
Controversy has followed the career of alternative hip hop collective Brand Nubian due to their socialistic lyrical nature and politically charged content. Many people are ready to dismiss the band before giving them chance to demonstrate their merits and this is unfair when you consider their live show to be one of the most impressive and well thought out on the scene.
The rappers may have been interchanging through the group's career yet everybody is present tonight and they know how to react to each other well onstage. They also know how to involve the crowd to get the best reaction from them which is not always the case with other hip hop performers. The albums have not always scored well commercially due to the continued criticism yet there is definitely a cult appreciation for them as every track is sung/rapped back intently by the crowd. They end on a 90s single '360 Degrees (What Goes Around)' that the fans still react well to as the thumping introduction begins and the group look pleased at the performance.
sean-ward
