The Royalty Network

	M.O.P. (Mass Out Posse) If you were to trace the origins of M.O.P . - as in the infamous ‘ Mash Out Posse' - on a map, your finger would inevitably fall on New York City . It was there that childhood buddies, angst-ridden teens and now business-handling men, Billy Danze and Lil Fame , connected to become one of hip-hop's most determined, forthright and incendiary duos. Now signed to Roc-A-Fella Records , and with their long-awaited Ghetto Warfare LP finally on the way, M.O.P. is poised to finally have their music reach the wider audience they've long deserved. Originally, Fame was the DJ of the crew. With the urging on of his older brother, Fame - also known as “Slap” - began picking up the mic instead of DJ needles. In 1992, Laze E. Laze placed Fame on a compilation he put together called The Hill That's Real. Shortly afterward, Fame sent Laze a recording of a song he'd made with a producer called D.R. Period . The song in question was their debut anthem and the barometer for their records since, “How About Some Hardcore.”
The momentum from the single, including a gritty, $8,000 video from a then-unknown director named Hype Williams , led to the release M.O.P.'s rugged debut album To The Death (1994). The album sold modestly but caught the ear of Gang Starr's DJ Premier . Appreciative of their raw brand of hip-hop, Premier had been tapped to remix “ How About Some Hardcore ” but felt the song was an untouchably classic. He opted instead to create the first of the “ Downtown Swinga ” series of songs, which appeared on the group's sophomore, follow up, Firing Squad. Premo's been a consistent contributor to the M.O.P. sound ever since, executive producing several of their albums.
Further testament to the group's talents is the countless collaborations they have done with high caliber artists including Gang Starr, Busta Rhymes and Big Pun . Their uncompromising style and the limitless energy they inevitably bring with them is what the aforementioned artists seek when creating music with M.O.P. “They want an M.O.P. song on their album. So it ain't no disrespect, we just aggressive dudes when it comes to that microphone”, says group member FAME .
Their stay at Loud was their most successful to date, with their Warriorz album (2000) spawning two hits, “ Cold as Ice ” and the riot-inducing “ Ante Up ”. Tack onto that the blazing “Ante Up Remix” which featured Busta Rhymes, Teflon and Remy Martin , and M.O.P. was prepped to have sales that matched their ghetto credibility. However, while promoting Warriorz overseas, where both songs were chart hits, Loud Records folded, stranding M.O.P. with its distributor, Columbia/Sony . But leaving Sony proved to be difficult. Dealing with Columbia stalled them for another year and a half.
Fortunately, Laze was still in contact with Damon Dash , who was eager to add to M.O.P. to Roc-A-Fella's burgeoning roster. Now comfortable at a label with the vision and dedication to match M.O.P.'s own, the band has started sprinkling the thirsty streets with new material. The super-charged single “ Put It in the Air ” featuring Jay-Z has been burning mix tapes for the past couple of months. They also contributed the Billy Danze-produced burner, “ Wanna Be G's ” to the Bad Boys II Soundtrack album and appeared on Jay Z's The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse's “U Don't Know Remix”. Ghetto Warfare is guaranteed to be more of the same grenade-rap fans have came to rely on. Production from M.O.P., Premier, DR Period and Nottz guarantee sonic punch to Billy and Fame's jabbing lyrics.
Songs like the incendiary, DR Period-produced “ Fire ” or the gut crunching “ F M.O.P.” will test your sound systems bass response while giving its tweeters a work out. Many have tried to imitate M.O.P.'s brash style, but none have ever come close to matching their success. A lot of niggas came and went but we still here. You can throw on any one of our records and love it today like you loved it when you first heard it .”