Mixtape Tuesdayz – Focus On_Black Hippy

Black Hippy

Background information

Origin – South Central, Los Angeles, California, United States
Genres – Hip hop
Years active – 2009–present
Labels – Top Dawg, Interscope[1]
Associated acts – Alori Joh, BJ the Chicago Kid, Jhené Aiko

Website – topdawgmusic.com

Members

Ab-Soul
Jay Rock
Kendrick Lamar
Schoolboy Q

Black Hippy is an American hip hop group from South Central, Los Angeles, California, formed in 2009, composed of West Coast rappers Ab-Soul, Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar and Schoolboy Q.[2][3] Black Hippy was constructed after all of its members were signed to Top Dawg Entertainment; in 2012 they signed with Interscope Records, as both solo artists and as a group, after a joint venture deal.[1]

Although they have yet to release a full-length project as a group, the members are frequent collaborators, regularly appearing and contributing to each other’s respective solo projects, oftentimes not even crediting one another as a featured artist. Lamar had stated that the group will never face demise due to the solidification of each member’s career before they release their debut album as a whole. Kendrick Lamar was the first to release his major label debut, with the album, titled good kid, m.A.A.d city, being highly acclaimed and becoming certified Gold by the RIAA. Schoolboy Q is set to follow with the release of Oxymoron, scheduled for a 2013 release.

History

Formation and career beginnings (2009-2011)

The group was formed in 2009, when all of its members were signed to Top Dawg Entertainment, a Carson-based independent record label.[2][3] The idea of forming a group came from Schoolboy Q, who in his words says because he was “slacking in my music”: “I figured if I could be in a group I could just write one verse and I could be good”, he added.[4] Schoolboy Q, the last of the four to join the label, admitted to initially being intimidated when he first started going to the studio, but eventually the tenacity of his collaborators rubbed off on him.[4] In 2011, Black Hippy received co-signs from hip hop legends Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, as well as Tech N9ne who called them “the new N.W.A.” and had hopes of signing the group to his Strange Music imprint.[5][6]

Record deal and solo albums (2012-present)

In March 2012, MTV announced that Top Dawg Entertainment closed a joint venture deal with Interscope Records and Aftermath Entertainment. Under the new deal, it was announced Lamar’s debut studio album good kid, m.A.A.d city (2012), would be jointly released via Aftermath, Top Dawg and Interscope, while releases from the rest of Black Hippy were to be distributed via Top Dawg and Interscope.[1][7][8] On August 9, 2012 the music video for Ab-Soul’s “Black Lip Bastard (Remix)”, featuring the rest of Black Hippy, was released.[9] In the summer of 2012, the group performed at the annual hip hop festival, Rock the Bells.[10] The whole group appeared on the remixes of Lamar’s singles “The Recipe” and “Swimming Pools (Drank)”, taken from good kid, m.A.A.d city. On December 20, 2012, the lineup for the 2013 Paid Dues hip hop festival was revealed, announcing Black Hippy as the headliners.[1] In April 2013, Black Hippy covered RESPECT. magazine, which hit newsstands on the 30th.[11] In 2013, Black Hippy became the first hip hop group to have all members make XXL Magazine’s annual Top 10 Freshmen list; with Jay Rock appearing on the 2010 issue, Kendrick Lamar on the 2011 issue and Ab-Soul, alongside Schoolboy Q, appearing on the 2013 issue.[12][13][14]

Discography

Album appearances together
List of songs Black Hippy has collectively appeared on

TitleYearAlbumArtist(s)

“Try Me”2008Schoolboy Turned HustlaSchoolboy Q (also featuring Punch)

“Welcome to C4″2009C4Kendrick Lamar (also featuring BO)

“Top Daw Cypha”Gangsta & SoulSchoolboy Q (also featuring Lil Louie)

“TDE Roll Call”30 Day TakeoverJay Rock

“I Do It 4 Hip Hop”

“Shadow of Death”2010Black Friday

“Rolling Stone”2011SetbacksSchoolboy Q

“Constipation”Longterm MentalityAb-Soul

“Say Wassup”Follow Me HomeJay Rock

“Black Lip Bastard (Remix)”2012Control SystemAb-Soul

“The Recipe (Remix)”good kid, m.A.A.d cityKendrick Lamar (also featuring Dr. Dre)

“Swimming Pools (Remix)”Kendrick Lamar
See also

Top Dawg Entertainment discography

Ab-Soul discography
Jay Rock discography
Kendrick Lamar discography
Schoolboy Q discography
Music videos

List of music videos, showing year released and director

TitleYearDirector(s)

“Zip That, Chop That”2010Matt Plunkett & Joseph Donaldson

“On Some Other Shit”Calmatic

“Say Wassup”2011Fredo Tovar

“Black Lip Bastard (Remix)”201

Red Everything Movement