M.O.P. "To The Death" (April 5, 1994)

M.O.P. stands for Mash Out Posse, and its members are rappers Lil Fame and Bill Danziene. So far, the act is known for "How About Some Hardcore," the hard-edged single that also appears on the "House Party 3" soundtrack. Before that jam, Lil Fame dropped three cuts on 4th & Bway's 1992 compilation set "The Hill That's Real," including "Bring The Ruckus." Those efforts helped reinforce his name among those in the street game. According to Lil Fame, who, along with Danziene, grew up in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, N.Y., the set contains "some around-the-way shit. We write about things we've been through, what we had to do to survive, and stuff that goes on around us." The duo was signed to Select Records by Silver D, director of A&R. In the past, he had supervised cuts on "The Hill That's Real." The process of developing M.O.P. began last October, when "How About Some Hardcore" appeared. "We felt the record was a New York thing, so we went right to local mix-show jocks like Ron G, the Awesome Two, Funkmaster Flex and Red Alert." The resulting buzz spread to New England, thanks to support from college radio. Select then focused its promotional energies on the South, where the record was gaining acceptance. "M.O.P. turned into a real word-of-mouth thing, and we've been going where we see outbreaks," says Select president Fred Munao. When the new Darryl D-produced album arrives, the label will continue its street-oriented campaign. "We'll be perfectly content with a slow build, gaining solid street credibility and street props," says Wyatt Cheek, VP of marketing at Select. Explaining his moniker, Lil Fame says, "I know mad people, and I get crazy props for what I do. Everybody be like, 'Yo, that lil' n#gga could rap!'" Going with the flow, Danziene offers an explanation of his own handle, "I earned that from the way I take care of my business," he says. "It makes it seem like I'm on top of things, like I'm controllin' shit." Among the tracks on the album are "Heistmaster," which swims in C.R.E.A.M. themes. On "F.A.G.," the duo takes it to the face of "fake ass gangstas." "Blue Steel" sports high-caliber rhymes like, "It's time to let 'em know the deal / Nowadays shit is for real - so I'm packin' blue steel." - H. Nelson. To The Death...

The full review from March 1994 and more is below...

DJ Premier "So Wassup?" ("Brownsville" Episode, Video)

DJ Premier returns once again with a new episode in his phenomenal video-blog series, So Wassup?; a salute to the floppy disc! Premo touches down in Brooklyn with Lil' Fame and Billy Danze for the track "Brownsville" off their album Firing Squad in 1996 on Relativity. DJ Premier also produced "Stick To Ya Gunz" off that album, which is a personal favorite, among others on the LP. Premo explains how he cut vocals from the end of "How About Some Hardcore"--after OG BooBang passed away--as the intro vocals to "Brownsville", paying tribute to BooBang (R.I.P.). Premier produced the record on a MPC 3000, which was NOT his preferred weapon of choice, but the engineer had ordered the wrong equipment to the studio session that day. He was shown how to use it, and got busy though, as only DJ Premier could do. There's more dope back story and history on the record, I won't ruin it all for ya ... click play and enjoy! Salute DJ Premier, M.O.P., and mgr. Ian Schwartzman...

Sean Price x Lil Fame "Price Of Fame" (Album Stream)

Sean Price & Lil Fame join forces for 'The Price of Fame' album on Duck Down Records. The 11-track project features M.O.P., Smif N Wessun, Rock of Heltah Skeltah, Conway The Machine, Illa Gee, and Guilty Simpson. The album is entirely produced by Lil Fame of M.O.P., and contains all unreleased Sean Price verses! Rest In Peace, Sean Price, one of the best lyricists to ever pick up a microphone. Don't sleep on Fizzy Womack's production neither, salute Lil Fame! You can listen to the LP below...

M.O.P. "First Family 4 Life" (Vibe, 9/98)

"With First Family, M.O.P.'s harrowing third full-length album (they also released an EP, Handle Ur Bizness, earlier this year), Billy Danze and Lil' Fame step up to get their rep up, with Fame tackling much of the disc's production. Billy has developed lyrically since M.O.P.'s 1994 debut, at times setting aside his gun-clapping escapades to take on more compelling issues, such as the welfare of his "seed" ("What The Future Holds"). "4 Alarm Blaze," an energetic, bang-your-head-into-the-wall masterpiece, balances nicely against the album's more sedate tracks, including the emotion "Blood, Sweat, Tears." With helping hands Premier, Laze E. Laze, and Da Beatminerz, this Brownsville, Brooklyn duo prove that the key to longevity is growth." - Vibe Magazine, September 1998.

You can peep the full review from Vibe Magazine below....

M.O.P. "Warriorz" (October 10, 2000)

"The call to war has long been answered by Hip-Hop's most gallant band of warriors, M.O.P. Lil' Fame and Billy Danzenie began diggin' in the trenches back in 1993 when they asked the classic question "How About Some Hardcore." Shortly thereafter, this Brownsville, Brooklyn regime returned to the field releasing the critically acclaimed albums, "To The Death" (1994), "Firing Squad" (1997) and "First Family 4 Life" (1998) forever leaving their mark on the 20th century. Now in the new millennium M.O.P. is back elevating their authentic hard core rap status while permanently defining their niche in hip-hop as rap's fearless foot soldiers. As the renowned "First Family" of Brooklyn, M.O.P. has taken their aggressive act into the studio once again. Finding a new home in rap powerhouse Loud Records, M.O.P. will release their 4th full-length album entitled, Warriorz early fall 2000. This album is the unabashed, complete manifestation of what M.O.P. is known for - their pounding hard-core rhythms, their flippantly defiant lyrics and their explosive live performances." Cont'd below...

"Teaming up with long time family member, the legendary DJ Premier, M.O.P. spits verbal flames over more than a half a dozen of Premier's hard hitting edgy tracks. No music connoisseur can deny M.O.P.'s passionate delivery over Primo tracks like "Follow Instructions" and "Roll Call" and the pounding beats juxtaposed to the adrenaline racing, urgently executed M.O.P. vocals. With additional production by Pete Rock, Buckwild, DJ Scratch, Laze E Laze, the talented Fizzy Womack (M.O.P. group member Lil' Fame) and DR Period ("How About Some Hardcore") "Warriorz" will definitely serve as a foundation to the group's lyrical fury." - Press Kit. The LP was released 15 years ago today.

M.O.P. "Firing Squad" (Rap Pages, 11/96)

"While the group's 1993 debut To Tha Death had its moments - including the seminal Crooklyn street anthem "How About Some Hardcore" - the album's uninspired, monotonous production was its downfall. Thankfully, things have changed dramatically for the better. "This year n!ggas can't compare / Spectators hate us 'cause we're f#ckin' with Premier," growls an always amped-up Billy Danze to the delight of his nimble partner Lil' Fame (the nicest kid with a lisp since Erick Sermon) on the rousing "Salute." Like Q-Tip's work on official Queensbridge murderers Mobb Deep's opus The Infamous, Premier has his hands all over M.O.P.'s formidable Firing Squad. Serving as the unofficial overseer, Primo is behind the boards on the album's best cuts, and he also incredibly mixed the entire album, providing it with a sinister, continuous vibe." Revisit this classic LP," cont'd below...

"Unquestionably, Firing Squad is one of the year's finest releases. Processing more flavor than a plastic tin filled with Lifesavers, M.O.P.'s exhilarating music will force you to ignore the fact that the fellas' lyrics are so one-dimensional ... While not a classic masterpiece, "the eject from Select" was a tremendous power move for the fellas, and they have definitely positioned themselves at the top of the class of this fall's plethora of rap releases. I disagree with Lil' Fame - when I die, bury my ass with a copy of Firing Squad." - Rap Pages, November 1996. Read the full album review below...

Heather B “My Kinda N#gga” (12", 1996)

Back in the early 90s, Heather B was down with the legendary Boogie Down Productions. With that, this 12” had production from Kenny Parker of the BDP and brother to KRS-One. Along with the classic golden era single, “All Glocks Down,” there were three 12” releases before Heather B & Pendulum Records got to the release of this M.O.P.-featured 12”, “My Kinda N#gga.” All in support of her debut album, "Takin Mine" in 1996. There was a video for this single, as well as “All Glocks Down,” I’m not sure if the others did as well? Heather B released a second album in 2002 called “Eternal Affairs.” Heather B later became a household name as a housemate on MTV’s Real World series, and has been a co-host on Sway in The Morning for a hot minute, as well. As a fun fact: Heather B is married to Horse from the Bravehearts, who she happened to meet on the subway 15+ years ago. I know she was working on music with DJ Premier, MoSS, and other heavyweight producers in 2010 because I heard some of it at an interview we did together up at NYU. Hopefully it's still coming!? Now, back to '96, this is some classic 90s East Coast Hip-Hop. Listen to it below...

M.O.P. "To The Death" (The Source, 1994)

'To The Death' is the debut album from M.O.P. (Lil' Fame & Billy Danze), released in April 1994 via Select Street Records. With the lead single 'How About Some Hardcore' & the DJ Premier remix to 'Rugged Neva Smoove,' the underground got put on to the Mash Out Posse real quickly. A Vibe article in 2000 describes M.O.P’s sound as ‘sniper-sharp vocal deliveries, big bottom production, and anthemic choruses ideal for stadium-size appreciation.' The article also targeted the hypocrisy of underground fans that helped catapult the careers of many of M.O.P.'s biggest collaborators, but don't know M.O.P.'s catalog (outside the singles) nearly as well. On production, all tracks on the album were handled by DR Period, except one, which was produced by Silver D. In later years, Lil' Fame's production would be another tool in M.O.P.'s arsenal, especially on 'Cold As Ice' off the 'Warriorz' LP. He's actually a pretty dope DJ too, I've watched him spin and I was always amused that this laid back guy would turn into one of the most aggressive lyricists our culture has ever known, lol. In their ongoing 20+ year career, they have given us quality hip-hop time and again: 'World Famous,' 'Stick To Ya Gunz,' 'Ante Up,' 'Cold As Ice,' 'Handle ur Bizness,' and so much more. The album review from The Source is above and M.O.P.'s "To The Death" album from '94 is below, revisit it today...

M.O.P. "How About Some Hardcore?" (The Source, 2/94)

"About a year a go 4th & B'way put out a compilation titled The Hill That's Real, some of the group's featured had flavor but the project went no where. One bright spot was an MC named Little Fame. Now coupled with his partner Billy Danzenie, Fame is about to give you a formal introduction to talent. "How About Some Hardcore?" already has the buzz in NY. We're talkin' about a "Who Got the Props / Protect Ya Neck" vibe. And after one listen you'll see why. Trust us, go out and invest in the wax because Fame and Bill rap like they don't give a fuck. Not senseless nihilism, mind you, but with out restraint. Youthful energy at its best. The beat is full of bass and horns but not like most NYC tracks. It definitely stands out and makes you ask, "Who dat?" Producer Darrel D has the butter and the rhyme delivery is what you wish more people would do." If you ever wondered what it would sound like if Redman and Kool G Rap had formed a group or if Run DMC had started in the 90s, this is it. The rhymes come rapid-fire: "But of course I drop n!ggas like drawers / N!ggas'll hit the floors from the mutherf#ckin' fo-fours" ... It's almost like they're trying to out do each other on each verse. But in '94 that what you be trying to do. You've got to treat each record like it's your last." - The Source (2/94). Peep the visuals to M.O.P.'s "How About Some Hardcore" below...

A copy of the original review in The Source (2/94) is below...