A Lighter Shade of Brown (LSOB) was an American hip hop duo from

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States, in the Inland Empire metropolitan area. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. It is the most populous city in the Inland Empire an ...

best known for their 1990 hit single "On a Sunday Afternoon", a success in the U.S., written by songwriters and musicians David Dunson and Micah Carson.

History

LSOB was formed in 1989 by One Dope Mexican (Robert Gutierrez) and Don't Try To Xerox (Bobby Ramirez).

Biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...

Allmusic.com They recorded demos and landed a record deal soon after with small independent label Pump. Their debut album, 1990's ''Brown and Proud'', brought the group their lone Top 40 single in the U.S. with "On A Sunday Afternoon," which contained samples of

The Young Rascals ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

' 1967 hit "

Groovin' "Groovin" is a single released in 1967 by American rock band the Young Rascals that became a number-one hit and one of the group's signature songs. It has been covered by many artists, including the Young Rascals themselves in other languages. ...

" and

Tommy James and the Shondells Tommy James and the Shondells are an American pop rock/psychedelic rock band, formed in Niles, Michigan, in 1964. They had two No. 1 singles in the U.S. – " Hanky Panky" (July 1966, their only RIAA Certified Gold record) and "Crimson and Clo ...

' 1969 hit "

Crystal Blue Persuasion "Crystal Blue Persuasion" is a 1969 song originally recorded by Tommy James and the Shondells and composed by Eddie Gray, Tommy James and Mike Vale. Background A gentle-tempoed groove, "Crystal Blue Persuasion" was built around a prominent orga ...

", and peaked at #39 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The song also went to #1 for 2 weeks in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. The duo provided songs for Latino-market movies such as ''

Mi Vida Loca ''Mi Vida Loca'' (also known as ''My Crazy Life'') is a 1993 American drama film directed and written by Allison Anders. It centers on the plight of cholas (the female counterparts to cholos) growing up in the Echo Park section of Los Angeles, w ...

'' and '' I Like It Like That'' following the release of their second LP, 1992's ''Hip Hop Locos'', which failed to chart. The success of "Sunday Afternoon" nonetheless resulted in

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it i ...

signing the group and releasing their third disc, ''Layin' in the Cut'', in 1994. The record did not sell as well as was hoped, peaking at #184 on the ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart. LSOB went on a temporary hiatus, returning in 1997 on indie with Greenside Records. Their self-titled fourth album featured guest appearances from

Rappin' 4-Tay Anthony H. Forté (born March 2, 1968), better known by his stage name Rappin' 4-Tay, is an American rapper from San Francisco, California. Early life Anthony Forte was born March 2, 1968 and grew up in San Francisco's Fillmore District. He has ...

and

Dwayne Wiggins D'wayne Patrice Wiggins (born February 14, 1961) is an American singer, guitarist, and record producer best known as the founding member of the 1990s soul/R&B group Tony! Toni! Toné! Early life Wiggins was born in Oakland, California; speci ...

Tony! Toni! Toné! Tony! Toni! Toné! was an American soul/ R&B band from Oakland, California, popular during the late 1980s and early to mid-1990s. During the band's heyday, it was composed of D'wayne Wiggins on lead vocals and guitar, his brother Raphael Saadiq ...

. 1999 marked the last of their releases, including a greatest hits album and a non-charting single, "Sunny Day." That year, Gutierrez became a DJ at San Bernardino radio station

KGGI KGGI (99.1 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Riverside, California, and broadcasting to the Inland Empire. The station airs a Rhythmic Contemporary radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. Its studios are on Iowa Avenue ...

and Bobby carried on touring as LSOB and working on new music. A decade later, on October 18, 2011, the album ''It's A Wrap'' was released through Illuminated Entertainment Group. The album was produced by

Playalitical Playalitical (born Dustin Robbins; March 7, 1982 – September 15, 2020) was an American rapper and producer and owner Illuminated Entertainment Group. He's done songs with Snoop Dogg, E-40, Rappin' 4-Tay Anthony H. Forté (born March 2, ...

. Ramirez is the only one out of the group that raps on it, as sort of a one-man Lighter Shade of Brown. The album's radio single "Call Me Over" was produced by Fingazz and featured Playalitical and Zig Zag of the NB Ridaz. A music video was also filmed and released for the song. On July 18, 2016, Don't Try To Xerox died after being in a coma for 11 days.

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

*''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

'' (1999)

Singles

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lighter Shade of Brown Hip hop groups from California Musical groups established in 1990 Musical groups disestablished in 2016 American rappers of Mexican descent Musical groups from Riverside County, California Culture of Riverside, California Hip hop duos Chicano rap American musical duos