Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. is an American
hip hop band from
Carson
Carson may refer to:
People
*Carson (surname), people with the surname
*Carson (given name), people with the given name
Places
;In the United States
* Carson, California, a city
* Carson Township, Fayette County, Illinois
*Carson, Iowa, a city
* ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, consisting of the
American Samoa
American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the International ...
Devoux brothers Paul (died 2020), Ted (died 2018), Donald, Roscoe, Danny (died 2022), David and Vincent. It is noted for its use of a live band, utilizing
funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...
and
metal
A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...
influences, and
gangsta rap
Gangsta rap or gangster rap, initially called reality rap, emerged in the mid- to late 1980s as a controversial hip-hop subgenre whose lyrics assert the culture and values typical of American street gangs and street hustlers. Many gangsta rappe ...
lyricism.
Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. became popular after touring in Japan in the mid-1980s, where they were initially known as the "Blue City Crew." The "Boo-Yaa" in their name signifies the sound of a
shotgun
A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge (firearms), cartridge known as a shotshell, which usually discharges numerous small p ...
being discharged,
while the "T.R.I.B.E." stands for "Too Rough International Boo-Yaa Empire." According to hip-hop documentarians, Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. is "synonymous with hip hop in Los Angeles."
Background
The brothers got their start through professional dance then later found their way into making the music to which they enjoyed dancing.
In 2000 David Devoux left and was replaced by Vincent Devoux aka Gawtti. When Donald and Vincent were young, they were in an episode of ''
Fame''.
After beginning to play together as a
funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...
band, they formed the dance crew the Blue City Strutters and publicly danced to funk music, particularly in their South Bay neighborhood. All members are former members or members of West Side
Piru and Samoan Warrior
Bounty Hunters
A bounty hunter is a private agent working for bail bonds who captures fugitives or criminals for a commission or bounty. The occupation, officially known as bail enforcement agent, or fugitive recovery agent, has traditionally operated outsid ...
. Despite their religious upbringing, the brothers eventually fell into the gang scene popular in their home of
Carson
Carson may refer to:
People
*Carson (surname), people with the surname
*Carson (given name), people with the given name
Places
;In the United States
* Carson, California, a city
* Carson Township, Fayette County, Illinois
*Carson, Iowa, a city
* ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
.
After their youngest brother was killed in a gang-related shooting in 1987, they decided to turn their lives around and dedicate their lives to music because "that's what he would have wanted."
Career
To get away from the gang culture, the brothers decided to leave Los Angeles and go to Japan.
While there, they were inspired to begin performing music again, with Paul "Gangxta R.I.D." rapping in front of eager Japanese audiences.
[Henderson, April K. "Dancing Between Islands: Hip Hop and the Samoan Diaspora." In The Vinyl Ain't Final: Hip Hop and the Globalization of Black Popular Culture, ed. by Dipannita Basu and Sidney J. Lemelle, 180-199. London; Ann Arbor, MI: Pluto Press, 200] They toured Japan in the mid-1980s and became popular.
Upon their return to California in 1988, the group focused again on making music and re-christened themselves as the Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E.
Their debut
album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
, ''New Funky Nation'', was different from most rap records at the time because the Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. played live instruments on it.
Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. appeared on the ''
Judgment Night'' soundtrack performing "
Another Body Murdered
"Another Body Murdered" is a 1993 single by Faith No More and Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E., taken from the soundtrack album for the film '' Judgment Night''. The brainchild of Cypress Hill's manager, Happy Walters, the soundtrack paired rock and hip-h ...
" with
Faith No More
Faith No More is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1979. Before settling on the current name in July 1983, the band performed under the names Sharp Young Men and later Faith No Man. Bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist/r ...
, on
Kid Frost
Arturo Molina Jr. (born May 31, 1962), better known as Frost (originally Kid Frost), is an American rapper, songwriter and record producer from Los Angeles. He is the father of record producer Scoop DeVille.
Early life
Molina was born and rai ...
's ''East Side Story'' LP, on The
Transplants
Transplant or Transplantation may refer to:
Sciences
*Transplanting a plant from one location to another
*Organ transplantation, moving an organ from one body to another
*Transplant thought experiment, an experiment similar to Trolley problem
*Tra ...
' ''Haunted Cities'' LP and on the rock group
P.O.D.'s ''
Testify
In law and in religion, testimony is a solemn attestation as to the truth of a matter.
Etymology
The words "testimony" and "testify" both derive from the Latin word ''testis'', referring to the notion of a disinterested third-party witness.
La ...
'', with the track "On the Grind." The group also had moderate success with their 1989 single release, "R.A.I.D.". In 1993 they appeared on
E.Y.C.'s track 'Get Some' which was released as a single in the U.S. and appeared on their debut album ''
Express Yourself Clearly
''Express Yourself Clearly'' is the debut studio album by American pop and R&B group E.Y.C. It was released in 1994 in Europe, Australia, Japan and the United States. The album charted at No. 14 on the UK Albums Chart.
Album content
The album fe ...
'' internationally.
Ted Devoux, The Godfather, died on April 29, 2018, at age 55. Paul Devoux, Ganxsta Ridd, died on December 4, 2020, at the age of 52 due to renal failure. Danny Devoux, Monsta O, died on October 12, 2022, at the age of 56.
Style and influences
The four brothers began their musical careers on a small scale performing instrumentals at their father's A.O.G. "Assembly of God" church. While on their own, they would practice funk hits from the American band
Parliament-Funkadelic
Parliament-Funkadelic (abbreviated as P-Funk) is an American music collective of rotating musicians headed by George Clinton, primarily consisting of the funk bands Parliament and Funkadelic, both active since the 1960s. Their distinctive fu ...
. When the church was unoccupied, the brothers would experiment with other forms of hip hop.
Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E.'s lyrics have been categorized as
gangsta rap
Gangsta rap or gangster rap, initially called reality rap, emerged in the mid- to late 1980s as a controversial hip-hop subgenre whose lyrics assert the culture and values typical of American street gangs and street hustlers. Many gangsta rappe ...
. They draw from themes which include homicide,
carjacking
Carjacking is a robbery in which the item taken over is a motor vehicle.Michael Cherbonneau, "Carjacking," in ''Encyclopedia of Social Problems'', Vol. 1 (SAGE, 2008: ed. Vincent N. Parrillo), pp. 110-11. In contrast to car theft, carjacking is ...
, and
marijuana
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...
use. The band's style has been classified as
hip hop,
G-funk
G-funk, short for gangsta funk, is a sub-genre of gangsta rap that emerged from the West Coast scene in the late 1980s. The genre is heavily influenced by 1970s psychedelic funk (P-funk) sound of artists such as Parliament-Funkadelic.
Characte ...
,
heavy metal,
rap metal
Rap metal is a subgenre of rap rock and alternative metal music which combines hip hop with heavy metal. It usually consists of heavy metal guitar riffs, funk metal elements, rapped vocals and sometimes turntables.
History Origins and early ...
and
rap rock
Rap rock is a fusion genre that fuses vocal and instrumental elements of hip hop with various forms of rock. Rap rock's most popular subgenres include rap metal and rapcore, which include heavy metal and hardcore punk-oriented influences, resp ...
,
and
funk metal
Funk metal (also known as thrash-funk or punk-funk) is a subgenre of funk rock and alternative metal that infuses heavy metal music (often thrash metal) with elements of funk and punk rock. Funk metal was part of the alternative metal movement, ...
.
The Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. has also proven to be influential for other Samoan hip hop artists. Kosmo, an important Samoan hip-hop artist in New Zealand, cites the Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. as "an original inspiration for his lifelong interest in street dance and...hip hop music." Additionally, as Samoans are often seen as a diasporic group spread out among various locations, the Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. have been successfully able to reconcile their roles as Samoans and Americans while still traveling and achieving success in Japan and other countries.
The group's 1997 album, ''Angry Samoans'', hints at the connection to their Samoan heritage, as they are often identified with the California hip hop scene.
Discography
Albums
Singles
References
External links
Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E.on
Myspace
{{Authority control
Hip hop groups from California
American people of Samoan descent
Bloods
Island Records artists
Hollywood Records artists
People from Carson, California
Gangsta rap groups
Rap metal musical groups
Rappers from Los Angeles