HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

EarthGang (stylized EARTHGANG) is an American hip hop duo from
Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital city, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georgia, Fulton County, the mos ...
, composed of Olu (aka Johnny Venus) and WowGr8 (aka Doctur Dot – born Eian Parker). They are co-founders of the musical collective
Spillage Village Spillage Village is an American musical collective from Atlanta, Georgia. The group is composed of rappers, singers and producers, and was founded by the members of EarthGang. Spillage Village was primarily made up of five initial members with ...
, with JID, Hollywood JB, JordxnBryant,
6LACK Ricardo Archibald Valentine Jr. (born June 24, 1992), known professionally as 6lack (stylized as 6LACK, pronounced "black"), is an American singer and rapper. He initially gained notable recognition following the release of his single, " Prblms ...
,
Mereba Marian Azeb Mereba (born September 19, 1990), known mononymously as Mereba, is an American singer, rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Early life Mereba was born in Montgomery, Alabama on September 19, 1990, and raised in Pennsylvania. S ...
, and Benji. Formed in 2008, EarthGang released their first EP, ''The Better Party,'' in 2010. This was followed by several singles and two mixtapes, ''Mad Men'' and ''Good News'' in 2011. In 2013, the duo released their debut album ''Shallow Graves For Toys'' and was largely well-received, with
Noisey ''Vice'' (stylized in all caps) is a Canadian-American magazine focused on lifestyle, arts, culture, and news/politics. Founded in 1994 in Montreal as an alternative punk magazine, the founders later launched the youth media company Vice Med ...
calling it "one of the most well thought-out releases of the year" and praising the album's "playful delivery and biting lyricism." Their second album, ''Strays with Rabies'', was released to positive reviews in 2015. After signing to
J. Cole Jermaine Lamarr Cole (born January 28, 1985) is an American rapper and record producer. Born on a military base in Germany and raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Cole initially gained recognition as a rapper following the release of his d ...
's Dreamville Records, EarthGang released a trilogy of EPs: '' Rags'', ''
Robots "\n\n\n\n\nThe robots exclusion standard, also known as the robots exclusion protocol or simply robots.txt, is a standard used by websites to indicate to visiting web crawlers and other web robots which portions of the site they are allowed to visi ...
'' (2017), and '' Royalty'' (2018), leading up to their major label debut album, '' Mirrorland'' (2019).


History


2008–2009: Formation

The rap duo EarthGang was first formed in 2008 by Johnny Venus and Doctur Dot, then both high school students in
Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital city, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georgia, Fulton County, the mos ...
. According to Johnny Venus, they had first met on a field trip in 9th grade at
Benjamin Elijah Mays High School Benjamin E. Mays High School is a public school located in southwest Atlanta, Georgia, United States, serving grades 9-12. It is a part of the Atlanta Public School System and is a Georgia School of Excellence. The school was established in the ...
, with Venus later approaching Doctur Dot to ask about forming a music group. Avid fans of rap and hip hop, both members had grown up listening to artists as diverse as the
Ohio Players Ohio Players is an American funk band, most popular in the 1970s. They are best known for their songs "Fire" and " Love Rollercoaster", and for their erotic album covers that featured nude or nearly nude women. Many of the women were models feat ...
,
Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but a ...
,
Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
, and
Richard Pryor Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor Sr. (December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He reached a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style, and is widely regarded as on ...
. About their name EarthGang, Venus explained in 2011 that "The name came to me abruptly one day. It represents what we're made of and why we do what we do. It's for the people by the people. Our music is influenced by the conscious and subconscious, and we create it to influence the like."


2010–2013: Early releases

On January 26, 2010, the group released its first EP, the mixtape titled ''The Better Party.'' Their first full-length recording project, they recorded in a multitude of studio spaces, which, according to Venus, included "dorm rooms at
Hampton University Hampton University is a private, historically black, research university in Hampton, Virginia. Founded in 1868 as Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School, it was established by Black and White leaders of the American Missionary Association a ...
, closets in Atlanta, a house studio owned by 'Mr. Fish' (a fellow underground Atlanta musician), and finally in Hampton University's Music Recording Technology Jazz studio." The EP was mixed and mastered by EarthGang, with help from Jack Swain. Also in 2010, they began touring in the United States, performing at festivals such as the A3C Festival in Atlanta. They released periodic singles as well, and in November 2010 they debuted the song "Miss the Show." In early 2011 they taped and released a music video for "Kick'n It", a track first included on ''The Better Party.'' Soon afterwards they released the single "Opium", which they would later film a music video for. The group self-released two albums in 2011: ''Mad Men'' in April, and ''Good News'' in December. They released their track "The F Bomb" on June 4, 2012. The song would later be included on a 2014 album and was made into a music video. "Machete", a single produced by
808 Mafia 808 Mafia is an American record production and songwriting team, founded by record producers Southside, TM88, and Lex Luger. Southside is currently at the helm of the group. The group also includes producers Young Miami , Fuse 100, Tarentino, ...
, was self-released by EarthGang on February 10, 2013, shortly before the release of their music video for their 2012 single "Fire Kicking Tree Limbs". In March 2013 the group released "UFOs", a slow single over nine minutes long. According to a review in ''Pigeons and Planes'', "Sexual, contemplative, sprawling, and slow, EarthGang's 'UFOs' veers far left from the duo's last music expedition 'Machete' and hews a bit closer to the earthy soul that typified so much mid-'90s
Dungeon Family The Dungeon Family is a musical collective, based in Atlanta, Georgia that specializes in Southern hip hop with heavy funk and soul influences. The group derives its name from "The Dungeon", the name given to record producer Rico Wade's studio, ...
output." They again performed at the A3C Festival in early 2013, also opening for Black Fest at Stanford University.


2013–2016: ''Shallow Graves for Toys'' and ''Strays With Rabies''

On July 8, 2013, EarthGang released their album ''Shallow Graves for Toys'' on the imprint
Spillage Village Spillage Village is an American musical collective from Atlanta, Georgia. The group is composed of rappers, singers and producers, and was founded by the members of EarthGang. Spillage Village was primarily made up of five initial members with ...
. The album includes several singles released earlier, such as "The F Bomb", "UFOs", and "Machete". "The F Bomb" was produced by Hollywood JB of Spillage Village. The album was re-released on iTunes in the summer of 2014. In response to ''Shallow Graves For Toys'', in 2014,
Noisey ''Vice'' (stylized in all caps) is a Canadian-American magazine focused on lifestyle, arts, culture, and news/politics. Founded in 1994 in Montreal as an alternative punk magazine, the founders later launched the youth media company Vice Med ...
called EarthGang "an engaging, clever rap duo", praising the album's "playful delivery and biting lyricism" and calling it "one of the most well thought-out releases of the year." Since the album, EarthGang has released several official music videos from the album. In the summer of 2014, the video for "The F Bomb" was released. On September 20, 2014, EarthGang began supporting a 40 date tour with their collaborator Ab-Soul, a member of
Top Dawg Entertainment Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) is an American independent record label founded in 2004, by CEO Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith. Terrence "Punch" Henderson is president of the label. There are currently eleven artists signed to the label: the label's f ...
. On February 26, 2015, EarthGang released a 7 track EP called ''Torba'' with track titles for each day of the week. The EP included features from Mac Miller,
OG Maco Benedict Chiajulam Ihesiba Jr. (born April 23, 1992), better known by his stage name OG Maco, is an American rapper from College Park, Georgia. He is perhaps best known for his 2014 debut single " U Guessed It" which peaked at number 90 on the U ...
, and JordxnBryant, with production from
Childish Major Markus Alandrus Randle (born July 4, 1991) known professionally as Childish Major, is an American rapper and record producer based in Atlanta, Georgia. He initially rose to fame as the producer of the 2013 Rocko single, " U.O.E.N.O.", which peake ...
, Shine, Zeroh, Hollywood JB, and more. On July 6,
Spillage Village Spillage Village is an American musical collective from Atlanta, Georgia. The group is composed of rappers, singers and producers, and was founded by the members of EarthGang. Spillage Village was primarily made up of five initial members with ...
released their second collaboration project ''Bears Like This Too''. On November 6, 2015, EarthGang released their second album, entitled ''Strays with Rabies''. The album includes features and cuts from JID, DJ Khalil, DrewsThatDuDe,
Ducko McFli Charles Singleton, known by his stage name Ducko McFli, is an American record producer, DJ, and songwriter based in Atlanta, Georgia. He initially gained recognition in 2014 for his production work on Drake's "Draft Day". He has since gone on t ...
, J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, Richie Quake, SykSense. They were also one of the featuring artists on Mac Miller's GO:OD AM tour. EarthGang has stated they as well contributed to the production of the album. On June 3, 2016, the duo would join Dreamville Records'
Bas Bas may refer to: People * Bas (name), a given name and a surname * Bas (rapper) (born 1987) Chemistry * Boron arsenide (BAs), a chemical compound * Barium sulfide (BAs), a chemical compound Other uses * ''bas'' (French for "low"), as in bas ...
on his nationwide Too High to Riot Tour. The tour would later be reprised in Europe on November 13. On December 2, 2016, Spillage Village released ''Bears Like This Too Much'' with features from
J. Cole Jermaine Lamarr Cole (born January 28, 1985) is an American rapper and record producer. Born on a military base in Germany and raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Cole initially gained recognition as a rapper following the release of his d ...
and Bas, and production from Mac Miller, Ducko Mcfli, Childish Major and J. Cole among others.


2017–2019: ''Rags'', ''Robots'', ''Royalty'', and ''Mirrorland''

On August 31, 2017, rapper
J. Cole Jermaine Lamarr Cole (born January 28, 1985) is an American rapper and record producer. Born on a military base in Germany and raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Cole initially gained recognition as a rapper following the release of his d ...
's imprint Dreamville Records announced the signing of the duo and they released their Dreamville debut project the following day, the first extended play from their trilogy titled '' Rags''. The project features guest appearances from DC Young Fly, Childish Major, Mick Jenkins, and fellow Spilage Village member and Dreamville artist JID. Their second EP in the trilogy ''
Robots "\n\n\n\n\nThe robots exclusion standard, also known as the robots exclusion protocol or simply robots.txt, is a standard used by websites to indicate to visiting web crawlers and other web robots which portions of the site they are allowed to visi ...
'' was released on October 20, with
SiR ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...
as a guest feature. The third was released on February 23, 2018, named '' Royalty'', with features coming from
Ari Lennox Courtney Shanade Salter (born March 26, 1991), known professionally as Ari Lennox, is an American R&B singer from Washington, D.C. She is the first female artist to be signed to J. Cole's record label, Dreamville Records. She began gaining re ...
and
Mereba Marian Azeb Mereba (born September 19, 1990), known mononymously as Mereba, is an American singer, rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Early life Mereba was born in Montgomery, Alabama on September 19, 1990, and raised in Pennsylvania. S ...
. In 2017 and 2018, EarthGang co-headlined in the North American and European Never Had Shit Tour with JID, and guests Lute, Chaz French, and
Mereba Marian Azeb Mereba (born September 19, 1990), known mononymously as Mereba, is an American singer, rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Early life Mereba was born in Montgomery, Alabama on September 19, 1990, and raised in Pennsylvania. S ...
. A year after serving as the opening act on the European leg of J. Cole's 4 Your Eyez Only World Tour, EarthGang were also the supporting act on 36 shows of the North American KOD Tour in 2018. On September 4, 2018, EarthGang premiered the song "Up" on the Berlin platform ''Colors Studio''. On September 21, they released a single titled "Stuck" featuring Arin Ray. In January 2019, the duo announced that they will be a supporting act for
Smino Christopher Smith Jr. (born October 2, 1991), better known by his stage name Smino, is an American rapper and singer. Smino is the founder of the musical collective Zero Fatigue with Bari, Monte Booker, Jay2, and Ravyn Lenae. He is a member o ...
on the Hoopti Tour. On February 5, 2019, they released the second single "Proud of U" featuring Young Thug. On July 5, 2019, Dreamville Records released their 3rd collaborative album, ''
Revenge of the Dreamers III ''Revenge of the Dreamers III'' is the third compilation album by American record label Dreamville, released on July 5, 2019, by Dreamville and Interscope Records. ''Revenge of the Dreamers III'' includes contributions from Dreamville artists, ...
''. Earthgang contributed to five songs including "
Down Bad "Down Bad" is a song by American record label Dreamville featuring performances by American rappers J. Cole, JID, Bas, Johnny Venus of EarthGang, and Young Nudy, released on June 12, 2019 alongside " Got Me" as the dual second single from th ...
", "Swivel", and "Sacrifices" on the album. On August 30, they officially released the single "Up", and "Ready to Die" on September 2. '' Mirrorland'' was released on September 6, 2019, and includes features from
Young Thug Jeffery Lamar Williams (born August 16, 1991), known professionally as Young Thug, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is considered to be an influential figure of his generation, with his music impacting the modern sound of hip ...
, T-Pain,
Kehlani Kehlani Ashley Parrish (born April 24, 1995) is an American singer, songwriter, and dancer. Kehlani is originally from Oakland, California, and achieved initial fame as a member of the teen group Poplyfe in 2011. In 2014, Kehlani released the ...
, and Arin Ray. The production of the album was handled by a variety of producers including Olu,
J. Cole Jermaine Lamarr Cole (born January 28, 1985) is an American rapper and record producer. Born on a military base in Germany and raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Cole initially gained recognition as a rapper following the release of his d ...
, Elite, Ron Gilmore, Christo, Bink,
DJ Dahi Dacoury Dahi Natche (born March 10, 1983), professionally known as DJ Dahi, is an American DJ, songwriter, record producer and singer from Inglewood, California. Dahi is perhaps best known for producing " Money Trees" by American rapper Kendri ...
, Childish Major and Groove, among others.


2020–present: ''Spilligion'' and ''Ghetto Gods''

On September 25, 2020,
Spillage Village Spillage Village is an American musical collective from Atlanta, Georgia. The group is composed of rappers, singers and producers, and was founded by the members of EarthGang. Spillage Village was primarily made up of five initial members with ...
released their fourth collective album ''
Spilligion ''Spilligion'' is the major label debut album by American hip hop collective Spillage Village, headed by JID and EarthGang, released on September 25, 2020 by Dreamville, Interscope, and SinceThe80s. The collective consists of EarthGang, JID, Ho ...
'', with EarthGang part of the singles "End of Daze", "Baptize", and "Hapi". The duo also released the single "Powered Up" and appeared on songs with
TOKiMONSTA Jennifer Lee, known professionally as Tokimonsta (stylized as TOKiMONSTA), is an American record producer and DJ based in Los Angeles. She has collaborated with artists such as Anderson .Paak, Earthgang, Isaiah Rashad, Selah Sue, and ZHU. Additio ...
,
Louis The Child Louis the Child (893 – 20/24 September 911), sometimes called Louis III or Louis IV, was the king of East Francia from 899 until his death and was also recognized as king of Lotharingia after 900. He was the last East Frankish ruler of the Car ...
,
Sinéad Harnett Sinéad Monica Harnett (born 12 October 1990) is an English singer/songwriter. Career Born to a Thai mother and an Irish father, Harnett grew up in Finchley, north London. She attended Arts University College Bournemouth, where she studied for ...
, and Gorillaz in 2020. On December 18, EarthGang released the first single from their next album, "Options" featuring Wale. On February 16, 2021, EarthGang revealed the album title, '' Ghetto Gods''. On December 8, 2021, EarthGang released the first official single for the album titled "American Horror Story". On January 14, 2022, the second single titled "All Eyes On Me" was released, accompanied by a music video. The third single, "Amen" featuring
Musiq Soulchild Taalib Hassan Johnson (born September 16, 1977), better known by the stage name Musiq Soulchild or simply Musiq (pronounced "music") is an American singer and songwriter whose style blends R&B, funk, blues, jazz, and gospel influences fused w ...
was released on February 22, and was premiered on the
Apple Music 1 Apple Music 1, previously branded as Beats 1, is a 24/7 music radio station owned and operated by Apple Inc. It is accessible through iTunes or the Apple Music app on a computer, smartphone or tablet, smart speaker (such as the Apple HomePod) ...
radio show. On the same day, they also announced the Biodeghettable Tour, with Mike Dimes and ''
Pigeons & Planes Complex Networks is an American media and entertainment company for youth culture, based in New York City. It was founded as a bi-monthly magazine, ''Complex'', by fashion designer Marc (Ecko) Milecofsky. Complex Networks reports on popular a ...
'' supporting. On February 25, 2022, ''Ghetto Gods'' was released, including guest appearances from Future, JID,
J. Cole Jermaine Lamarr Cole (born January 28, 1985) is an American rapper and record producer. Born on a military base in Germany and raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Cole initially gained recognition as a rapper following the release of his d ...
,
Musiq Soulchild Taalib Hassan Johnson (born September 16, 1977), better known by the stage name Musiq Soulchild or simply Musiq (pronounced "music") is an American singer and songwriter whose style blends R&B, funk, blues, jazz, and gospel influences fused w ...
, Baby Tate, Lynae Vanee,
CeeLo Green Thomas DeCarlo Callaway - Burton (born May 30, 1975), known professionally as CeeLo Green (or Cee Lo Green), is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer and actor. He is known for his work in hip hop and R&B, including the Gnarls ...
,
Nick Cannon Nicholas Scott Cannon (born October 8, 1980) is an American television host, actor, rapper, and comedian. In television, Cannon began as a teenager on ''All That'' before going on to host '' The Nick Cannon Show'', ''Wild 'n Out'', ''America's ...
, and
Ari Lennox Courtney Shanade Salter (born March 26, 1991), known professionally as Ari Lennox, is an American R&B singer from Washington, D.C. She is the first female artist to be signed to J. Cole's record label, Dreamville Records. She began gaining re ...
. On March 31, they appeared on the Dreamville compilation '' D-Day: A Gangsta Grillz Mixtape'', on the songs "Ghetto Gods Freestyle", "Jozi Flows" and "Everybody Ain't Shit".


Musical style

Incorporating
Southern hip hop Southern hip hop, also known as Southern rap, South Coast hip hop, or dirty south, is a blanket term for a regional genre of American hip hop music that emerged in the Southern United States, especially in Atlanta, New Orleans, Houston, Memp ...
and genres such as funk and
soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became ...
, EarthGang has drawn comparisons to groups such as Outkast,
Dungeon Family The Dungeon Family is a musical collective, based in Atlanta, Georgia that specializes in Southern hip hop with heavy funk and soul influences. The group derives its name from "The Dungeon", the name given to record producer Rico Wade's studio, ...
and
The Pharcyde The Pharcyde (currently known as The Far Side) is an American alternative hip hop group, formed in 1989, from South Central Los Angeles. The original four members of the group are Imani (Emandu Wilcox), Slimkid3 (Trevant Hardson), Bootie Brown ...
, among other artists. Stated the duo in early 2011, "When we create, our goal is to set the listener in a mood for each track... the style is all a part of the execution. You'll hear who we are, where we're from, and what sounds we like through our music. We pay attention to details."


Members

* Olu (aka Johnny Venus) – born Olu O. Fann on October 9, 1989 * WowGr8 (aka Doctur Dot) – born Eian Undrai Parker on October 25, 1990


Discography


Albums


Extended plays


Mixtapes


Compilation albums


Collaborative albums


Singles


As lead artist


As featured artist


Other charted songs


Guest appearances


Tours


Headlining

* Never Had Shit Tour (2017–18) * What On Earth Tour (2019) * Welcome to Mirrorland (2019–20) * Biodeghettable (2022)


Supporting

* These Days Tour (2014) * GO:OD AM Tour (2015) * Too High To Riot Tour (2016) * 4 Your Eyez Only Tour (2017) * KOD Tour (2018) * 1 by 1 Tour (2018–19) * Hoopti Tour (2019) * North America Tour Fall 2022 (2022)


Awards and nominations


References


External links


EarthGang.netEarthGang
on
Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...

EarthGang
on
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
Audio and video
EarthGang
on
YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

EarthGang
on
VEVO Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, ...

EarthGang
on
Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online audio distribution platform founded in 2007 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with headquarters in Oakland, California, US. On March 2, 2022, Bandcamp ...

EarthGang
on
SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming s ...
{{Authority control Hip hop duos American hip hop groups Dreamville Records artists Rappers from Atlanta African-American musical groups