D4L (an acronym of Down For Life) was an American hip hop group formed in 2003, composed of

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

-based

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

s Fabo, Mook-B, Stoney, and

Shawty Lo Carlos Rico Walker (March 22, 1976 – September 21, 2016), better known as Shawty Lo, was an American rapper from Atlanta, Georgia. He initially came to prominence as a founding member of the Southern hip hop group D4L, and in 2000 founded D4L ...

. They are best known for their 2005 hit single "

Laffy Taffy Laffy Taffy is an American brand of taffy candies produced by the Ferrara Candy Company, a subsidiary of Ferrero. The candies are small (about ), individually wrapped taffy rectangles available in a variety of colors and artificial fruit f ...

", which peaked at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in January 2006.

History

Rapper Shawty Lo (born Carlos Walker) self-funded the group in its early days. He explained that the group's name stands for "Down for Life". D4L signed to the independent Dee Money Entertainment, which released the group's debut in conjunction with

Asylum Records Asylum Records is an American record label, founded in 1971 by David Geffen and partner Elliot Roberts. It was taken over by Warner Communications (now the Warner Music Group) in 1972, and later merged with Elektra Records to become Elektra/As ...

. The group debuted with "Betcha Can't Do It Like Me", which ''Billboard'' claimed to have popularized

snap music Snap music (also known as ringtone rap or snap rap) is a subgenre of hip hop music derived from crunk that originated in southern United States in the 2000s, in Bankhead, West Atlanta, United States.Vibe Jun 2006, "Oh Snap!" It achieved mai ...

. In January 2006, D4L's single "

" reached the top of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. Like fellow Atlanta rap group

Dem Franchize Boyz Dem Franchize Boyz was an American hip hop group from Atlanta, signed to E1 Music. The group had four members: Parlae (born Maurice Gleaton), Pimpin' (Jamal Willingham), Jizzal Man (Bernard Leverette), and Buddie (Gerald Tiller). They were best ...

, D4L was part of the snap music trend of the mid-2000s, which arguably peaked when rapper

Soulja Boy Tell 'Em DeAndre Cortez Way (born July 28, 1990), known professionally as Soulja Boy (formerly Soulja Boy Tell 'Em), is an American rapper and record producer. He rose to prominence, after his self published debut single " Crank That (Soulja Boy)" peak ...

came out with the number one hit song "

Crank That (Soulja Boy) "Crank That" is the debut single by American rapper Soulja Boy Tell'em. It served as the lead single from his debut studio album, '' souljaboytellem.com'' (2007) and accompanies the Soulja Boy dance. The song is recognized by its looping steelp ...

" in 2007. The group's debut album '' Down for Life'', was released jointly by Dee Money Entertainment and Asylum Records, in November 2005. Following their immediate success, the group went on tour. While being promoted through Outreach Entertainment, they performed alongside several of the Midwest's then up-and-coming artists, most notably the

Joplin, Missouri Joplin is a city in Jasper County, Missouri, Jasper and Newton County, Missouri, Newton counties in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Missouri. The bulk of the city is in Jasper County, while the southern portion is in Newton County. J ...

-based hip hop duo Midwest Connect composed of Southeast Kansas artist Brent Ward (Koo-Laid) and

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

rapper/artist Neno Black. Several other accredited and up-and-coming artists also performed alongside the group at the Oakley-Lindsay Civic Center in Quincy, IL. As other performances soon followed the group's popularity continued to soar. "Laffy Taffy" achieved continued success on the charts, largely due to its significant online sales. It was produced by Cory Way p/k/a Born Immaculate, Broderick Thompson Smith and Richard Sims p/k/a K-Rab. The song samples and interpolates elements of "Candy Girl" by New Edition. There are several remixes of the song, most notably the official remix featuring rapper

Busta Rhymes Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after NFL and CFL wide receiver ...

. Another version featured the Chicago rapper

Twista Carl Terrell Mitchell (born November 27, 1973), better known by his stage name Twista (formerly Tung Twista), is an American rapper and record producer. He is best known for his Chopper (rap), chopper style of rapping and for once holding the t ...

. However, as the group celebrated their success with the single "Laffy Taffy" (a Multi-Platinum hit), they quickly garnered criticism from the hip hop establishment. On the track "The Champ" from 2006's ''

FishScale ''Fishscale'' is the fifth studio album by American rapper and Wu-Tang Clan member Ghostface Killah, released March 28, 2006, on Def Jam in the United States. The album features guest appearances from every member of the Wu-Tang Clan, as well as ...

'',

Ghostface Killah Dennis Coles (born May 9, 1970), better known by his stage name Ghostface Killah, is an American rapper and a member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. After the group achieved breakthrough success in the aftermath of ''Enter the Wu-Tang (36 C ...

asks "Y'all stuck on Laffy Taffy/Wonderin' how'd y'all niggas get past me?" Ghostface had previously mocked the "snap dance" during his 2005 tour. There has also been controversy on who wrote the lyrics to "Laffy Taffy". Rapper Liam "Smack Eyes" Thomas claims that the group stole the lyrics from his rhyme book. After D4L's debut album,

embarked on a solo career. He released his solo debut ''Units in the City'' in 2008. Most recently, in 2011, D4L signed a joint venture with

50 Cent Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and businessman. Born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 2000, when he produced ...

G-Unit G-Unit (short for Guerilla Unit) was an American hip hop group formed by longtime friends and East Coast rappers 50 Cent, Tony Yayo, and Lloyd Banks. After amassing a string of self-released mixtapes in the early 2000s, the group released t ...

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

Members

(Carlos Walker, died 2016) * Fabo (Lefabian Williams) * Mook B (Dennis Butler) * Stoney (Adrian Parks)

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

References

{{Authority control Musical groups from Atlanta American hip hop groups Southern hip hop groups Snap music African-American musical groups Musical quartets Asylum Records artists Musical groups established in 2003 Musical groups disestablished in 2006