L.A. Symphony is an independent hip hop group from

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

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 ...

. Current members of L.A. Symphony are FLYNN (also known as

Flynn Adam Flynn Adam Atkins (born August 3, 1973) is an American producer, singer and rapper originating from Los Angeles, California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million res ...

), UNO Mas, CookBook, Joey the Jerk (formerly Joey's Dream), Sareem Poems (fka Sharlock Poems),

Pigeon John John Kenneth Dust (born John Kenneth Dunkin: November 30, 1972), better known by the stage name Pigeon John, is an American rapper based in Los Angeles, California. He is a former member of L.A. Symphony. Early life Pigeon John claims that his ...

and bTwice (collectively known as

Brainwash Projects Brainwash Projects is a hip hop group formed by LA Symphony L.A. Symphony is an independent hip hop group from Los Angeles, California. Current members of L.A. Symphony are FLYNN (also known as Flynn Adam), UNO Mas, CookBook, Joey the Je ...

), and J-Beits a.k.a. Great Jason. Past members include Trendi MC (who compose Halieyoos Fishermen with Sharlok Poems and J-Beits), Coy (

Paul "Coy" Allen Paul Coy Allen is a filmmaker, television director television producer, and music video director. Early life Born in Chicago, Illinois, Paul Coy Allen grew up an avid movie fan. Career Allen began his career in 1998 at Tollin/Robbins Productio ...

), Xpress, Gaja and Beond of Acid Reign.

History

Formed in 1997, the band released their first album, 1999's ''Composition No. 1'' on independent record label Eartube Empire. They then recorded an album entitled ''Call It What You Want'' between 1999 and 2001 for

Squint Entertainment Squint Entertainment was a record label owned by Word Entertainment, started and run by musician and songwriter Steve Taylor in 1997. Squint pushed Sixpence None the Richer to mainstream success with their single "Kiss Me". The band had been in ...

. It contained tracks produced by the band and by

Mario C Mario Caldato Jr. (born February 24, 1961), also known as Mario C., is a Brazilian-born record producer and studio engineer best known for his work with Beastie Boys, Jack Johnson in the US, Marcelo D2 and Seu Jorge in Brazil. Early life Cal ...

will.i.am William James Adams Jr. (born March 15, 1975), known professionally as will.i.am (pronounced "Will-I-am"), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is the founding and lead member of the musical group Black Eyed Peas. ...

and Prince Paul. It was slated to be released in April 2001 and was sold as a bootleg copy at live shows and online until unofficially released as ''CIWYW'', in addition to a release a promotional EP titled ''Big Broke L.A.'' that contained tracks from ''Call It What You Want''. The lead single was "Broken Tape Decks" and was released as a limited edition 12" vinyl and CD single, with B-Side "What You Say?!?". The album was never released due to issues with the label. LA Symphony independently released the ''Baloney'' EP in 2002. Originally, 1000 limited edition copies were pressed, hand-numbered and shipped in resealable sandwich bags. ''Baloney'' was later re-pressed. Following the ''Baloney'' EP, L.A. Symphony was signed to

Gotee Records Gotee Records is a record label founded by Christian hip hop performer Toby McKeehan (known professionally as ''TobyMac''), Todd Collins, and Joey Elwood. The label began as a production company. At the time of the label's founding, McKeehan wa ...

. They then released ''The End Is Now'' in 2003, ''Less Than Zero'' in 2005 and ''Disappear Here'' in 2005. 2005 was also a year of personal tragedies for the band. ''CCM'' reported that immediately after re-signing to Gotee, three members experienced personal traumas—UNO came down with

Guillain–Barré syndrome Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS) is a rapid-onset muscle weakness caused by the immune system damaging the peripheral nervous system. Typically, both sides of the body are involved, and the initial symptoms are changes in sensation or pain often ...

, CookBook's father suffered from a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

, and Joey's grandfather also died. In 2007, the group released a mixtape, ''

Unleashed Unleashed may refer to: Art and entertainment Film and television * ''Unleashed'' (2001 film), a film featuring Jeff Anderson * ''Unleashed'' (2005 film), a 2005 martial arts film starring Jet Li * ''Unleashed'' (2016 film), a film starring ...

''. Guests on the album include

Posdnuos Kelvin Mercer (born August 17, 1969), also known by his stage name Posdnuos and occasionally Pos, is an American rapper and producer from East Massapequa, New York best known for his work as one-third of the hip hop trio De La Soul. Through ...

and Awol One. In 2009, the members decided to put the group on hiatus. Since then several members have continued with solo projects. On December 19, 2011, rumors started circulating (via bTwice's

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 ...

account) about a reunion of the group. The group would likely welcome back former members bTwice, Pigeon John, J-Beits (aka Great Jason), and J-BoogiE. On February 15, 2012 it was announced by bTwice via Twitter that the group would play the 2012

Paid Dues Paid Dues was an annual hip hop festival that took place in California, until the summer of 2006, when it was announced that the festival would travel to multiple locations. The last festival took place in 2013. Paid Dues was an event presente ...

festival. It was also said that former members Pigeon John, J-Beits (Great Jason), and bTwice will return to the group for this show. In December 2014, released their first record together with all 8 members since 2003 in honor of their 15th anniversary called You Still on Earth!?!.

Discography

References

External links

*
L.A. Symphony Interview
{{Authority control Hip hop groups from California Musical groups from Los Angeles Gotee Records artists