Platinum Pied Pipers is a

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

-based hip hop and R&B group composed of producer

Waajeed Robert O'Bryant, also known as Waajeed is a Detroit-born music producer, and one half of the hip hop and R&B group Platinum Pied Pipers, and a founding member of Tiny Hearts. He formed the Bling47 record label in 2002, which has released pro ...

(Robert O'Bryant), and

multi-instrumentalist A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays two or more musical instruments at a professional level of proficiency. Also known as doubling, the practice allows greater ensemble flexibility and more efficient employment of musicians, where ...

Saadiq (Darnell Bolden, not to be confused with

Raphael Saadiq Raphael Saadiq (; born Charles Ray Wiggins; May 14, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He rose to fame as a member of the multiplatinum group Tony! Toni! Toné! In addition to his solo and group ...

). Their music usually features a rotating and varied array of artists.

Background

The two met through

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 ...

Baatin in 1992. Sometime in 2000, they decided to form a duo and began releasing 12"s and

mixtapes A mixtape (alternatively mix-tape, mix tape or mixed tape) is a compilation of music, typically from multiple sources, recorded onto a medium. With origins in the 1980s, the term normally describes a homemade compilation of music onto a cassette ...

. It was their collaboration with

Dwele Andwele Gardner (born February 14, 1978), better known by his stage name Dwele, is an American R&B singer, rapper, songwriter and record producer from Detroit, Michigan. Biography Gardner was raised on the west side of Detroit in a musical fam ...

in 2003, however, called "Ridin' High" which caught the ears of music listeners, and set the stage for a full-length album. The pair have a rather distinctive mixture of sounds as, although Waajeed is primarily a

hip hop producer Hip hop production is the creation of hip hop music in a recording studio. While the term encompasses all aspects of hip hop music creation, including recording the rapping of an MC, a turntablist or DJ providing a beat, playing samples and "s ...

, Saadiq is a

protégé Mentorship is the influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the personal and p ...

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

producer

Barrett Strong Barrett Strong (born February 5, 1941) is an American singer and songwriter. Strong was the first artist to record a hit for Motown, although he is best known for his work as a songwriter, particularly in association with producer Norman Whitfi ...

, making for a finely tuned middleground. As stated in interviews, the name "Platinum Pied Pipers" was chosen at random and has no connection to the

Pied Piper The Pied Piper of Hamelin (german: der Rattenfänger von Hameln, also known as the Pan Piper or the Rat-Catcher of Hamelin) is the title character of a legend from the town of Hamelin (Hameln), Lower Saxony, Germany. The legend dates back to ...

folk tale. Since Detroit is their hometown, they have said that the city is very important to them.

''Triple P''

Their debut album '' Triple P'' was released in 2005 on

Ubiquity Records Ubiquity Records is an independent United States, American Music label, Record Label that focuses on multiple genres, including but not limited to hip hop, electronic, funk, Latin, Soul music, soul, jazz, singer/songwriters and other musical genr ...

and received a large amount of praise from people such as

Gilles Peterson Gilles Jérôme Moehrle MBE (; born 28 September 1964), better known as Gilles Peterson (), is a French broadcaster, DJ, and record label owner. He founded the influential labels Acid Jazz and Talkin' Loud, and started his current label Brow ...

, and

Questlove Ahmir Khalib Thompson (born January 20, 1971), known professionally as Questlove (stylized as ), is an American musician, record producer, disc jockey, filmmaker, music journalist, and actor. He is the drummer and joint frontman (with Black Thou ...

, who claimed to have listened to the album seven times in a row. ''

LA Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin, who served as president and editor until 1991. Voice Media Group sold the paper in late 2017 to Semanal Media LLC, whose paren ...

'' made it their "Pick of the Week" and said ''"While aajeedmade hip-hop for the streets with his act Slum Village, he's now making intergalactic soul with PPP... the Triple P's debut for Ubiquity has created a buzz in the air and a tremble on the dance floor"''. Other album highlights include a Latin-fueled version of “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” featuring Rogiérs of Fibby Music, and a track with Detroit rapper Invincible. Their newest album ''Abundance'' was released January 20, 2009. Wajeed stated: "...our tastes have changed—times have changed. It’s definitely a different record, but there are still a lot of similarities."

Discography

Albums

* '' Triple P'' - (2005, Ubiquity) * ''Abundance'' - (2009, Ubiquity)

12"s

* "Ridin' High" b/w "Open Your Eyes" - (2003,

) **featuring

* "Stay With Me"*, "I Got You"*, "Your Day Is Done"^ - (2004,

) ** featuring Tiombe Lockhart ** featuring Georgia Anne Muldrow * "Act Like You Know"* b/w "Now Or Never"^ - (2005,

) ** featuring

J Dilla J, or j, is the tenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its usual name in English is ''jay'' (pronounced ), with a now-uncommon varia ...

** featuring Tiombe Lockhart * "Shotgun", "Fever" (2005,

) ** featuring Jay Dee (J Dilla), Invincible & Medaphoar

References

External links

Ubiquity RecordsPPP article
February 2009
BBC articleOkay Player article
{{Authority control J Dilla American hip hop record producers Detroit hip hop groups Midwest hip hop groups Musical groups established in 2000 Ubiquity Records artists 2000 establishments in Michigan