Priest Joseph Brooks, (known professionally as Soopafly born December 8, 1972) is a hip hop

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

and rapper from Long Beach, California. He is a member of the DPGC.

Early life

The oldest of three children, Brooks grew up in Long Beach. He was given a keyboard by his father after being inspired by the piano players he saw in church.

Early career

During his teenage years, Brooks met rappers

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, " ...

and Dr. Dre. Proving himself with his keyboard skills, Soopafly was assigned his first piece of work for

Death Row Records Death Row Records is an American record label that was founded in 1991 by The D.O.C., Dr. Dre, Suge Knight, and Dick Griffey. The label became a sensation by releasing multi-platinum hip-hop albums by West Coast-based artists such as Dr. Dre ('' ...

on the soundtrack '' Murder Was The Case''. He played keyboards for Dr. Dre and

Ice Cube An ice cube is a small piece of ice, which is typically rectangular as viewed from above and trapezoidal as viewed from the side. Ice cubes are products of mechanical refrigeration and are usually produced to cool beverages. They may be produc ...

on the track " Natural Born Killaz" and for Jodeci on the track "Come Up To My Room", as well as his first production credit with "Who Got Some Gangsta Shit" featuring Snoop Dogg and Tha Dogg Pound. In 1995, he produced "Sooo Much Style" for Tha Dogg Pound on their debut album "Dogg Food". He also played the keyboards on eight other songs throughout. Then in 1996, he was featured on the soundtrack to the movie ''

A Thin Line Between Love and Hate ''A Thin Line Between Love and Hate'' is a 1996 American comedy thriller film. It tells the story of Darnell Wright (Martin Lawrence), a ladies' man who finds himself stalked by one of his obsessed lovers: Brandi (Lynn Whitfield), an attractive ...

'' on the song "I Don't Hang." A remix would later follow. Soopafly was further introduced to mainstream listeners on Snoop Dogg's second studio album '' Tha Doggfather''. He produced the songs "Freestyle Conversation" and "You Thought", appearing alongside veteran rapper Too Short. Since then, he has been featured primarily on albums by local artists such as

, Daz Dillinger, Kurupt, Warren G, RBX, Bad Azz and Tha Eastsidaz. To date, he has released three solo albums.

Westurn Union

In July 2006, the rap group called Westurn Union was formed. It features Soopafly, Damani and Bad Lucc. They made their first appearance on

's album '' Tha Blue Carpet Treatment'' and released a street single titled "I Don't Think So", produced by Rick Rock. In April 2008, a mixtape was released titled ''House Shoe Musik, Vol. 1'' and was hosted by DJ Crazy Toones. After inking a deal with Koch Records and Doggystyle Records, the official debut album Snoop Dogg Presents: Dubb Union was released on September 2, 2008. Prior to the release, the group and the labels were approached by the company Western Union, threatening legal action if the name was not changed. Though there is a difference between Westurn and Western, the labels did not want to spend money dealing with a lawsuit, the name of the group was changed to

Dubb Union Dubb Union is a rap group featuring artists from Los Angeles and the nearby areas of Inglewood, Long Beach, and Watts. The original name of the group was Westurn Union, but was later changed to Dubb Union to avoid a lawsuit with banking compan ...

Discography

;Studio albums *'' Dat Whoopty Woop'' (2001) *'' Bangin West Coast'' (2007) *''Best Kept Secret'' (2011)

References

{{Authority control 1972 births 20th-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American rappers African-American male rappers African-American record producers American hip hop record producers Death Row Records artists Gangsta rappers G-funk artists Living people Rappers from Los Angeles Record producers from California West Coast hip hop musicians