Spooks was an American hip-hop

group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...

, active from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s. The members of the group got together in 1994, taking their name from the 1969 novel by

Sam Greenlee Samuel Eldred Greenlee, Jr. (July 13, 1930 – May 19, 2014)Margaret Busby"Sam Greenlee obituary" ''The Guardian'', June 2, 2014. was an American writer of fiction and poetry. He is best known for his novel '' The Spook Who Sat by the Door'', firs ...

, '' The Spook Who Sat by the Door''.

Career

After attaining success throughout Europe with their

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

'' S.I.O.S.O.S., Vol. 1'', Spooks garnered a

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

with the

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

, " Things I've Seen", which featured in the

Laurence Fishburne Laurence John Fishburne III (born July 30, 1961) is an American actor. He is a three time Emmy Award and Tony Award winning actor known for his roles on stage and screen. He has been hailed for his forceful, militant, and authoritative charact ...

film ''

Once in the Life ''Once in the Life'' is a 2000 American direct-to-video crime film written , directed and starring Laurence Fishburne. He adapted the script from his own play, ''Riff Raff''. Plot Once you're in the life of drug dealing and organized crime, c ...

'' (2000) as well as the intro for the European version of the American TV series '' Dark Angel''. Shortly afterwards, Spooks followed up with the number 16 on the top 40 charts hit "Karma Hotel." Spooks had sold several million records internationally and was eligible for a European platinum plaque. They also reached gold status in five countries. Back home in America, "Things I`ve Seen" hit number 11 on the hip hop singles charts and "Sweet Revenge" hit number 6 on the r&b singles charts. Water-Water left the group before their second album ''Faster Than You Know'', and died in a car accident in September 2003, days before the album's release.Chris Nettleton, "Death of an MC" (on Water-Water's death)
, Drowned in Sound, September 22, 2003. The group never actually disbanded. Hypno, Ming Xia and Mr. Booka T formed Tongue Productions in 2002 and produced tracks and wrote choruses that were placed with other acts under the supervision of Riggs Morales at Shady Records. In 2007 the Spooks drifted apart to tackle new ventures but never officially called it quits. In 2009 Ming Xia appeared on

Chali 2na Charles Stewart (born June 26, 1971), better known as Chali 2na, is an American painter and rapper, associated with the groups Jurassic 5 and Ozomatli. He is known for his bass-baritone and quick delivery rapping style. Personal life Early lif ...

's ''

Fish Outta Water ''Fish Outta Water'' is the first solo studio album by Chali 2na, a front member of Jurassic 5. It was released on Decon in 2009. It features guest appearances from Talib Kweli, Anthony Hamilton, Beenie Man, Elzhi, and the Marley brothers Damia ...

as well as AZ`s single "Super Star", all of which choruses and Bridges were written by Tongue Productions.'' In 2022, Mr. Booka T had changed his name to TUCK 88 and dropped the new single "Beautiful Ghetto" featuring Hypno as Mr. Chenjerai. Fun Fact: Beautiful Ghetto was actually written for a film soundtrack and later slated to be on the Spooks third album; which amount to about thirty unreleased tracks. TUCK 88 also released a track by his daughter N`Dea titled, "No Daisies". N`Dea had studied under the tutelage of Ming Xia and had first appeared on the Spooks song "Dead Beat" when she was only three years old. Spooks were discovered by Philadelphia hip-hop legend "Parry P", who signed them to the Antra Records, where he was the Vice President of A&R.

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

External links

The Spooks Spooks was an American hip-hop group, active from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s. The members of the group got together in 1994, taking their name from the 1969 novel by Sam Greenlee, '' The Spook Who Sat by the Door''. Career After attaining s ...

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

The Spooks
on imusic.am
Spooks Biography
*http://www.last.fm/music/Spooks
Ming-Xia's solo recordingsInterview with Joe Davis and Booker T
on drownedinsound.com Musical groups from Philadelphia American dance musicians East Coast hip hop groups Hip hop collectives Rappers from Philadelphia {{US-hiphop-band-stub