The Doppelgangaz is an American rap duo from

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consisting of

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 ...

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 ...

Matter Ov Fact and

EP. They have released fourteen full-length albums (six of which are primarily

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instru ...

) and seven EPs. The group was included on ''Raw Roots "Top Underground Artists Of 2011" list. They were featured in Europe's biggest Hip-Hop magazine ''

Juice Juice is a drink made from the extraction or Cold-pressed juice, pressing of the natural liquid contained in fruit and vegetables. It can also refer to liquids that are flavored with concentrate or other biological food sources, such as meat ...

'' in support of their 2011 album ''Lone Sharks''. In 2012, the group was covered in the major American Hip-Hop magazine '' XXL'' in its "The Break" section, which highlights up and coming Hip-Hop acts. Different from the incognito garage band “The Doppelgangerz”

History

Early years and musical beginnings (1998-2007)

The duo of Matter Ov Fact (Matthew Bennett) and EP (Eric Sakla) have been friends since childhood. In a 2012 interview with ''HipHopDX'', Matter Ov Fact stated:

“EP and I have been buds for years. We grew up together, but it wasn’t always about music. Back in 1998 was when we decided that we wanted to do music. As things progressed, we got official equipment and decided to keep moving forward. But yeah, we’ve been cool since probably first grade, but the birth of The Doppelgangaz took place around 2008, and between 2009 and 2011 is when we got to go balls deep and that’s what we plan to do from here on out.”

Before branching off to form The Doppelgangaz, the two were collectively involved in another project. It was during this period where the idea to separate into their own group formed. EP recalled:

“We were in a bigger group, which was active from the early to mid-2000s, but you know, life happens. We were the younger ones of the group so it just eventually became all Doppgang, you know? We don’t have kids and we don’t have any responsibility. We’re just reckless nomads, so we just had the time to do it.”

Matter Ov Fact added:

“Plus we just think on the same wavelength and it just made sense to do our own thing and continue on. That’s where the name comes from. The word doppelganger means a ghastly duplicate, and we see ourselves as when it comes to this here music.”

The Doppelgangaz (2008-present)

The group has become known for wearing

cloaks A cloak is a type of loose garment worn over clothing, mostly but not always as outerwear for outdoor wear, serving the same purpose as an overcoat, protecting the wearer from the weather. It may form part of a uniform. Cloaks have been and ar ...

while performing and embracing the "

vagrant Vagrancy is the condition of homelessness without regular employment or income. Vagrants (also known as bums, vagabonds, rogues, tramps or drifters) usually live in poverty and support themselves by begging, scavenging, petty theft, temporar ...

" lifestyle of frequenting

brothels A brothel, bordello, ranch, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. However, for legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, body rub pa ...

inebriation Alcohol intoxication, also known as alcohol poisoning, commonly described as drunkenness or inebriation, is the negative behavior and physical effects caused by a recent consumption of Alcohol (drug), alcohol. In addition to the toxicity of etha ...

, cheap clothing,

dumpster diving Dumpster diving (also totting, skipping, skip diving or skip salvage) is salvaging from large commercial, residential, industrial and construction containers for unused items discarded by their owners but deemed useful to the picker. It is n ...

and being

nomadic A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the popu ...

in their music. They have developed a strong

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Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an countries such as

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, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

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and also in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

.
The group's 2011 release ''Lone Sharks'' has received widespread critical acclaim for its production being reminiscent of the "raw", gritty style that was the iconic sound of east coast New York Hip-Hop in the mid 1990s. Their rapping and lyrics have also been complimented for their unique subject matter, tone and imagery. ''HipHopDX'' gave the album and group high praise, stating:

"
he album is He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
entirely devoid of lyrical features and produced entirely by themselves, ''Lone Sharks'' showcases two young emcees who also double as producers and appear to have a bright future ahead of their dark cloaks. Production is laid-back yet sinister, conjuring up memories of the early-to-mid nineties. Flows are abstract and rhyme schemes complex, with both lyricists showing an impressive grasp of vocabulary. A subtle static surrounds most of the tracks, an undoubtedly intentional executive decision, leaving the overall sound unpolished and raw. Trends are shunned by The Doppelgangaz as they seem to follow no rules, carefully walking the thin line between individuality and gimmick, emerging victorious on the side of remaining distinct without setting their own expiration date."

In 2012, they released an instrumental album ''Beats For Brothels, Vol. 2'', they followed that with their third studio album '' HARK!'' in 2013. On February 18, 2014, the duo released their fourth studio album ''

Peace Kehd ''Peace Kehd'' is the fourth studio album by American hip hop duo The Doppelgangaz. The album was released on February 18, 2014 by their label Groggy Pack Entertainment. ''Peace Kehd''s production and mixing was entirely handled by the duo. It ...

''. On July 7, 2017, they released their fifth studio album ''Dopp Hopp''. They have not released a studio album since 2018's ''AAAAGGGHH'', but have dropped a multitude of singles, EPs & instrumental projects in the time being. The group released their seventh album ''Black Cloak Lifestyle'' in 2022.

Discography

Studio albums

*'' 2012: The New Beginning'' (2009) *''R.O.B.'' (2010) *''Beats For Brothels, Vol. 1'' (2011) *''Lone Sharks'' (2011) *''Beats For Brothels, Vol. 2'' (2012) *'' HARK!'' (2013) *''

'' (2014) *''Beats For Brothels, Vol. 3'' (2015) *''Beats For Brothels, Vol. 3.5'' (2016) *''Dopp Hopp'' (2017) *''AAAAGGGHH'' (2018) *''Beats For Brothels, Vol. 4'' (2018) *''Dumpster Dive'' (2020) *''Beats For Brothels, Vol. 5'' (2020) *''Black Cloak Lifestyle'' (2022) *''Beats For Brothels, Vol. 6'' (2023)

Extended plays

*''The Ghastly Duo EP'' (2008) *''Doppic of Discussion'' (2012) *''Parts Unknown'' (2015) *''Speak Awn Eht'' (2015) *''G Pack, Vol. 1'' (2019) *''G Pack, Vol. 2'' (2020) *''G Pack, Vol. 3'' (2021) *''Went Left'' (2023) *''Chillhop Beat Tapes: The Doppelgangaz'' (2023) *''G Pack, Vol. 4'' (2023)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Doppelgangaz East Coast hip hop groups American hip hop duos Musical groups established in 2008 Musical duos from New York (state)