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Live Squad was an American hip hop group and production team from Hollis, Queens, New York consisting of brothers Stretch (Randy Walker) and Majesty (Christopher Walker) and DJ K-Low, best known for their early collaborations with
Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the Li ...
.


History

Live Squad debuted in 1988 with the self-produced tracks "Troopin It" and "We Ain't Havin' It" on ''BQ In Full Effect'', a limited 12" EP featuring Percee P and Top Priority. In 1990, Stretch and Majesty met Shock G of Bay Area hip-hop group Digital Underground, with Stretch making a guest appearance on "Family of the Underground" from their 1991 album ''
Sons Of The P ''Sons of the P'' is the second album by American rap group Digital Underground, released in 1991. The album contained two hit singles, "No Nose Job" and "Kiss You Back," both of which were written by and featured the lead vocals of Greg Jacobs (a ...
'' and a Live Squad produced remix for their single "No Nose Job" that same year. In the summer of 1991, Stretch met Digital Underground affiliate
Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the Li ...
and the two made fast friends, becoming nearly inseparable. Their friendship developed while filming '' Juice'', and the two would begin to make studio recordings, live performances, and televised appearances together: Stretch appeared on two songs from 2Pac's late 1991 album debut ''
2Pacalypse Now ''2Pacalypse Now'' is the debut studio album by American rapper 2Pac. It was released on November 12, 1991, by Interscope and Jive Records. ''2Pacalypse Now'' is Tupac's commentary on contemporary social issues facing American society, such as ra ...
'' - including the Live Squad production "Tha Lunatic" - and backed Tupac on an episode of Yo! MTV Raps to perform his single, "
If My Homie Calls "If My Homie Calls" is a song by American rapper Tupac Shakur, 2Pac from his debut album, ''2Pacalypse Now'' (1991). The song was released as a double A-side Single (music), single with ''Brenda's Got a Baby''. A mostly black-and-white music video ...
". During ''Juices production Tupac couldn't even get a song on the soundtrack, and his first album was only a modest success - but once the film was released in the beginning of 1992, Tupac's star was on the rise. Stretch was also close friends with
Ed Lover James Roberts (born February 12, 1963), better known as Ed Lover, is an American rapper, actor, musician, radio personality, and former MTV VJ. He hosted "The Ed Lover Show" on SiriusXM's old-school hip hop station BackSpin. As of April 12, 2 ...
, host of ''Yo! MTV Raps'', who helped get Live Squad signed to
Tommy Boy Records Tommy Boy Entertainment is an American independent record label and multimedia brand founded in 1981 by Tom Silverman. The label is credited with helping and launching the music careers of Queen Latifah, Afrika Bambaataa, Stetsasonic, Digital U ...
by recommending their demo tape and executive producing their early releases. The group released the double A-side single ''Murderahh!/Heartless'' (1992) and the promo single "Game Of Survival / Pump For A Livin'" (1993), as well as an ultra-violent VHS promo mini-movie called ''Game Of Survival'' which was a showcase for 6 songs from their forthcoming album. Due to the movie's graphic nature and Live Squad's hardcore style, all while the backlash from Ice-T and Body Count's " Cop Killer" continued against rap music, Tommy Boy were forced to drop them from their radio-friendly roster and the album was shelved. Live Squad continued to perform and record with 2Pac. For his 1993 sophomore album ''
Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z. ''Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z...'' is the second studio album by American rapper 2Pac, released on February 16, 1993, by Interscope and Jive Records. N.I.G.G.A. in the title is punctuated to refer to 2Pac's backronym "Never Ignorant in Getting Go ...
'', Live Squad produced and featured on "Strugglin'" and joined in on the posse cut "5 Deadly Venoms", and Stretch produced two additional tracks on the album including the lead single and album opener, "
Holler If Ya Hear Me "Holler If Ya Hear Me" is a song by American rapper 2Pac from his second solo studio album, '' Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z.'' (1993). It was released on February 4, 1993 as the album's lead single. The track, which samples " Do It Any Way You Wanna ...
". Stretch continued to make cameo appearances in his friends' movies: in the Tupac-directed music video for Mac Mall's "Ghetto Theme" (1992); Above The Law,
Money B Ronald Brooks, better known by his stage name Money-B, is an American rapper, best known for being a member of the funk and rap group Digital Underground. He is a member of Raw Fusion with DJ Fuze whom they had two albums, ''Live From the Stylee ...
and Tupac's "Call It What You Want" (1993); Ed Lover & Doctor Dre's ''
Who's the Man? ''Who's the Man?'' is a 1993 thriller buddy comedy film directed by Ted Demme in his feature film directing debut. The film stars ''Yo! MTV Raps'' hosts Doctor Dré and Ed Lover as its two main protagonists and features cameo appearances from s ...
'' (1993); and Tupac's ''
Bullet A bullet is a kinetic projectile, a component of firearm ammunition that is shot from a gun barrel. Bullets are made of a variety of materials, such as copper, lead, steel, polymer, rubber and even wax. Bullets are made in various shapes and co ...
'', filmed in 1994. One unreleased song from these sessions was "Thug Life", with raps from 2Pac, Stretch and
Big Syke Tyruss Gerald Himes (November 22, 1968 – December 5, 2016), better known by his stage names Big Syke and Mussolini, was an American rapper best known for his work with the American hip-hop groups Thug Life and Outlawz. His stage name "Big Syk ...
,
Big Syke bio Big or BIG may refer to: * Big, of great size or degree Film and television * ''Big'' (film), a 1988 fantasy-comedy film starring Tom Hanks * '' Big!'', a Discovery Channel television show * ''Richard Hammond's Big'', a television show present ...
at
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 ...
and in 1993, Tupac expanded
the group The Group may refer to: Film and television * ''The Group'' (Australian TV series), 1971 situation comedy produced by Cash Harmon Television for ATN7 * ''The Group'' (Canadian TV series), 1968–70 music variety on CBC Television * ''The Group ...
and signed them to
Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mus ...
for their sole album, 1994's '' Thug Life: Volume 1''. Stretch contributed raps and beats to the album, many of them co-produced with Tupac as 'Thug Music', including the lead single "Bury Me A G". As criticism of gangsta rap continued, songs were cut from the album by the label, including the planned first single "Out On Bail" (which Tupac performed with Stretch at The '94 Source Awards) and the
Notorious B.I.G. Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop and particularly gangsta ...
collaboration "
Runnin' from tha Police "Runnin" (commonly referred to as "Runnin' from tha Police") is a 1995 song by rappers 2Pac and The Notorious B.I.G. featuring Stretch, Dramacydal (later known as Outlawz) and Buju Banton. The song is significant, being one of very few compo ...
". Tupac had met the promising young rapper in 1993 and took him under his wing, even making him a prospective member of Thug Life. Live Squad, 2Pac and The Notorious B.I.G. had performed a joint set together at Maryland's Bowie State University in 1993 and collaborated on the unreleased track "House Of Pain", intended for Biggie's 1994 debut '' Ready To Die''. The friendship between the three rappers, however, would soon be irrevocably damaged. On the night of November 30, 1994, Stretch was with Tupac when he was attacked at Quad Recording Studios in Manhattan. Tupac had been hired by drug dealer and fledgling music manager
Jimmy Henchman James Rosemond often known as Jimmy Henchman or sometimes Jimmy Henchmen, is an American entertainment record executive and convicted drug trafficker. Early life Rosemond was born in 1965, in Harlem, New York and grew up in Flatbush, Brooklyn, ...
to record a feature for his artist Lil' Shawn's single "Dom Perignon", and Tupac, unsure of the situation, went to the studio with Stretch and two others. Upon arrival they saw The Notorious B.I.G.'s associates Lil' Cease and the Bad Boy camp, as the rapper was also there recording for the song, and their tensions were eased - but entering the building lobby they were held at gunpoint by three men and Tupac was robbed, shot and beaten. Both Stretch and Biggie went to the hospital to visit Tupac, but were unable to see him as he was in surgery. Shakur stated that he believed the robbery to be a cover for the attack, and began to openly speculate that Henchman, Biggie, and the others may have been involved. Stretch and Tupac were still friends when Pac was sent to jail on 14 February 1995 for sexual assault charges, but their friendship quickly deteriorated after he learned that Stretch was still doing shows with The Notorious B.I.G. even though he had accused the rapper of being involved in his shooting. In a jailhouse interview with '' VIBE Magazine'', Tupac insinuated Stretch, an imposing figure at 6'8", should have done more to help him and was surprisingly out of harm's way: "I was, like, 'What should I do?' I’m thinking Stretch is going to fight; he was towering over those niggas. From what I know about the criminal element, if niggas come to rob you, they always hit the big nigga first. But they didn’t touch Stretch; they came straight to me." By the time '' Me Against The World'' was released a month later, Stretch had been removed from the single "So Many Tears". In one of Tupac's letters from jail, he listed all of his enemies with their names crossed out - with Stretch's name last. Stretch responded in his own interview with ''VIBE'': "Pac's saying all this shit in the interview, like, "I thought that Stretch was gonna fight. He was towering over them." Now, that nigga know I ain't never going out like no bitch. But I ain't dumb. I ain't got no gun, what the fuck am I supposed to do? I might be towering over niggas, but I ain't towerin' over no slugs." He also questioned Tupac's account of events, and hinted that his gunshot wound may have been self-inflicted, something suggested by forensic reports: "Me personally, I only heard one shot. ... Tupac got shot trying to go for his shit. He tried to go for his gun, and he made a mistake on his own. But I'll let him tell the world that. ... He tried to turn around and pull the joint out real quick, but niggas caught him. Grabbed his hand when it was by his waist." There was never any evidence to suggest Stretch was involved with the robbery. Bill Courtney, a retired NYPD cop from the infamous "Hip-Hop Squad", believed the stick-up was a response to comments Tupac had made in the ''New York Daily News'' against an associate of Jimmy Henchman,
Haitian Jack Jacques "Haitian Jack" Agnant is a Haitian-born music executive and promoter in the rap music industry. He has worked with several popular artists including Tupac Shakur, The Notorious B.I.G., Justin Rose, and Wyclef Jean. In 2007, he was deport ...
: "A message was being sent to him not to name-drop." Jimmy Henchman has since admitted to orchestrating the shooting: "Nobody came to rob you. They came to discipline you." Ed Lover spoke to ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' about the falling out: "Tupac made disparaging remarks about him in ''VIBE Magazine'' and it really hurt his feelings a lot. I think - just my opinion - after Tupac got shot, I just think that Tupac just kind of turned against everybody." The incriminations against Stretch continued once Tupac was released from federal custody to
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 12 October 1995 and began a flurry of recordings for his 1996 album, ''
All Eyez On Me ''All Eyez on Me'' is the fourth studio album by American rapper 2Pac and the last to be released during his lifetime. Released on February 13, 1996, by Death Row and Interscope Records, the album features guest appearances from Dr. Dre, Snoo ...
''; on "Ambitionz Az a Ridah": ''"Had bitch-ass niggas on my team / So, indeed, they wet me up,"'' and in the first verse of "Holla At Me": ''"When me and you was homies / No one informed me it was all a scheme / You infiltrated my team and sold a nigga dreams / How could you do me like that? / I took ya family in / I put some cash in ya pocket / Made you a man again .You're a shell of a man / I lost respect for you nigga / We can never be friends / I know I'm runnin' through your head now / What could you do? / If it was up to you / I'd be dead now / I let the world know nigga you a coward / You could never be Live / Until you die / See the motherfuckin' bitch in your eye."''
Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ( ...
, who enlisted Live Squad to contribute beats for his sophomore album ''It Was Written'' in November 1995, later recollected the situation: "I met Stretch by some dangerous cats that I was hanging with. They put me with Stretch who they were cool with. Stretch became my brother immediately. He wasn’t really recognized for the great work he was doing with Tupac and the hardcore records he did with his own group Live Squad with his brother Majesty. ... Stretch was really hurt by Tupac. I would hear him talking about how Pac was so mad at him because Stretch was with Tupac when he got set up and robbed in the studio lobby. Tupac was mad at everyone after that. I felt bad for Stretch because he really had a lot of love for Pac and he couldn’t believe that Pac thought he had something to do with it."


Stretch's Murder

On 30 November 1995, Stretch was murdered in a drive-by shooting exactly one year - almost to the minute - after the Quad Studio shooting, fuelling rumors. After a midnight Live Squad studio session with
Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ( ...
and on his way to an event with Biggie, Stretch dropped off his brother Majesty at his
Queens Village Queens Village is a mostly residential middle class neighborhood in the eastern part of the New York City borough of Queens. It is bound by Hollis to the west, Cambria Heights to the south, Bellerose to the east, and Oakland Gardens to the north ...
home when two or three men pulled up in a black car alongside his green minivan and began chase, shooting at Stretch while driving. Stretch's minivan came to a crashing stop at the corner of 112th Avenue & 209th Street just after 12:30 A.M., and he was found dead with four bullet wounds in his back. Tupac denied involvement with Stretch's murder, but continued to talk about him after death, even up to his own on 13 September 1996. ''All Eyez On Me'' was released two month's after Stretch's death with all disses intact, and the follow-up '' The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory'' (1996) contained more allusions to Stretch's role in the 1994 attack on the tell-all diss track "Against All Odds": ''"And that nigga that was down for me, restin' dead / Switch sides, guess his new friends wanted him dead"''. Closing the final Tupac album, that track also fired shots at the Bad Boy camp and Nas - artists that he felt Stretch had switched allegiance to. Tupac did make peace with Nas in New York's Bryant Park on 4 September 1996, and even listened to ''It Was Written'' - featuring the Live Squad productions "Take It In Blood" and "Silent Murder" - as he made his fateful trip to Las Vegas for the Tyson-Seldon fight three days later. According to label boss
Suge Knight Marion Hugh "Suge" Knight Jr. (; born April 19, 1965) is a American former music executive, convicted felon, and the co-founder and former CEO of Death Row Records. Knight is considered a central figure in gangsta rap's commercial success in ...
, Tupac intended to remove the Nas disses from the Makaveli album but died before he could do so - there are no accounts if he resolved his feelings for his former friend. Another theory for the murder would later emerge: "Stretch had robbed a big drug dealer of over 10 bricks ilograms of cocaine There was pressure on the street for him to give those drugs back. And when he didn't, a hit was issued." In April 2007, as part of a separate investigation into the murder of legendary DJ and fellow Jamaica, Queens native Jam Master Jay, federal prosecutors named Ronald "Tenad" Washington as a suspect in both murders.Suspect named in '02 slaying of Jam Master Jay
/ref> With both men dead, Stretch would appear on the posthumous 2Pac releases ''
R U Still Down? (Remember Me) ''R U Still Down? (Remember Me)'' is the sixth studio album and second double album by American rapper, 2Pac, released on November 25, 1997. It is his second posthumous release and the first to be released without his creative input and contains p ...
'' (1997), with the Live Squad production "Nothing To Lose", and '' Greatest Hits'' (1998), featuring the cryptic "God Bless The Dead" (dedicated to a Live Squad and Thug Life affiliate named "Biggy Smallz" that is not, as has been suggested, The Notorious B.I.G. nor a Latino rapper produced by frequent Tupac producer
Johnny J Johnny is an English language personal name. It is usually an affectionate diminutive of the masculine given name John, but from the 16th century it has sometimes been a given name in its own right for males and, less commonly, females. Variant ...
). In 1999, a promo release for The Notorious B.I.G.'s own posthumous album ''
Born Again Born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelicalism, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is distinctly and sepa ...
'' featured a Bad Boy remix of "House Of Pain" featuring both Stretch and 2Pac. Majesty would go on to co-found the record label Grand Imperial Records - with rapper E-Money Bags, himself slain on 16 July 2001 under the alleged order of Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff, the suspected boss behind the murder of Jam Master Jay - and continued to release music by Live Squad and Stretch, including in 2001 their unreleased album for Tommy Boy Records, ''Game Of Survival''. K-Low is still active in music and is also a guest speaker and mentor.


Discography

* "Troopin It / We Ain't Havin' It" (1988) * "No Nose Job (Fat Bass International Remix)" from Digital Underground's ''No Nose Job 12"'' (1991) (production) * "Roses (Live Squad Mix)" from Rhythm-N-Bass' ''Roses'' (1992) (production) * "Murderahh / Heartless" (1992) (single) * ''Heartless / Game Of Survival - The Movie'' (1992) (VHS promo) * "Game of Survival / Pump For a Livin" (1993) (promo single) * "Strugglin'" and "5 Deadly Venoms" from 2Pac's ''Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z.'' (1993) (production and vocals) * "Take It In Blood" and "Silent Murder" from Nas' ''It Was Written'' (1996) (production) * "Nothing To Lose" from 2Pac's ''R U Still Down? (Remember Me)'' (1997) * ''Game Of Survival'' (2001) * ''The Tribute - The Forgotten Chapter In Hip Hop'' (2010)


References


External links


Live Squad.com Site
{{Authority control American hip hop groups