Axe Murder Boyz

Axe Murder Boyz, the prolific hardcore rap duo also called AMB, originated as an underground project launched in Denver, CO, during 1999 by Mexican-American siblings Mike and James Garcia, who record individually under the names Bonez Dubb and Young Wicked. The pair blended their West Coast gangsta-rap leanings with the eerie horror and cartoonish violence typical of the horrorcore imprints Psychopathic Records, Hatchet House, and Majik Ninja Entertainment, a fusion audible across the charting releases Blood In, Blood Out (2006), Gods Hand (2008), The Garcia Brothers (2014), and Muerte (2018).

After forming, the Garcia brothers issued their earliest material through the independent outlet Axe Recordings, yielding The Underground Stylistikz and How Far Will I Go? in 1999, followed by Tormented (2000), The Galaxy (2001), The Down Low EP (2002), and Tha Underground Stylystiks Compilation Album, Vol. 1 (2003). They next moved to Canonize Productions, where they delivered their fourth official full-length, The Unforgiven Forest, in 2004, along with the EPs Vampirez and Underdogz.

A subsequent contest victory tied to Insane Clown Posse’s Psychopathic Records secured the duo a recording deal. Their sixth album overall and first for the label, Blood In, Blood Out, arrived in 2006 and included guest spots from ICP, Shaggy 2 Dope, Twiztid, and Blaze Ya Dead Homie. Embraced by the Juggalo audience, the project climbed the Billboard Heatseekers, Independent, and Internet charts while reaching number 199 on the Billboard 200. It was an underground rap sensation, breaking into the Billboard 200 album chart. The follow-up, God’s Hand, surfaced in 2008 via the Psychopathic subsidiary Hatchet House. For their eighth album, the self-titled The Garcia Brothers, the Garcia siblings returned briefly to Psychopathic in 2014 before shifting to Twiztid’s neighboring imprint Majik Ninja Entertainment for 2018’s Muerte.