Biography
Despite the notorious history of bloodshed between Los Angeles's Bloods and Crips, the two sides joined forces for the 1993 project Bangin on Wax. Los Angeles-area producer Ron "Ronnie Ron" Phillips and rapper Tweedy Bird Loc assembled the effort after the commercial breakthrough of N.W.A. left many actual gang members feeling that outsiders had profited from their lifestyle. An open audition drew both active gang members and neighborhood rappers, and the strongest performers from each faction were selected to record. Among those chosen were Red-Rum-781, Sin Loc, Blue Ragg, Red Rag, Bloody Mary, and Lil' Stretch. The entire album was tracked in just two weeks, yet it found a substantial underground audience, moving more than 400,000 copies and spawning the well-received single Piru Love. A follow-up, The Saga Continues, appeared in 1994 and marked the final joint release between the two gangs. Phillips, however, kept working with both sides through his Dangerous Records label, releasing further material by Crips under the name Nationwide Rip Ridaz and by Bloods under the name Damu Ridaz. Several of the original Bangin on Wax participants later recorded together as the Young Soldierz, while one member who had performed as Genuine Draft—Domino—scored a 1994 pop-rap hit with the single Sweet Potatoe Pie.
Albums
