During the early 1990s the Five Percent Nation of Islam fueled inspiration for many cerebral rap collectives, yet Brand Nubian emerged as arguably the strongest example among the more confrontational acts. Although they shared stylistic and sonic traits with the Native Tongues posse, the quartet never joined its ranks and chose to foreground political and religious themes more directly. Their willingness to speak out generated wider controversy than that encountered by the X-Clan or Poor Righteous Teachers, in large part because Brand Nubian’s strong musicality kept listeners engaged regardless of the messages. Attention to the group’s assertive Afrocentrism often eclipsed the playful, affirmative aspects of their recordings as well as the clear skill of lead MC Grand Puba’s rhymes, qualities most fully displayed on their widely praised first album, One for All.
Brand Nubian formed in 1989 in New Rochelle, a suburb of New York. Grand Puba, born Maxwell Dixon, had already appeared on record with Masters of Ceremony before joining forces with Sadat X, born Derek Murphy and originally known as Derek X, Lord Jamar, born Lorenzo DeChalus, and DJ Alamo, Murphy’s cousin. The group signed with Elektra and issued its debut album, All for One, in 1990. Although most reviews were enthusiastic, the album’s sharper rhetoric, especially on the track “Drop the Bomb,” drew criticism from some quarters, including white Elektra staff members who hesitated to promote material they viewed as reverse racism. The resulting attention did not seriously damage Brand Nubian’s prospects, yet it also failed to yield broader pop or R&B success for singles such as “All for One,” “Slow Down,” and “Wake Up,” despite the esteem those tracks enjoyed. A more damaging setback occurred when Grand Puba left the group in late 1991 amid friction over his dominant share of the rapping; Brand Nubian thereby lost both its central voice and main producer, as well as DJ Alamo, who chose to continue working with Puba.
Puba issued his first solo project, Reel to Reel, in 1992. Meanwhile Lord Jamar and Sadat X reformed with DJ Sincere, born Terrence Perry, and released In God We Trust in 1993. The album performed solidly, narrowly missing the Top Ten on the R&B chart, while the single “Punks Jump Up to Get Beat Down” achieved moderate success even as it attracted criticism for anti-gay slurs. With Puba gone, the pro-Islam stance intensified and included more open support for the controversial Minister Louis Farrakhan. By the arrival of 1994’s Everything Is Everything the group had turned markedly doctrinal, prompting earlier defenders among critics to find the lyrics and music increasingly hard to accept.
Following the cool response to Everything Is Everything, the remaining members went separate ways. Sadat X rejoined Grand Puba for “Play It Cool,” a track on Puba’s second solo album; Sadat X also put out his own debut, Wild Cowboys, in 1996 and later appeared on releases by a fresh generation of underground hip-hop artists. Lord Jamar shifted toward production and secured a recurring part on HBO’s prison series Oz. In 1998, as an alternative rap movement gathered momentum, the original four members reunited for the Arista album Foundation, which earned strong critical notices. Grand Puba and Sadat X each resumed solo work afterward, yet they reconvened with Jamar and Alamo for 2004’s Fire in the Hole.
