Flatbush Zombies

Hailing from Brooklyn's Flatbush section in New York, Flatbush Zombies summon the spirit of 1990s East Coast hip-hop via expansive, film-like productions laced with hallucinatory textures and tightly packed, introspective rhymes. After building a devoted following beneath the mainstream radar in the early 2010s, the crew broke into the Billboard 200's upper tier with their first proper studio album, 3001: A Laced Odyssey, released in 2016. The trio also belongs to Beast Coast, a New York-based supergroup.

FBZ originated in 2010 when Meechy Darko, Zombie Juice, and Erick Arc Elliott joined forces. Meech and Elliott, who had known each other since childhood in Flatbush, connected with Juice during high school; the three traded freestyles before committing tracks to tape. Their debut single, "Thug Waffle," arrived in January 2012. Built around Meech's raw growl, Juice's brash declarations, and Elliott's heavy yet relaxed beats, both the track and its video quickly spread online. Later that year the group issued their opening mixtape, D.R.U.G.S. ("Death and Reincarnation Under God's Supervision"), highlighted by the brooding "S.C.O.S.A." and the hazy "Face Off (L.S.Darko)."

As their reputation grew, Flatbush Zombies contributed guest verses to tracks such as A$AP Mob's "Bath Salt" and the Underachievers' "No Religion." Together with the Underachievers and Joey Bada$$'s Pro Era crew, they formed the Beast Coast collective and crisscrossed the United States on tour in early 2013, reuniting for a full-length project near the decade's close. In September of that year the trio released their second mixtape, the psychedelic Better Off Dead, which featured appearances by Action Bronson and Danny Brown. Maintaining their Beast Coast ties, FBZ and the Underachievers issued the joint EP Clockwork Indigo in 2014.

Meech, Juice, and Erick finished their official debut LP, 3001: A Laced Odyssey, in 2016; it reached stores in March and earned strong notices throughout Europe, Australasia, and the United States, where it climbed to number ten on the Billboard 200. Two years afterward they delivered the well-received follow-up Vacation in Hell, which rose to number nine on Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop chart. In 2019 the Beast Coast alliance unveiled its first album, Escape from New York, partially produced by Elliott and ultimately landing inside the U.S. Top 30. Flatbush Zombies resumed solo activity in 2020 with the concise EP Now, More Than Ever.