La Coka Nostra

La Coka Nostra came together in 2005 as a hip-hop supergroup uniting Everlast, Danny Boy, and DJ Lethal from House of Pain, Ill Bill from Non Phixion, Slaine from Special Teamz, and the independent rapper Big Left. What began as an informal alliance shifted in 2006 when the members committed to recording a full-length project. Early material surfaced online, through various mixtapes, and on Ill Bill’s 2007 effort Black Metal, which carried the tag “La Coka Nostra Presents,” all preceding the group’s late-2008 signing with Suburban Noize. Throughout 2009 they maintained a steady touring schedule that included summer festival dates while supporting their first official album, A Brand You Can Trust, which included guest appearances from Cypress Hill’s B-Real and Sen Dog along with Snoop Dogg, Bun B, and Immortal Technique.

Everlast exited the collective in 2012 shortly before the arrival of the second album, Masters of the Dark Arts. That release incorporated contributions from Vinnie Paz and Sean Price and was produced in part by DJ Premier and Statik Selektah; it reached the upper half of both the Billboard Independent Albums and R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts. Paz and Statik Selektah rejoined the lineup for the third project, To Thine Own Self Be True, which surfaced toward the end of 2016.