Mad Flava

Hailing from Dallas, the quartet Mad Flava occupied a fleeting position within the mid-nineties weed-hop movement that arose once Cypress Hill achieved widespread recognition. The lineup featured MCs Cold Chris the Soulman, whose birth name was Chris Parker, alongside Don Kasaan, with DJ Baby G the Cut Selectah handling the turntables and Erich "Hype Dawg" Krause serving as producer and MC. After raising their visibility through opening slots across Texas for KRS-One, A Tribe Called Quest, and Cypress Hill, the group secured a contract with Priority Records. This development coincided with the 1992-1993 surge surrounding House of Pain, whose Muggs-produced single "Jump Around" had established the commercial viability of a Caucasian MC. Cold Chris himself was white, and the collective consumed vast quantities of marijuana, creating circumstances that appeared to position From tha Ground Unda, their first album for the label, as a likely success. Release was nevertheless stalled by disputes concerning sample clearances and distribution setbacks, so that by the time the project reached stores in late 1993 the moment had passed. Priority mounted only a lukewarm marketing effort, leaving Mad Flava to recede into the Dallas underground as another victim of an unpredictable rap marketplace.