Major Figgas originated as a seven-member rap collective rooted in Philadelphia’s north side along Erie Avenue. Childhood friends Gillie Da Kid and Rolx first honed their rhymes at Cabrini College alongside Bump J; the duo Dutch & Spade soon attached themselves, Ab Liva came aboard next, and Bianca completed the lineup as its lone female voice. Local mixtapes had already piqued major-label curiosity by 1998, yet the group elected to issue its debut, Figgas 4 Life, independently in November 1999. Only afterward did it sign with Chris Schwartz’s Philadelphia-based RuffNation Records, which operated under a manufacturing and distribution pact with Warner Bros. Records. The project was then expanded with additional cuts, its opening single “Yeah That’s Us” received a remix, and the entire album underwent remastering. RuffNation/Warner Bros. unveiled the updated edition on August 22, 2000, at which point “Yeah That’s Us” had already entered the R&B/Hip-Hop and Rap charts. (This roster follows the Major Figgas Warner Bros. Records press biography dated August 8, 2000. The Figgas 4 Life CD booklet instead names Wal-Lo, Gillie Da Kid, Ab Live, Spade, Dutch, Rolx, Bumpie Johnson, Bianca [First Lady], Chops, Rucis, El Dinero, Dirty Rik, P-Nut [20/20], and Lee Spade, though the cover photograph shows only seven members.)
