UTP

Formed in 2002 by protégés of New Orleans-based Dirty South rapper Juvenile (Terius Grey) just as he departed the Cash Money roster, the UTP Playas took their name from the Uptown district of New Orleans. Initially envisioned as a loose posse rather than a fixed unit, the group maintained porous boundaries that allowed key members to blend freely with outside contributors such as Young Buck. Its 2002 debut, The Compilation, captured the open-ended spirit of a mixtape through a revolving-door recording approach that welcomed appearances from Skip, Wacko, Soulja Slim, Lower Level, Corey Cee, and Lil Tee. The 2003 follow-up, Juvenile Presents: Street Stories, shifted toward fewer individual showcases and a more collective, improvisational atmosphere while still drawing from nearly the same pool of supporting artists. After Young Buck joined 50 Cent’s G-Unit crew and Soulja Slim (James Tapp) was murdered on November 26, 2003, the UTP Playas contracted sharply, eliminating most outside features and solidifying into a self-contained trio of Juvenile, Wacko, and Skip. Their first recording under this reduced configuration, Nolia Clap, appeared in 2004.