7th Floor Crew

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The 7th Floor Crew is an underground rap group out of Coral Gables, Florida, in the United States. The group gained substantial notoriety when it was reported that the group includes some University of Miami football players. The group is named for the 7th floor of the University of Miami's Pearson Residential College.

While 7th Floor Crew never released an album, they received substantial national media attention in 2004 when their song of the same name, "7th Floor Crew", was ultimately covered by ESPN, Sports Illustrated and other national media. The song can be downloaded from a MySpace site that reportedly belongs to the group[1] and other sites.

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[edit] Lewd lyrics

The song, whose lyrics are set against the beat and chorus from Aaliyah's "If Your Girl Only Knew," has been met with many of the stereotypical criticisms of gangsta rap music. The lyrics describe various sex acts, such as group sex and sexual boasts by each of the group's male members, told through a narrative that is littered with sexual profanity.

The song was purportedly recorded privately and intended initially to be shared only among the group's University of Miami and other friends. But it received major notoriety when Miamity.com, run by University of Miami student, Kyle Munzenrieder, revealed that the group included players from the University of Miami football team who had created the song under pseudonyms[2].

Former UM wide receiver Sinorice Moss, who was drafted by the New York Giants in the 2006 NFL Draft, verified in an ESPN.com chat that the song was created by members of the team. Said Moss: "That's something that they did like two years ago. A couple of the freshmen and older guys made a rap song. It was a really cool song"[3].

Bryant McKinnie: "Big Nick" (who "slings dick"). Bryant McKinnie is 6'8, 343 pounds, so he's got the "big" part covered. Despite the myriad of sex acts detailed by the Seventh Floor Crew, Big Nick is the only one to discuss cunnilingus. As McKinnie is the only Viking accused of picking up a naked woman, placing her on the bar, and performing oral sex on her, this seems like the perfect match. [4]

The song's release and the ensuing controversy was not helpful to the University of Miami football program, which was beginning to make progress in repairing an image that had been stained by periodic violations and player run-ins with the law.

[edit] ESPN coverage

After hearing the song, ESPN columnist Pat Forde wrote: "How long does it take to undermine more than five years of hard work improving the image of a once-tainted football program? It could be as little as 9 minutes, it turns out."[5]. Nine minutes references the length of the 7th Crew song.

[edit] University of Miami condemnation

ESPN and other national and local media coverage predictably resulted in condemnation of the song by the UM administration. UM athletic director Paul Dee, in a statement, said that "[t]he content of the recording is unfortunate, inappropriate and demeaning. This speech is not appropriate and does not reflect the values of the University or the Athletic Department"[6].

The track begins with one of the rappers, Marvelous, stating a disclaimer that asserts that the song is "in its entirety is not meant to disrespect any women in its entirety". Then, when the redundancy of his statement is met with laughter by other 7th Floor Crew members, Marvelous urges the producer of the song, in no uncertain terms, to "bring in the track".

The term "Taken to the 7th Floor" became a catchphrase as well in conjunction with the University of Miami's football games. When Miami wins by a large margin, fans say the opposing team got "Taken to the 7th Floor". Conversely, it has been used against Miami when they have lost by a large margin.

[edit] Performers

  • Marvelous (Marcus Maxey)
  • T-Good (Tavares Gooden)
  • Big Nick (Nick Nucci)
  • Lil' Nuke (Darnell Jenkins)
  • Dub C (Willie Cooper)
  • T-Buck
  • G-Reg (Greg Olsen)
  • Big Beast (Jon Beason)
  • Hollaman (Brandon Meriweather)

[edit] See also

[edit] External links