Camp Lo

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Camp Lo

Geechi Suede (left) and Sonny Cheeba
Origin The Bronx, New York City, New York
Years active 1995 – Present
Genres Hip Hop
Labels Profile Records
Dymond Crook Records
Members Sonny Cheeba
Geechi Suede

Camp Lo is an American Hip Hop duo, formed in 1995, which hails from The Bronx, New York. The duo consists of rappers Sonny Cheeba and Geechi Suede, who are most notable for their flair towards blaxploitation in their style of dress and in their lyrics.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Camp Lo made their first appearance in 1996 on The Great White Hype soundtrack, with their single "Coolie High". The smooth party song was a minor hit, peaking at #25 on the Billboard Hot Rap Singles chart. Their first major exposure came with the release of their second single, the upbeat, horn driven "Luchini AKA This Is It". The song became a crossover hit in 1997, breaking into the top 50 on the Billboard Hot 100, and reaching the top 5 on the Hot Rap Singles chart. The duo released their debut album Uptown Saturday Night in January 1997. The effort was widely acclaimed, praised for their light accessible content and their smooth, Funk and Jazz inspired production. All Music Guide's Leo Stanley stated in AMG's album review:

   
“
Camp Lo's debut album is a refreshing fusion of hip-hop, soul and jazz that manages to avoid most jazz-rap cliches while retaining street credibility.”
   
”
—Leo Stanley [1]

The majority of the album was produced by Ski, famous for his work with Jay-Z. Guest appearances were provided by De La Soul's Trugoy and Digable Planets' Butterfly. The album's 70's-style content was influential on a number of artists within the next few years after its release, like Will Smith, who enlisted Camp Lo for an appearance on his top-selling Big Willie Style album. Also in 1997, they appeared on Oran "Juice" Jones' single "Poppin' That Fly". They collaborated with Hip Hop legends De La Soul in 2000, on the song "So Good" from the Hip Hop 101 Compilation. They finally returned with another album in 2002, titled Let's Do It Again. This effort was not nearly as revered as their debut, and was met with mediocre reviews and sales. Shortly after the album's release, Aesop Rock enlisted them to appear on his album Bazooka Tooth, exposing them to fans of the underground Definitive Jux label. The duo has recently been in negotiations with Blacksmith Records, a label headed by rapper Talib Kweli. Kweli has expressed interest in signing Camp Lo to his label. In 2006, Camp Lo recorded the song "I Wanna Be" for Midway's NBA Ballers: Phenom Soundtrack. Also in 2006, "Bed Rock", the first single from the Fort Apache Mixtape was released exclusively through on-line sources.

[edit] Lyrical confusion

Camp Lo uses slang heavily in their songs, often to the point of near incomprehensibility. A typical example of their lyrical style is:

"Casanova brown, levitating jeeky in dashiki's / In la hotta Car 54 chasin' diamond runners / Headin' ice-bound, where every chilla dime can get / Your Harlem buck strut freezin' world heist Hollywood."

Their heavy use of slang is reminiscent to artists like Wu-Tang Clan's Raekwon and Ghostface Killah, who popularized extreme slang usage on the album Only Built 4 Cuban Linx.

Visit the official site http://www.camp-lo.com

[edit] Discography

Album cover Album information
Uptown Saturday Night
  • Released: January 28, 1997
  • Billboard 200 chart position: #27
  • R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: #5
  • Singles: "Coolie High"/"Killin' Em Softly", "Luchini AKA This is It"/"Swing",
    "Black Nostaljack AKA Come On"
Let's Do It Again
  • Released: May 21, 2002
  • Billboard 200 chart position: -
  • R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: #64
  • Singles: "Glow"/"Gorilla Pimp", "How U Walkin'"

[edit] External links