| New Boyz | |
|---|---|
Ben J (left) and Legacy (right) |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Hesperia, California, United States |
| Genres | Hip hop, electro hop |
| Years active | 2008–present |
| Labels | Shotty, Asylum, Warner Bros. |
| Website | www.thenewboyz.com |
| Members | |
| Legacy (rapper) Ben J |
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New Boyz is an American hip hop/rap group and a former jerkin crew duo[1] made up of rappers Earl "Ben J" Benjamin (born October 13, 1991) and Dominic "Legacy" Thomas (born October 12, 1991)[2] from Hesperia, California. They debuted in summer 2009 with their viral hit, "You're a Jerk", taken from their debut studio album Skinny Jeanz and a Mic, released in September 2009. The song peaked in the top thirty of the Billboard Hot 100, and it was the first song to bring the jerkin' style to the national forefront. A second single, "Tie Me Down" featuring Ray J, was also successful and peaked in the top thirty.
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The two were originally rivals, but became friends over a common interest in music.[3] Thomas began rapping at the age of eight after watching a music video by Bow Wow, but Benjamin did not have plans to pursue a musical career, instead, he intended to play football at San Diego State University.[4] However, Benjamin decided to focus more on music after he discovered that Thomas was achieving success in rapping. With their October birthdays only a day apart, they pooled their gift money to buy recording equipment. Thomas then taught himself how to make beats for the group's songs with a computer program called Fruity Loops, saying "I had to teach myself. We didn’t want to pay for beats."[5] After Thomas transferred to a new school, they decided to form a group. With Benjamin being "Ben J" and Thomas being "Legacy", they began performing together as the Swagger Boyz on July 4, 2008[4] and created a MySpace page to promote their self-published single "Colorz".[3] In 2009, New Boyz performed at a basketball game for Bishop Alemany High School in Mission Hills, CA.
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [6] |
US R&B [7] |
US Rap [8] |
||
| Skinny Jeanz and a Mic |
|
56 | 12 | 8 |
| Too Cool to Care |
|
41 | 9 | 7 |
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [9] |
US R&B [10] |
US Rap [11] |
US Pop [12] |
AUS | CAN | NZ | UK | ||||||
| "You're a Jerk" | 2009 | 24 | 13 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | Skinny Jeans and a Mic | |||
| "Tie Me Down" (featuring Ray J) |
22 | 42 | 5 | 23 | — | — | — | — |
|
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| "Break My Bank" (featuring Iyaz) |
2010 | 68 | 63 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | Too Cool to Care | |||
| "Backseat" (featuring The Cataracs and Dev) |
2011 | 26 | — | 12 | 17 | 89 | 52 | 30 | 55 |
|
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| "Better with the Lights Off" (featuring Chris Brown) |
38 | — | 13 | 23 | 90 | — | — | — | |||||
| "—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released. | |||||||||||||
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions |
Album | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [9] |
|||||||||||
| "Spot Right There" (featuring Teairra Marí) |
2010 | — | Non-Album Single | ||||||||
| "Crush On You" (featuring YG) |
2011 | — | Too Cool to Care | ||||||||
| "Tough Kids" (featuring Sabi) |
— | ||||||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | |||||||||||
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US Pop |
CAN | |||||||||
| "I Like It Like That" (Hot Chelle Rae featuring New Boyz) |
2011 | 28 | 23 | 57 | Whatever | ||||||
| "Sex" (Colette Carr featuring New Boyz) |
2011 | — | — | — | TBA | ||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | |||||||||||
| Year | Association | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | BET Awards 2011 | Best Group[16] | Nominated |
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