Ying Yang Twins

Ying Yang Twins
Kaine and D-Roc before their concert in Berlin in May 2007
Background information
Also known as	The Ying Yangers
Origin	Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Genres	Southern hip hop, crunk
Years active	1997–present
Labels	TVT, Universal Records Epic Records (2012-present)
Associated acts	DJ Laz, Lil Jon, Three 6 Mafia, Mr. Collipark, The HoodRatz, Pitbull, Trick Daddy
Members	Kaine D-Roc

The Ying Yang Twins are an Atlanta-based American hip hop duo consisting of Kaine (born Eric Jackson on December 16, 1978) and D-Roc (born De'Angelo Holmes on February 23, 1979). The group debuted in 2000 and rose to mainstream popularity in 2003 collaborating with Lil Jon in his single "Get Low". In 2004 and 2005, Ying Yang Twins became more popular with party singles "Salt Shaker", "What's Happnin", "Shake", and "Badd". They have received notoriety for their song "Halftime (ft. Homebwoi)" which is played at New Orleans Saints homegames after most touchdowns.

Career

Ying Yang Twins debuted in 2000 with the single "Whistle While You Twurk", which was played on urban and pop radio stations and peaked at #17 on the US R&B/Hip-Hop chart. They grew even more famous when they toured with Juz tha King, Kat Nu and Demo Dil on the tour called King Me. Their full-length debut album, Thug Walkin', came out later that year.

Immediately after discovering fellow Atlanta hip hop artist Lil Jon, A&R Bryan Leach began talks with representative Michael 'DJ Smurf' Crooms about signing the Ying Yang Twins to TVT Records. Protracted negotiations meant that a deal was not finalized in time to for the label to release their next album, Alley: The Return of the Ying Yang Twins, which instead appeared in 2002 on Koch.^[1] The album was successful among hip-hop fans in the Southern United States. The same year, the group appeared on the album Kings of Crunk by Lil Jon on the single "Get Low", and the song was a huge club and radio hit. As Crooms had negotiated only a one-album deal with Koch, the duo was free to finally submit to the advances of TVT, who had impressed them with their recent work with Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz.^[1][2]

Their first album for TVT, Me & My Brother, was certified platinum on April 12, 2005,^[3] and yielded three more hits — "Whats Happnin!", "Naggin'" and the popular Lil Jon collaboration "Salt Shaker".^[4] The same year the duo appeared on Britney Spears' album In the Zone singing the song "I Got That (Boom Boom)" and her television special of the same name.^[2] In 2004, TVT released My Brother & Me, an album composed largely of remixes which featured a bonus DVD of the group's videos.^[5]

A new album U.S.A. (United State of Atlanta) appeared in the summer of 2005 as its singles "Wait (The Whisper Song)", "Badd", and "Shake" were dominating urban radio,^[2] and U.S.A. (Still United), a collection of outtakes, remixes, and collaborations similar to My Brother & Me followed in December 2005. It too was accompanied by a DVD featuring music videos and other footage from the U.S.A. (United State of Atlanta) period.^[6]

In 2005, D-Roc and his younger brothers, Mr. Weeny, and Da Birthday Boy, formed the group Da Muzicianz and released their first single, "Camera Phone". Their self-titled album was released on February 28, 2006.

The group's fifth album Chemically Imbalanced was released in November 2006. For this album the Twins collaborated with producers Wyclef Jean and Keith Duplessis in addition to Mr. Collipark, who produced a majority of the songs on the group's previous album.^[7] The first two singles were the Hall & Oates-sampling "Dangerous", featuring Wyclef Jean,^[8] and "Jigglin'".^[9] In 2008, the Twins released the mixtape The Official Work and a promo single titled "Drop". A highlight of the Ying Yang Twins' tour includes a visit to the Epsilon MU Chapter of Sigma Chi. Here they performed all their hits live in front of a sold out Texas crowd. All of the proceeds from the show went to charity. In 2009, the Twins released their latest album with Deep Records, Ying Yang Forever, and started a tour titled "Ying Yang Forever Tour".

Their song "Halftime (Stand Up and Get Crunk)" is now a standard in many NFL football stadiums, and is considered to be the unofficial anthem of the New Orleans Saints during their Super Bowl victory season, even though it has been a staple at Saints games since 2006. This song was performed live during the victory parade.^[10] The song has also been used in NFL Street 2 and Madden NFL 11.

On November 3, 2009, Ying Yang Twins released their greatest hits album via The Orchard and BOOTY Records. The album includes top ten Billboard hits "What's Happinin", "Shake", "Salt Shaker", and “Wait (The Whisper Song)” plus three new tracks.^[11]

On June 29, 2012, Ying Yang Twins revealed on Twitter that they had signed to Epic Records, and released their first single from their new untitled album, "Fist Pump, Jump Jump", featuring singer Greg Tecoz.^[12]

Discography

Studio albums

• Thug Walkin' (2000)
• Alley: The Return of the Ying Yang Twins (2002)
• Me & My Brother (2003)
• U.S.A. (United State of Atlanta) (2005)
• Chemically Imbalanced (2006)
• Ying Yang Forever (2009)
• All Around The World (2013)^[13]

Remix albums

• My Brother & Me (2004)
• U.S.A. Still United (2005)

Compilation albums

• Legendary Status: Ying Yang Twins Greatest Hits (2009)
• Gumbo Vol. 1 (2010)
• Gumbo Vol. 2 (2010)

Mixtapes

• The Official Work (2008)
• The ReMixTape (2011)
• Ass in session (2013)
• Twurk Or Die (2013)

Filmography

• Soul Plane (2004)

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ying Yang Twins.

• Ying Yang Twins on Twitter

Ying Yang Twins on Myspace

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