InI (hip hop group)
| InI | |
|---|---|
 InI members | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Mount Vernon, NY |
| Genres | East Coast hip hop |
| Years active | 1990–1997 |
| Labels | Elektra |
| Associated acts | Pete Rock, InI Mighty Lockdown |
| Members |
Rob-O Grap Luva Ras G Marco Polo DJ Boodakhan |
InI was a hip hop group composed of Rob-O, Grap Luva, Ras G a.k.a. I Love H.I.M., Marco Polo, now known as Jolomite, and DJ Boodakhan.
The group started working on their debut album together with producer Pete Rock in the mid-90s, and signed a deal with Rock's new found imprint Soul Brother Records through Elektra. The record company eventually shelved the album, releasing only one 12" single in 1996.[1] The track "Fakin' Jax", produced and featuring Pete Rock, became an underground hit. The album eventually became one of the most bootlegged album in hip-hop's history,[2] but in 2003 it saw an official release it was included on Lost & Found: Hip Hop Underground Soul Classics, a double LP of Pete Rock's mid-1990s production work, originally canceled by Elektra Records.[3] InI had called their debut album "InI - "The Life I Live", although the bootlegged name is contrary stating "Centre Of Attention", which is incorrect.
Although most people may think Grap Luva is the master of InI, it was Rob-O as he was the "brainchild" of the work. Rob was highly skilled, as a lyricist & vocalist. Despite the fact that Pete Rock is not an official member of the group, it is synonymous with his name, as he produced almost every track of Center of Attention, and Grap Luva is his younger brother. Rock also had verses on two songs (Fakin Jax & Worldwide) in the albums with additional ad-libs and background vocals on basically every track.
InI had released a demo-tape called "Krossroads", and "Concerned", grap describes this as their earlist tapes. Concerned appears to be called "For Your Own Concern" although it was called "Concerned" by the InI group. Grap's man from France was responsible for sharing concerned. "The beat is sick" - Grap, in the song they talk about safe sex; thus the title, to be concerned. The rhyme that rob-o had spit on "To each his own" was the rhyme he had spit on "Concerned". After Center of Attention got shelved the group members went their separate ways, while only two of them stayed on the music scene to pursue solo careers. Grap Luva released a few limited 12" singles in the new millennium and aspired to being his real interest in being a beat boy and producing. He appeared, and produced on various albums and singles from artists such as DJ Spinna, J-Live, Pete Rock, Lone Catalysts, Kev Brown and Marley Marl.[4] Rob-O released many singles through an imprint called St. Nick Entertainment and in 2006 he came out with a debut album called "Rhyme Pro", a mix of the older 12" singles with a few new songs sprinkled throughout.[5]
Discography
- Center Of Attention (1995)