Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E.

Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E.
Origin	Carson, California
Genres	Hip hop
Years active	1988 – Present
Labels	Island Records Samoan Mafia Records
Members
Gawtti The Godfather Kobra Monsta O Ganxsta Ridd

Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. are a hip hop group from Carson, California, composed of the Devoux brothers Paul, Ted, Donald, Roscoe, Danny, and David. Their family is from Samoa. They first began playing music in their father's Baptist church. Before anyone else arrived, they would play P-Funk and experiment with other forms of hip-hop. Particularly popular in their South Bay neighborhood, they began to dance to funk music. The brothers then created the dance crew the Blue City Strutters and publicly performed. All members are members or former members of West Side Piru and Samoan Warrior Bounty Hunters. Despite their religious upbringing, the brothers eventually fell into the gang scene popular in their home of Compton, Los Angeles. After their youngest brother was killed in 1987, they decided to turn their lives around and dedicate their lives to music because "that's what he would have wanted."^[1] To get away from the gang culture, the brothers decided to leave L.A. and go to Japan. While there, they were inspired to begin performing music again, with Paul "Gangxta R.I.D." rapping in front of eager Japanese audiences.^[2] They toured Japan in the mid 1980s and became very popular.^[2] Upon their return to California in 1988, the group focused again on making music and re-christened themselves as the Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E.^[3] Their pioneering debut LP, New Funky Nation, was different from most rap records at the time because the Boo-Yaa TRIBE played live instruments on it. Later on, they ventured into the realms of both gangsta rap and rapcore music. They also appeared on the Judgment Night soundtrack performing "Another Body Murdered" with Faith No More, on Kid Frost's East Side Story LP, on The Transplants' Haunted Cities LP and on the rock group P.O.D.'s Testify, with the emotional rap track "On the Grind." The "Boo-Yaa" in their name signifies the sound of a shotgun being discharged, while the "T.R.I.B.E." stands for "Too Rough International Boo-Yaa Empire." According to hip-hop documentarians, Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. is "synonymous with hip hop in Los Angeles."^[2]

Influence

The Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. has also proven to be very influential for other Samoan hip-hop artists. Kosmo, an important Samoan hip-hop artist in New Zealand, cites the Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. as "an original inspiration for his lifelong interest in street dance and...hip hop music."^{[citation needed]} Additionally, as Samoans are often seen as a diasporic group spread out among various locations, the Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. have been successfully able to reconcile their roles as Samoans and Americans while still traveling and achieving success in Japan and other countries.^[2] The group's 1997 album titled "Angry Samoans" hints at the connection to their Samoan heritage even as they are often identified with the California hip-hop scene.^[4]

The four brothers began their musical careers on a small scale performing instrumentals at their father (a Baptist Minister's) Church. While on their own, they would practice funk hits from the American band Parliament-Funkadelic. The Brothers got their start through professional dance then later found their way into making the music to which they enjoyed dancing.^[2] In 2000 David Devoux left and was replaced by Vincent Devoux aka Gawtti.^[5]

Discography

Album Information
New Funky Nation Released: 1990 Chart Positions: #117 US, #33 R&B/Hip-Hop Last RIAA certification: Singles: "Psyko Funk"
Doomsday Released: 1994 Chart Positions: Last RIAA certification: Singles: "Doomsday", "Kill 'Em All", "Get Gatted On"
Occupation Hazardous Released: November 7, 1995 Chart Positions: Last RIAA certification: Singles:
Mentally Disturbed Released: June 4, 1996 Chart Positions:N/A Last RIAA certification: Singles: "Mentally Disturbed"
Angry Samoans Released: 1998 Chart Positions: Last RIAA certification: Singles: "Skared for Lyfe", "Buried Alive", "Boogie Man"
Mafia Lifestyle Released: October 31, 2000 Chart Positions: N/A Last RIAA certification: Singles: "Mafia Lifestyle", "All Mighty Boo-Yaa"
West Koasta Nostra Released: October 7, 2003 Chart Positions: #85 Top R&B/Hip-Hop Last RIAA certification: Singles: "Bang On", "911", "State of Emergency"
Business As Usual Released: November 13, 2006 Chart Positions: Last RIAA certification: Singles: "G's from the Otha Side", "If I Die, Let Me Roll"

References

1. ^ "Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. Interview" http://www.thesituation.co.uk/features/booyaa_tribe/booyaa_tribe.html
2. ^ ^{a b c d e} Henderson, April K. "Dancing Between Islands: Hip Hop and the Samoan Diaspora." In The Vinyl Ain't Final: Hip Hop and the Globalization of Black Popular Culture, ed. by Dipannita Basu and Sidney J. Lemelle, 180-199. London; Ann Arbor, MI: Pluto Press, 200
3. ^ http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/boo_yaa_tribe/artist.jhtml#bio Bio from mtv.com
4. ^ Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. The Situation Interviews. "http://www.thesituation.co.uk/features/booyaa_tribe/booyaa_tribe.html"
5. ^ The Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. BIO

http://www.frank151.com/book/chapter_35_samoa?page=1

External links

• http://www.thesituation.co.uk/features/booyaa_tribe/booyaa_tribe.html
• http://www.streetgangs.com/magazine/123106gawtti.html Interview of Gawtti on Gangster Rap by Alex Alonso of Streetgangs.com
• Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. on Myspace