Hip-hop icons 8 Ball & MJG prove that they live up to title of their sixth studio album. ‘Living Legends’, the first project the pioneering Memphis rap have released on P. Diddy’s Bad Boy Records, has been certified gold and is approaching platinum status.
Hit singles “You Don’t Want Drama” and “Straight Cadillac Pimpin’” appealed to both newfound followers and the duo’s die-hard fans. As a testament to the their sustained appeal, 8 Ball & MJG made their first appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live in September 2004, more than a decade after they released their first album.
After a tumultuous musical career, 8 Ball & MJG with the masterful ‘Living Legends’ have shown that their love for music remains their primary concern.
“The reason we love what we do and can’t put the mic down is because God has
something great planned for us to do,” 8 Ball says. “Maybe we’ve done it
and don’t know that we’ve done it, but we’re here for a reason. That’s definitely evident.”
It’s also evident that hip-hop fans can’t get enough of 8 Ball & MJG.
Independent regional albums ‘Coming Out Hard’ and ‘On The Outside Looking In’ in the early 1990s had the South on fire and set the stage for the duo’s national debut, 1995’s ‘On Top Of The World’, which quickly went gold.
Since then, 8 Ball and MJG have released a host of chart-topping, critically acclaimed albums, all of which have gone at least gold (including 8 Ball’s double platinum solo debut album, 1998’s landmark ‘Lost’.)
8 Ball & MJG also appeared on Mase’s breakthrough ‘Harlem World’ album in 1997, establishing the working relationship with P. Diddy that evolved into 8 Ball & MJG signing with the legendary label.
“The whole plan was to sign 8 Ball & MJG for 8 Ball & MJG,” MJG says of their allegiance with P. Diddy. “He respected what we were doing and he wanted to keep the format the same. That’s what he liked about us: us.”
In addition to promoting ‘Living Legends’, 8 Ball is working on the second Slab compilation, a solo album from rapper Devius and his third solo album, all of which will be released on 8 Ball’s 8 Ways Entertainment. MJG is finishing recording his second solo album, which will be released on his own MJG Music.
