3X Krazy (pronounced 3-Times Crazy) was an American hip hop group formed in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the ...

in 1994. The group consisted of members

Keak da Sneak Charles Kente Williams (né Bowens; born October 21, 1977), better known by his stage name Keak da Sneak, is an American rapper from Oakland, California, known for his scratchy, gruff voice and for coining the term '' hyphy'' in 1994. Early li ...

, B.A. and Agerman.

History

Founding

3X Krazy was formed in 1994 and was signed to Str8 Game Records. Prior to the formation of 3X Krazy, Agerman and Keak da Sneak were a duo known as Dual Committee. As Dual Committee, they received their first record deal with AWOL Records. Although an album was never released under AWOL Records, Dual Committee appeared on two songs on fellow label-mate

C-Bo Shawn Thomas, also known by his stage name C-Bo, is an American rapper. C-Bo, notoriously known for his relationship with law enforcement, was one of the first rappers to be jailed due to his lyrical content, a scathing critique of political off ...

's second release, ''

The Autopsy ''The Autopsy'' is the first EP by American rapper C-Bo, released in 1994 on AWOL Records. It was produced by Mike Mosley and Sam Bostic. It peaked at number 22 on the ''Billboard'' Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and at number 19 on the ''Billboard'' T ...

''. After parting ways with AWOL, B.A.aka Lamore Jacks (then known as Bart AKA Mr Kamikaze) joined the group and 3X Krazy was formed.

1995-2003

The group's debut EP ''

Sick-O ''Sick-O'' is an EP by 3X Krazy. It was released on August 5, 1995 for Str8 Game Records and featured production from Tone Capone. Track listing #"Hit the Gas" - 5:02 (Featuring Harm) #"Somethin' 4 Dat Ass" - 4:08 #"Sick-O" - 5:53 (Featuring Sea ...

'' was released in 1995, and although not a commercial success, the group still managed to attract the attention of a major record label,

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a world ...

who signed the group in 1996. 3X Krazy's only released for Virgin was 1997's ''

Stackin Chips ''Stackin Chips'' is the debut studio album by American rap group 3X Krazy. It was released on April 8, 1997 through Noo Trybe Records. Production was handled by Tone Capone, One Drop Scott, Ali Malek, Ant Banks, Bosko, Lev Berlak, Mike Dean, N ...

'', which would prove to be the group's most successful release, making it to 136 on the ''Billboard'' 200, 28 on the

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated ...

and 6 on the

Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers are "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new an ...

album charts. 3X Krazy would later release 1999's '' Immortalized'' and 2000's ''

Real Talk 2000 ''Real Talk 2000'' is the third and final album by 3X Krazy. It was released on January 18, 2000 for Dubble Barrell Records and featured production from Lev Berlak, Bosko and Wolverine. By the time of this album's release, the group had disbanded ...

'' before disbanding. In 2003, 3X Krazy released their fifth album ''

Flowamatic-9 ''Flowamatic-9'' is a compilation of previously released and remixed 3X Krazy songs compiled from their first EP, Sick-O, as well as various guest appearances. It was released on October 14, 2003 for RT Entertainment and featured production from ...

'', which featured remixed songs from their first album as well as previously unreleased songs.

2022

In July 2022, 3X Krazy performed together for the first time in 10 years.

Influence

In his 1996 track '' Record Haters'', rapper

E-40 Earl Tywone Stevens Sr. (born November 15, 1967), better known by his stage name E-40, is an American rapper. He is a founding member of the rap group The Click, and the founder of Sick Wid It Records. He has released 26 studio albums to date, ...

credits 3X Krazy with teaching him the phrase "fa sheezy", birthing a new way of speaking. In 2022, E-40 reconfirmed this.

Solo careers

All three members have pursued solo careers: B.A. has released 4 albums, Agerman has released 9 albums featuring

Christian rap Christian hip hop (originally gospel rap, also known as Christian rap, gospel hip hop or holy hip hop) is a subgenre of contemporary Christian music and hip hop music. It emerged from urban contemporary music and Christian media in the United ...

, while Keak da Sneak has released almost 20 albums and several mixtapes.

Discography

Studio albums

*''

'' (1997) *'' Immortalized'' (1999) *''

'' (2000)

Side projects

*Dual Committee – ''

Dual Committee ''Dual Committee'' is an album by 3X Krazy members Keak da Sneak and Agerman under the name Dual Committee. It was released March 21, 2000 on Moe Doe Records and was produced by Ant Banks, E-A-Ski & CMT, Rick Rock Ricardo Thomas, also know ...

'' (2000)

Compilation albums

*'' The Best of 3X Krazy - 3 x 4 Life'' (2000) *'' Best of 3X Krazy, Vol. 2'' (2002) *''

'' (2003) *''For Your Mind'' (2011)

Extended plays

*''

'' (1995)

References

Hip hop groups from California Musical groups from Oakland, California Musical groups established in 1994 1994 establishments in California Musical groups disestablished in 2000 2000 disestablishments in California American musical trios African-American musical groups Gangsta rap groups G-funk groups 20th-century American rappers 21st-century American rappers {{Hiphop-group-stub