415 was an American

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

group formed in

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

in 1988. The group was composed of

rappers Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing b ...

Richie Rich and D-Loc, and producers DJ Daryl and J.E.D.

History

The group takes its name from area code 415, which served Oakland at the time of the group's formation. The group was noted by the media as one of the key players in the early

West Coast hip hop West Coast hip-hop is a regional genre of Hip-hop, hip-hop music that encompasses any artists or music that originated in the West Coast of the United States. West Coast hip-hop began to dominate from a radio play and sales standpoint during th ...

scene. Their debut album ''41Fivin'' was released in 1990. Richie Rich and D-Loc then released solo albums, with the various members of 415 all collaborating on each. Later in 1990, the group attracted the interest of

Priority Records Priority Records is an American distribution company and record label known for artists including N.W.A, Ice Cube, MC Ren, Eazy-E, Master P, Snoop Dogg, Mos Def, Silkk the Shocker, Jay-Z, Paris, Mack 10, 504 Boyz, Brotha Lynch Hung, ...

and nearly signed a deal, but the deal fell through temporarily when Richie Rich was arrested for cocaine possession. Rich later claimed that his groupmates signed with Priority behind his back. Rich was sentenced to two years in prison, and 415 recorded their second album ''Nu Niggaz on tha Blokkk'' without him. That album was released in 1991 and reached the ''Billboard''

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 Luminate. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated January 30, ...

chart. The group then broke up. After Richie Rich's release from prison, he embarked on a successful solo career with significant contributions from 415's DJ Daryl. Their 1990 song "Side Show" was the subject of a copyright lawsuit against

Apple TV+ Apple TV+ is an American subscription over-the-top streaming service owned by Apple. The service launched on November 1, 2019, and it offers a selection of original production film and television series called Apple Originals. The service w ...

in 2020.

Discography

Studio albums

*''41Fivin'' (1990) *''Nu Niggaz on tha Blokkk'' (1991)

Compilation albums

*'' Big League Records Greatest Hits'' (1999)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:415 Hip-hop groups from California Musical groups disestablished in 1991 Musical groups established in 1986 Musical groups from Oakland, California Priority Records artists 1986 establishments in California Gangsta rap groups