Do or Die is an American rap trio originally from the East Garfield Park neighborhood on the West Side of Chicago, consisting of N.A.R.D., Belo Zero, and AK-47. The group experienced mainstream success with the platinum single "

Po Pimp "Po Pimp" is the debut single by Do or Die, it served as the lead single from their debut album, '' Picture This''. The song was produced by The Legendary Traxster and featured a guest verse from fellow Chicago rapper Twista and vocals from R&B s ...

", which peaked at #22 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Music career

1996: Picture This

Do or Die gained a hit with their first single, "Po Pimp". Released on an up and coming independent Chicago label, Creator's Way Records, the track became a local hit and sparked the group's signing by Houston's Rap-A-Lot Records. Given a wide release in the summer of 1996, the single hit number 22, increasing the buzz for a full-length album from the group. In September of that year, '' Picture This'' was released on Rap-A-Lot. The album was certified Gold and has since reached certified Platinum, and launched the group, as well as fellow Chicago rapper

Twista Carl Terrell Mitchell (born November 27, 1973), better known by his stage name Twista (also known as Tung Twista), is an American rapper. He is best known for his Chopper (rap), chopper style of rapping and for once holding the title of fastest ...

, who was featured on the track, into superstardom.

1998: Headz or Tailz

In 1998, the group released their sophomore album, "'' Headz or Tailz''". Like the group's previous album, Headz or Tailz was a success, peaking at #13 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and #3 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 Luminate. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated January 30, ...

, producing the successful single, "Still Po Pimpin", which featured Twista and Johnny P, and peaked at #62 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and #16 on the

Hot Rap Singles Hot Rap Songs (formerly known as Hot Rap Tracks and Hot Rap Singles) is a chart released weekly by ''Billboard'' in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio statio ...

. Headz or Tailz has reached certified Platinum.

2000–2005: Victory, Pimpin' Ain't Dead, D.O.D

Do or Die went on to release several other charting albums throughout the early 2000s, including 2000's ''

Victory The term victory (from ) originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal duel, combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitutes a strategic vi ...

'', which featured

E-40 Earl Tywone Stevens (born November 15, 1967), better known by his stage name E-40, is an American rapper. Stevens is a founding member of the rap group The Click (band), The Click and the founder of Sick Wid It Records. He has released 27 stud ...

Ja Rule Jeffrey Bruce Atkins (born February 29, 1976), better known by his stage name Ja Rule (), is an American rapper, singer, and actor. Born and raised in New York City, Ja Rule became known for blending gangsta rap with pop rap, pop and contempo ...

, and

Outlawz Outlawz was an American hip-hop group founded by Tupac Shakur and Yafeu Fula in 1995. Originally known as Thoro Headz and Young Thugs, the group attracted attention with their appearance on Tupac's song "Flex", which was the B-side of his singl ...

to name a few, and 2002's '' Back 2 the Game'', which peaked at #64 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and #25 on the

. In 2003, the group released '' Pimpin' Ain't Dead'', which spawned the hit single "Do U?", which featured Twista and Johnny P. Following this album, Do or Die released '' D.O.D.'' in 2005, which featured many notable industry names including production from

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...

DJ Quik David Marvin Blake (born January 18, 1970), better known by his stage names DJ Quik or Da Quiksta, is an American rapper and record producer from Compton, California, known for his production in the G-funk style of West Coast hip-hop. Blake has ...

, and R. Kelly.

2006: ''Get That Paper''

Do or Die returned to Rap-A-Lot for 2006's '' Get That Paper''. The album had a much darker, street-oriented sound to it and had only one feature on it from Rap-A-Lot label-mate

Bun B Bernard James Freeman (born March 19, 1973), known professionally as Bun B, is an American rapper. He is best known as one half of the Southern rap duo UGK (Underground Kingz), a group he formed in 1987 alongside Pimp C. Aside from his work wi ...

. The album was met with critical success. In October 2007, Belo Zero pleaded guilty in a plea bargain to the shooting death of Raymond "B-Dog" Pinkston and was sentenced to 10 years in prison of which he served five years. Belo continues to maintain that he shot Pinkston in self-defense, however after a 6 year long court battle, he agreed to the plea bargain. During this time, Do or Die continued to make music and were featured on countless projects from various artists, in addition to touring all over the country, and in 2009, they appeared on

's single "Yo Body" off his 2009 album, ''

Category F5 ''Category F5'' is the seventh studio album by United States, American rapper Twista. Its title is taken from the Fujita scale. The album marks the first collaboration with Chicago producer the Legendary Traxster since 2004's ''Kamikaze (Twista ...

''.

2015–present: Withdrawal EP, Picture This 2, death of Johnny P

Upon reuniting, Do or Die released several singles and new projects, including "Loudpack" and "Do Yo Thang". The group also collaborated with French

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- ...

beatmaker Onra on his 2015 album ''Fundamentals'' on a track entitled "Over and Over" featuring Johnny P. On April 15, 2015,

announced that he and Do or Die had completed work on a new collaborative EP together entitled ''Withdrawal''. The EP was released on May 19, 2015, and contains six tracks, including a single entitled "Aqua Fina", for which a video was released. In an interview with XXL shortly after the EP was released, Twista confirmed that there would be a follow-up EP entitled 'Withdrawal 2'. On September 18, 2015, the group released ''Picture This II''. The album featured longtime collaborators Johnny P and Twista on several tracks as well as

Rick Ross William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper. An influential figure in modern Hip-hop, hip hop music, Rick Ross has become known for his "Wiktionary:booming, booming" vocal perfor ...

on the album's first single, "Love in the Sky". On November 27, 2016, longtime Do or Die collaborator Johnny P died at age 44. While the exact cause of death is unknown, it was reported that Johnny P had been in a coma for several weeks until his death.

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Picture This'' (1996) * '' Headz or Tailz'' (1998) * ''

'' (2000) * '' Back 2 the Game'' (2002) * '' Pimpin' Ain't Dead'' (2003) * '' D.O.D.'' (2005) * '' Get That Paper'' (2006) * ''Picture This II'' (2015) * ''The Pass Out'' (2020) * ''The Storm'' (2022)

Extended plays

*''Withdrawal'' with Twista (2015)

References

External links

Fakeshoredrive.com
{{Authority control 1995 establishments in Illinois African-American musical trios American hip-hop trios Midwest hip-hop groups Musical groups established in 1995 Musical groups from Chicago Musical trios from Illinois Gangsta rap groups