Boogiemonsters were an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

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 composed by

Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

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rapper Mondo McCann,

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-born Vex Da Vortex (Sean Pollard) and Jamaican-born brothers Myntric (Sean Myers) and Yodared (Ivor "Al" Myers).

Biography

Vex, Myntric and Yodared met in high school in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

where their families had relocated from

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. They formed a group and began performing together in talent shows. After graduation, Vex and Yodared attended

Virginia State University Virginia State University (VSU or Virginia State) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically Black land-grant university, land-grant university in Ettrick, Virginia, United States. Founded on , Vi ...

while Myntric attended

Virginia Union University Virginia Union University is a Private university, private Historically black colleges and universities, historically black university in Richmond, Virginia. History The American Baptist Home Mission Society (ABHMS) founded the school as Rich ...

. Fellow Virginia State student McCann was recruited into the group. The group performed at campus shows and won first place at

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

's Hip-Hop Convention. They quickly landed a record deal with Pendulum/EMI and, in 1994, released '' Riders of the Storm: The Underwater Album''. After the release of the first album, the group became

Seventh-day Adventist The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbat ...

s. Yodared and Myntric left the group as both felt that the hip hop lifestyle was not in line with their religious convictions. Yodared became the head pastor at the Templeton Hills Seventh-day Adventist Church in

Templeton, California Templeton is a census-designated place (CDP) in San Luis Obispo County, California, San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. The population was 8,368 at the 2020 census, up from 7,674 at the 2010 census. Geography and climate Geogra ...

. Pendulum Records ceased operation and EMI was the sole record company for their second album, ''God Sound'' (a darker, mature, hardcore, and pious recording), was released in 1997. After that, appearances were sporadic on compilations and

12 inch singles The twelve-inch single (often written as 12-inch or 12) is a type of vinyl (polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a "single" or a few related sound tracks on each surface, compar ...

. The group has disbanded since. In 2008, member Vex Da Vortex released an instrumental album titled ''VEXSTRUMENTALS''. In January 2025, Vex Da Vortex announced the passing of former member Myntric on

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

Music, lyricism and influences

Boogiemonsters intended to bring depth to the lyrics of hip hop by writing lyrics with stronger substance. '' Riders of the Storm: The Underwater Album'' combined elements of abstract spirituality which combined elements of Christianity,

Rastafari Rastafari is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is classified as both a new religious movement and a social movement by Religious studies, scholars of religion. There is no central authori ...

, Eastern mysticism and African religions to form the content of the album's lyrics; ''

God Sound ''God Sound'' is the second album by the American rap group Boogiemonsters, released in 1997. It was produced by the group and Domingo. It was Boogiemonsters' final album. The album peaked at No. 47 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and No. ...

'' was more openly inspired by Christianity. Group member Ivor Myers has cited

Jim Morrison James Douglas Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was an American singer, songwriter, and poet who was the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band the Doors. Due to his charismatic persona, poetic lyrics, distinctive vo ...

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. One of the key bands in the grunge, grunge movement of the early 1990s, Pearl Jam has outsold and outlasted many of its contemporaries from the early 1990s, ...

Nirvana Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...

De La Soul De La Soul ( ) is an American hip hop music, hip hop group formed in the village of Amityville on Long Island, New York (state), New York in 1988. They are best known for their eclectic sampling, eccentric lyrics, and contributions to the evoluti ...

A Tribe Called Quest A Tribe Called Quest was an American Hip hop music, hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985,Q-Tip< ...

Yellowman Winston Foster , (1956 or 15 January 1959) better known by the stage name Yellowman and also known as King Yellowman, is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall deejay. He first became popular in Jamaica in the 1980s, rising to prominence with a serie ...

and

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, he fused elements of reggae, ska and rocksteady and was renowned for his distinctive voca ...

as influences on the group's music.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

*"Strange" (1994) *"Recognized Thresholds of Negative Stress" (1994) *"Honeydips in Gotham" (1995)

References

External links

www.vexdavortex.com
- Home of Vex's Independent Music Label, Confidential Records, Art, & Multimedia (C.R.A.M.)
www.powerofthelamb.com
A ministry ran by "Yodared" and his wife. {{Authority control American Seventh-day Adventists Christian hip-hop groups East Coast hip-hop groups Musical groups established in 1993 Virginia State University alumni