Dem Franchize Boyz 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 from

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, signed to

E1 Music MNRK Music Group (pronounced "monarch"), formerly known as Koch Records and Entertainment One (eOne) Music/Records, is an American independent record label and music management company based in New York City. It was formed in 1987 as a music div ...

. The group had four members: Parlae (born Maurice Gleaton), Pimpin' (Jamal Willingham), Jizzal Man (Bernard Leverette), and Buddie (Gerald Tiller). They were best known for their hit singles " I Think They Like Me" and "

Lean wit It, Rock wit It "Lean wit It, Rock wit It" is a song by the hip hop group Dem Franchize Boyz from their album '' On Top of Our Game''. The recording features Peanut and Charlay and was produced by Classic Buck$ aka Buck and Maurice "Parlae" Gleaton. The song peak ...

History

The origin of the group dates back to when all four members were high school and college school mates, making music for fun while furthering their education. In regards to the group name, Parlae stated that "We are a franchise, a business. We're homeboys, but we're business partners too. We all do different things and have different roles. That's how we got the name." One day while pursuing their business degrees in North Carolina, the four recorded a song in a dorm room that would become their future debut and hit single "White Tee," before moving back to Atlanta. The group signed to

Universal Records Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

in 2004 after performing unsigned. Universal released the group's self-titled debut album in September of that year with hit single "White Tee", which

BET Black Entertainment Television (BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting Black American audiences. It is the flagship channel of the BET Media Group, a subsidiary of Paramount Global's CBS Entertainment Group. Originally launched ...

featured for some time. In 2005, record producer

Jermaine Dupri Jermaine Dupri Mauldin (born September 23, 1972) is an American rapper and record producer. Raised in Atlanta, Georgia as the son of Columbia Records executive Michael Mauldin, he began his career in music at the age of nine. He discovered th ...

signed Dem Franchize Boyz to his label

So So Def So So Def Recordings is an American record label based in Atlanta, Georgia, founded by producer Jermaine Dupri in 1993. Specializing in Southern hip hop, R&B, and bass music, the label has signed musical acts such as Bow Wow, Kris Kross, Xsca ...

after transferring it from

Arista Records Arista Records ( ) is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously a division of Bertelsmann Music G ...

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...

. Dem Franchize Boyz' remix of their earlier track "Oh I Think They Like Me" was retitled simply " I Think They Like Me" and featured Dupri, Bow Wow, and

Da Brat Shawntae Harris-Dupart (née Harris; born April 14, 1974), better known by her stage name Da Brat, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Chicago, she began her career in 1992 and signed with Jermaine Dupri's So So Def Recordings two years l ...

and topped the ''Billboard'' R&B chart. In regards to the contract signing, Parlae stated:

We knew JD--we met JD through... a car show in Dallas. You know... we had a song "White Tee"? When JD got on the "White Tee" remix it got real popular, so we ended up doing a show with him...in Dallas at the car show there. That was our first time meeting JD, and it was like, it was real responsive, real crazy, so JD was like, "I wanna do something else wit y'all." So we had a song "Oh I Think Dey Like Me," ndJD said let's do an official remix, put it on his Young, Fly & Flashy album, and then a song turned into a contract.

So So Def released '' On Top of Our Game'' in 2006, and single "

" followed. "Lean wit It" was among several "

snap music Snap music (also known as snap, ringtone rap or snap rap) is a subgenre of hip hop music derived from crunk that originated in southern United States in the 2000s, in Bankhead, West Atlanta, United States. It achieved mainstream popularity t ...

" singles popular in early 2006, such as " Laffy Taffy" by D4L and "

Play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

" by

David Banner Lavell William Crump (born April 11, 1974), known professionally as David Banner, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Born in Brookhaven, Mississippi, Banner's family moved to Jackson, Mississippi, where he was raised. Banner gra ...

. Parlae (Maurice Gleaton) was arrested on June 13, 2006, after police raided a studio and found drugs, weapons, and money. All charges were later dropped. He was also arrested as the prime suspect in the murder of Kenneth Kemp that same year. The case was dismissed on a technicality. Another member, Pimpin' (Jamall Willingham), was also arrested for a DUI in October 2007. Dem Franchize Boyz collaborated with

Korn Korn (stylized as KoЯn) is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, originally formed in 1993 by James Shaffer, James "Munky" Shaffer, Reginald Arvizu, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu and David Silveria, who were members of the band ...

to produce a mash-up of "

" and " Coming Undone" called " Coming Undone wit It". They are also featured in Monica's single " Everytime tha Beat Drop". They released their third album, '' Our World, Our Way'' on Koch Records on September 30, 2008. Gerald "Buddie" Tiller (born Gerald Hernandez Tiller October 26, 1982) died of cancer on August 25, 2019, at age 36.

Discography

;Studio albums * ''

Dem Franchize Boyz Dem Franchize Boyz was an American hip hop music, hip hop group from Atlanta, Georgia, Atlanta, signed to E1 Music. The group had four members: Parlae (born Maurice Gleaton), Pimpin' (Jamal Willingham), Jizzal Man (Bernard Leverette), and Buddie ...

'' (2004) * '' On Top of Our Game'' (2006) * '' Our World, Our Way'' (2008) ;Mixtapes * ''Voltron'' (2011)

References

External links

* {{Authority control Rappers from Atlanta Hip-hop groups from Georgia (U.S. state) Snap music African-American musical quartets Musical quartets from Georgia (U.S. state) So So Def Recordings artists Universal Records artists Musical groups established in 2004 Musical groups disestablished in 2009 2002 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)