Screwball is an American underground hip hop quartet from

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, composed of rappers Hostyle, KL,

Blaq Poet Wilbur Bass (born May 31, 1969), better known as Blaq Poet, is an American rapper from Queensbridge, New York City. Biography Blaq Poet was first heard on the track "Beat You Down" from the Bridge Wars during 1987, a diss song towards KRS-O ...

and Solo. The group has released two studio albums, '' Y2K: The Album'' in 1999 and ''

Loyalty Loyalty is a Fixation (psychology), devotion to a country, philosophy, group, or person. Philosophers disagree on what can be an object of loyalty, as some argue that loyalty is strictly interpersonal and only another human being can be the obj ...

'' in 2001, and a compilation album '' Screwed Up'' in 2004. Their first album, ''Y2K'', released by

Tommy Boy Records Tommy Boy Records is an American independent record label and multimedia brand founded in 1981 by Tom Silverman. The label is credited with helping and launching the music careers of Queen Latifah, Amber, Afrika Bambaataa, Stetsasonic, Digita ...

, was a minor success, reaching number 50 on the US

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. It featured contributions from Godfather Don,

Big Noyd TaJuan Akeem Perry (born August 15, 1975), better known by his stage name Big Noyd, is an American rapper. He is closely affiliated with Mobb Deep and is featured on all of their albums except '' Blood Money''. Career Big Noyd's debut was his v ...

Capone Alphonse Gabriel Capone ( ; ; January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-founder and boss of t ...

Cormega Corey McKay, better known by his stage name Cormega, is an American rapper. Early life Cormega was born in Brooklyn and raised in Queens. He was childhood friends with Nas, Havoc and Capone, who all went on to become successful rappers. A ...

MC Shan Shawn Moltke (born September 6, 1965), better known by his stage name MC Shan, is an American rapper, singer and record producer from New York City. He is best known for his guest appearance and production on Canadian singer Snow's 1992 single " ...

Mobb Deep Mobb Deep was an American Hip-hop, hip hop duo formed in Queens, New York (state), New York in 1990. Consisting of rappers/songwriters/record producers Prodigy (rapper), Prodigy and Havoc (musician), Havoc, they are considered to be among the pr ...

Nature Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the Ecosphere (planetary), ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the Scientific law, laws, elements and phenomenon, phenomena of the physic ...

Pete Rock Peter O. Phillips (born June 21, 1970), better known by his stage name Pete Rock, is an American record producer, DJ and rapping, rapper. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time, and is often mentioned along ...

and

Marley Marl Marlon Lu'Ree Williams (born September 30, 1962), better known by his stage name Marley Marl, is an American DJ, record producer, rapper and record label founder, primarily operating in hip hop music. Marlon grew up in Queensbridge Houses, Queen ...

among others, and included two chart singles: "H-O-S-T-Y-L-E" produced by Mike Heron and "F.A.Y.B.A.N. (Fuck All You Bitch Ass Niggas)" produced by

DJ Premier Christopher Edward Martin (born March 21, 1966), known professionally as DJ Premier (also known as Preemo), is an American record producer and DJ. He has been frequently lauded as one of hip hop's greatest producers by publications such as '' ...

. The follow-up album, ''Loyalty'', released by Landspeed Records, had more success than its preceder, peaking at number 185 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 and number 44 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. It featured contributions from

Ayatollah Ayatollah (, ; ; ) is an Title of honor, honorific title for high-ranking Twelver Shia clergy. It came into widespread usage in the 20th century. Originally used as a title bestowed by popular/clerical acclaim for a small number of the most di ...

Kool G Rap Nathaniel Thomas Wilson (born July 20, 1968), better known by his stage name Kool G Rap (or simply G Rap), is an American rapper. He began his career in the mid-1980s as one half of the group Kool G Rap & DJ Polo and as a member of the Juice Cr ...

N.O.R.E. Victor James Santiago Jr. (born September 6, 1977), better known by his stage name, stage names N.O.R.E. (an acronym for Nigga On the Run Eating) and Noreaga, is an American rapper, singer and podcaster. Santiago first rose to prominence as one ...

Tragedy Khadafi Percy Lee Chapman (born August 13, 1971), known by his stage name Tragedy Khadafi (formerly Intelligent Hoodlum), is an American rapper and record producer. Hailing from the Queensbridge Housing Projects in Queens, New York City,Brown, Marisa. ...

The Beatnuts The Beatnuts is an American hip hop group and production duo from New York City. Its current members are JuJu and Psycho Les. JuJu (born Jerry Tineo on December 14, 1968) is a Dominican American from Corona and Psycho Les (born Lester Fernandez ...

, Cormega, Godfather Don and Nature among others. Its

lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...

, "Torture" produced by Lee Stone, featured

M.O.P. M.O.P. (short for Mash Out Posse) is an American hip-hop duo composed of rappers Billy Danze and Lil' Fame, best known for their song " Ante Up." The group has frequently collaborated with DJ Premier. The group is part of the Gang Starr Fou ...

and became the group's highest charted single at No. 78 on the

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

and #2 on the

Hot Rap Songs 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 stat ...

charts. All the group members, along with Noyd, R.A. the Rugged Man and their frequent collaborator Godfather Don, appeared on Hostyle's first solo album, ''One Eyed Maniac'', released on June 29, 2004, by

Hydra Entertainment Hydra Entertainment is a hip hop record label specializing in Instrumental hip hop. They are most notable for their ''Hydra Beats'' series of instrumental albums by prominent hip hop producers. All of its releases are out of print. Hip hop grou ...

. In July 2004, the group released a compilation of new and old material, ''Screwed Up'', which was named after their first single and is considered their final project. KL died in 2008 of an

asthma Asthma is a common long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wh ...

attack and Hostyle died in 2020.

Members

The Poet

Wilbur Bass a.k.a. Poet was earlier heard in the diss song "Beat You Down" towards

Boogie Down Productions Boogie Down Productions (BDP) was an American hip-hop group formed in the Bronx, New York City, in 1986. It originally consisted of KRS-One, D-Nice, and DJ Scott La Rock. DJ Scott La Rock was murdered on August 27, 1987, five months after the ...

from

the Bridge Wars The Bridge Wars was a hip-hop music rivalry during the mid-to-late 1980s and early 1990s, that arose from a dispute over the true birthplace of hip-hop music and retaliation over the rejecting of a record for airplay.

during 1987. As a part of hip hop group PhD with Dante "DJ Hot Day" Franklin, he released the duo's only studio album, ''Without Warning'', on August 31, 1991, through

Tuff City Records Tuff City Records is a New York–based record label founded by journalist Aaron Fuchs in 1981.Verna, Paul (1994)Tuff City Records Moves Forward and Looks Back" ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'', July 16, 1994, retrieved 2010-08-29 Initially con ...

. The album is not well known, but his lyrical flow and content give the album its share of publicity. The album's only guest star was young

on the track "Set It Off". After several singles by PhD, Poet and Hot Day parted ways in 1996 due to being unable to find another record label. Blaq Poet's first solo album, '' Rewind: Deja Screw'', was released in 2006 by Traffic Entertainment Group and featured his own production skills along with contributions from

Alchemist Alchemy (from the Arabic word , ) is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practised in China, India, the Muslim world, and Europe. In its Western form, alchemy is first ...

Easy Mo Bee Osten S. Harvey Jr. (born December 8, 1965), better known by his stage name Easy Mo Bee, is an American hip hop and R&B record producer and DJ, known for his production work for artists such as Big Daddy Kane and Miles Davis, as well as his a ...

, Teflon, with KL the only featured Screwball member. In the same year, he signed with DJ Premier's Year Round Records. Poet and DJ Premier appeared on the song "The Victory" by

KRS-One Lawrence "Kris" Parker (born August 20, 1965), better known by his stage names KRS-One (; an abbreviation of "Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone") and Teacha, is an American rapper from the Bronx. He rose to prominence as part of the ...

and

's album ''

Hip Hop Lives ''Hip Hop Lives'' is the collaborative studio album by American rapper KRS-One and record producer Marley Marl. It was released on May 22, 2007 via Koch Records. Recording sessions took place at House Of Hits in New York and at Westlake Record ...

'', which ended KRS and Poet's rivalry during the Bridge Wars. He also appeared on the NYG'z first 2007 album, ''Welcome 2 G-Dom'', also released by Year Round Records. Poet's second solo album, ''

Tha Blaqprint ''Tha Blaqprint'' is the second studio album by American hip hop recording artist Blaq Poet, released June 30, 2009 on DJ Premier's record label ''Year Round Records'' via ''Fat Beats Records''. It features guest appearances by the also Year Ro ...

'', was dropped on June 30, 2009.

Hostyle

Fredrick Ivey( a.k.a. Hostyle) released his first solo album, ''One Eyed Maniac'', on

on June 29, 2004. He also appeared on

DJ Muggs Lawrence Muggerud (born January 28, 1968) professionally known as DJ Muggs, is an American DJ, audio engineer and record producer. He has been a member of Cypress Hill, a member of the trip hop band Cross My Heart Hope to Die and the leader of h ...

's 2000 ''

Soul Assassins II ''Muggs Presents Soul Assassins II'' is the second studio album by American hip-hop collective Soul Assassins. It was released on October 3, 2000, via RuffLife Records. Recording sessions took place at The Cutting Room, at Battery Studios, at G ...

'', Infamous Mobb's 2002 ''

Special Edition The terms special edition, limited edition, and variants such as deluxe edition, collector's edition or expanded edition are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as b ...

'' and

's 2007 album ''Who Am I?''. Hostyle's sons, Fred Jr and Jasuan Ivey, continue their father's legacy by making music as well. He reportedly died in January 2020.

KL

Kenneth Lewis (a.k.a. KL), a cousin of

, was also part of a duo called Kamakazee with fellow Screwball member Kyron "Solo" Jones and released a couple of underground 12" singles in the late 1990s and early 2000s, often produced by

. In 2006, KL appeared on the Molemen album, ''

Killing Fields The Killing Fields (, ) are sites in Cambodia where collectively more than 1.3 million people were killed and buried by the Communist Party of Kampuchea during Khmer Rouge rule from 1975 to 1979, immediately after the end of the Cambodian Ci ...

'', on the song "Street Conflict", with

, and fellow Screwball member Hostyle. KL died on March 28, 2008, of an asthma attack. Upon his death,

said, "His hardcore delivery and raspy voice was well known in many circles...He is already up in ghetto heaven, so his music will live through all of us that love him."

Solo

Kyron Jones (a.k.a. Solo) appeared on

's 2001 come-back album ''

Re-Entry Atmospheric entry (sometimes listed as Vimpact or Ventry) is the movement of an object from outer space into and through the gases of an atmosphere of a planet, dwarf planet, or natural satellite. Atmospheric entry may be ''uncontrolled entry ...

''.

Discography

*'' Y2K: The Album'' **Released 2000 **Singles: "F.A.Y.B.A.N.", "H-O-S-T-Y-L-E" ** Label:

*''

'' **Released 2001 **Singles: "Torture" ** Label: Landspeed Records *'' Screwed Up'' **Released: July 19, 2004 **Singles: "I Ain't Saying Nothing" **Label:

References

External links

Unkut interview Blaq Poet
{{Authority control African-American musical groups Hip-hop groups from New York City Hydra Entertainment artists American musical quartets Gangsta rap groups