Plastic Little is an American rap group consisting of
Jayson Musson (PackofRats), Kurt Hunte (No Body's Child), Jon Folmar (Jon Thousand), Si Young Lee (DJ Si Young) and Michael Stern (SQUID).
The name "Plastic Little" comes from the
Manga
are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...
and
OVA, ''
Plastic Little'' simply as, according to Musson, "The way the 2 words go together, I like it".
Based in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
; they've worked with other notable artists from the area, including
Amanda Blank and
Spank Rock
Naeem Juwan Hanks, better known by his stage name Spank Rock, is an American rapper and songwriter from Baltimore. He rose to fame with his 2006 album '' YoYoYoYoYo'', which was produced by former group member Alex Epton ( XXXChange). A harbinge ...
.
Background
Originally consisting of only Musson and Hunte, Plastic Little formed during the summer of 2001.
After little success the pair started looking for "some proper white folks"
to appeal to a wider audience. In late 2002, producer Michael Squid joined the group and together they completed their
self-released album ''Thug Paradise 2.1'', released in 2003. A few years later, DJ and producer Si Young joined the group as the group's DJ.
Subsequent to its release the first 6 tracks were released by 'aNYthing Records', for which it received wide critical acclaim from a variety of sources such as
Pitchfork Media
''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music magazine founded in 1996 by Ryan Schreiber in Minneapolis. It originally covered Alternative rock, alternative and independent music, and expanded to cover genres includin ...
and
Vice Magazine
''Vice'' (stylized in all caps) is a Canadian-American magazine focused on lifestyle, arts, culture, and news/politics. It was founded in 1994 in Montreal as an alternative punk magazine, and its founders later launched the youth media company V ...
.
Following up on this success, Plastic Little released their first
studio album
An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...
, ''
She's Mature'', in 2006 to mixed reviews.
Subsequent to the release of this album the band spent much of the next following years touring both the United States and the UK, both playing shows of their own and also in a
supporting role
A supporting character is a character in a narrative that is not the focus of the primary storyline, but is important to the plot/protagonist, and appears or is mentioned in the story enough to be more than just a minor character or a cameo a ...
for various artists. The group has shared the stage with
M.I.A.,
Diplo
Thomas Wesley Pentz (born November 10, 1978), known professionally as Diplo, is an American DJ and music producer. He is a co-creator and lead member of the electronic dancehall music project Major Lazer; a member of the supergroup LSD (group), ...
,
Blockhead,
Mark Ronson
Mark Daniel Ronson (born 4 September 1975) is a British-American DJ, record producer, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year for Amy Winehouse's album '' Back to Black'' (2006), as well as two for Record ...
,
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...
,
Bonde Do Role,
Roots Manuva
Rodney Hylton Smith, better known by his stage name Roots Manuva (born 9 September 1972), is a British rapper and producer. Since his debut in 1994, he has produced numerous albums and singles on the label Big Dada, achieving commercial succ ...
,
Z-Trip
Zach Sciacca (born July 22, 1971), better known as DJ Z-Trip, is an American DJ and producer. He is a pioneer of the mashup movement.
He was the 2009 recipient of the "America's Best DJ Award". As a producer he has worked with artists across ...
,
Belleruche,
Dizzie Rascal,
Santogold and
Chromeo
Chromeo is a Canadian electro-funk duo from Montreal, formed in 2002 by musicians David "Dave 1" Macklovitch and Patrick "P-Thugg" Gemayel. Their sound draws from soul music, dance music, rock, synth-pop, disco and funk.
As of 2024, the band h ...
as well as Philadelphia's own
Need New Body and
Man Man.
Plastic Little released their second album ''
Welcome to the Jang House'' in 2008 to the UK audience only. The album compiles tracks from their self-released album, ''Thug Paradise'', as well as their debut album, ''She's Mature''; adding a couple of new tracks also. The album received mainly positive reviews, with critics praising Little's ability to blend many genres together into one album while still sounding "fresh and bold";
their "tongue-in-cheek brilliance";
and their "biting critique of society at large" and "acerbic wit and intelligence".
2008 also saw them touring the UK in support of their album
and featuring in a number of festivals; including
Glastonbury
Glastonbury ( , ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury is less than across the River ...
(for
Mark Ronson
Mark Daniel Ronson (born 4 September 1975) is a British-American DJ, record producer, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year for Amy Winehouse's album '' Back to Black'' (2006), as well as two for Record ...
),
Creamfields,
Get Loaded in The Park (for Ronson),
Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza () is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991, with Chicago becoming its permanent location beginning in 2005. Music genres i ...
and the
O2 Wireless festival (again for Ronson).
Harlem Shake
A sample of the song "Miller Time", from the self-released 2003 album ''Thug Paradise 2.1'', was featured in the
Baauer
Harry Bauer Rodrigues (born April 30, 1989), known professionally as Baauer, is an American record producer and DJ, best known for his double platinum song "Harlem Shake (song), Harlem Shake".
He has produced varied dance music from the age of 13 ...
song "
Harlem Shake" in 2012.
The sample was used without the permission of the band, who then sought compensation from
Mad Decent
Mad Decent is an American record label founded by Diplo. The label has helped introduce Brazilian baile funk and Angolan kuduro to clubs around the world. In the early 2010s, it popularized moombahton, a genre of electronic dance music create ...
records for the copyright infringement, along with
reggaeton
Reggaeton (, ) is a modern style of popular music, popular and electronic music that originated in Panamanian reggaetón, Panama during the late 1980s, and which rose to prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000s through a plethora of Puert ...
artist
Héctor Delgado, due to the success of the release.
Musson stated the label were "more than cooperative during this".
"Harlem Shake" became an
internet meme
An Internet meme, or meme (, Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''MEEM''), is a cultural item (such as an idea, behavior, or style) that spreads across the Internet, primarily through Social media, social media platforms. Internet memes manif ...
in February 2013 after various groups of people
performed a dance (unrelated to the original
Harlem shake) to it and uploaded the videos to
YouTube
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
.
The original lyrics ("And if you bring a 40 bottle to battle me/ I'll just punch you in the face/ then do the Harlem Shake") were a reference to a fight Musson had with a local graffiti artist after a Plastic Little gig.
Musical style
Their music has been variously described as rap, hip-hop, 2-step, ''Gallery Rap''
and, in their own words, ''Broke Pop''
and ''Party Rap''.
Plastic Little are known for their often tongue-in-cheek, comedic lyrical style
while still being "simultaneously too full of themselves and astoundingly self-aware".
[
]
Influences
Plastic Little list a wide range of artists as their influences, including The Roots
The Roots are an American Hip-hop, hip hop band formed in 1987 by singer Black Thought, Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and drummer Questlove, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''T ...
, Yellowman, Three 6 Mafia
Three 6 Mafia is an American hip-hop group from Memphis, Tennessee, formed in 1991. Emerging as a horror-themed underground hip-hop group, they went on to enjoy mainstream success. The group's 1995 debut album ''Mystic Stylez'' became an influen ...
, Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Lynn Raitt (; born November 8, 1949) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In 1971, Raitt released her Bonnie Raitt (album), self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed Americana (mu ...
, Dwight Yoakam, Sade, R. Kelly and even Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
.
Discography
Albums
* ''Thug Paradise 2.1'' (self-released, 2003)
* '' She's Mature'' (2006)
* '' Welcome to the Jang House'' (2008)
EPs
* ''Thug Paradise'' (2005)
Singles
* "F.O.I.L. (I Rock)" (2004)
* "Crambodia" (2006)
* "The Jump Off" (2006)
* "I'm Not a Thug" (2007)
* "Get Close" with sample from The Cure
The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Crawley in 1976 by Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith (vocals, guitar) and Lol Tolhurst (drums). The band's current line-up comprises Smith, Perry Bamonte (guitar and keyboards), Reev ...
's song " Close to Me" (2008)
* "La La Land" (2009)
Appearances and remixes
* 2007 Dub Pistols
Dub Pistols are an English electronic music band founded in 1996 by Barry Ashworth and Jason O'Bryan.
Career
The band's first singles were "There's Gonna Be a Riot" and "Best Got Better" in 1998. Their first album, '' Point Blank'', came ou ...
– "Open" (Plastic Little Remix)
* 2007 Just Jack – "Writer's Block
Writer's block is a non-medical condition, primarily associated with writing, in which an author is either unable to produce new work or experiences a creative slowdown.
Writer's block has various degrees of severity, from difficulty in coming ...
" (Plastic Little Remix)
* 2007 Leon Jean Marie – "Bed of Nails" (Plastic Little Remix)
* 2008 Ministry of Sound
Ministry of Sound or Ministry of Sound Group is a multimedia entertainment business based in London with a nightclub, shared workspace and private members' club, worldwide events operation, music publisher (popular music), music publishing busin ...
– '' The Annual 2009''
** Hervé - "Cheap Thrills" (Vocal Club Mix)
* 2008 Daniel Merriweather
Daniel Paul Merriweather (born 17 February 1982) is an Australian R&B singer-songwriter and record producer. Merriweather's debut solo album, '' Love & War'', was released in June 2009. It entered the UK Albums Chart at number two. It was ...
– "Chainsaw" (Plastic Little Remix)
* 2008 Filthy Dukes – '' Nonsense in the Dark''
** Filthy Dukes - "Tupac Robot Club Rock" (Feat. Plastic Little)
* 2008 The Clik Clik – "Did You Wrong" (Plastic Little Remix)
* 2009 Eliza Doolittle
Eliza Doolittle is a fictional character and the protagonist in George Bernard Shaw's play '' Pygmalion'' (1913) and its 1956 musical adaptation, ''My Fair Lady''.
Eliza (from Lisson Grove, London) is a Cockney flower seller, who comes to Prof ...
- " Rollerblades" (Plastic Little Remix Vocal)
* 2009 Eliza Doolittle – "Rollerblades" (Plastic Little Remix Dub)
* 2009 Jahcoozi – "Watching You" (Plastic Little Remix)
* 2011 Missill – ''Kawaii''
** Missill – "Raw Dog" (Feat. Plastic Little)
** Missil – "Bemore" (Feat. Deeon, Plastic Little)
References
External links
Plastic Little on MySpace
aNYthing Records
Sound-ink records
Free News Projects
{{DEFAULTSORT:Plastic Little
American hip-hop groups
Musical groups from Philadelphia
Rappers from Philadelphia
Musical groups established in 2001
Hip-hop groups from Philadelphia