Screwball is an American underground hip hop quartet from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

, composed of rappers Hostyle, KL, Blaq Poet and Solo. The group has released two studio albums, '' Y2K: The Album'' in 1999 and ''

Loyalty Loyalty, in general use, is a devotion and faithfulness to a nation, cause, philosophy, country, group, or person. Philosophers disagree on what can be an object of loyalty, as some argue that loyalty is strictly interpersonal and only anothe ...

'' in 2001, and a compilation album ''

Screwed Up ''Screwed Up'' is a compilation album by American hip hop quartet Screwball. The double disc project was released on July 19, 2004 via Hydra Entertainment. It is primarily composed of songs from the group's two previous albums '' Y2K: The Album'' ...

'' in 2004. Their debut

Tommy Boy Records Tommy Boy Entertainment 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, Afrika Bambaataa, Stetsasonic, Digita ...

-released album ''Y2K'' 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), Billboard'' magazine that ranks contemporary R&B, R&B and hip hop music, hip hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. Th ...

chart. It featured contributions from Godfather Don, Big Noyd,

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 the ...

, Cormega,

MC Shan Shawn Moltke (born September 6, 1965) better known by his stage name MC Shan, is an American hip hop and R&B recording artist. He is best known for his song "The Bridge" produced by Marley Marl, and for collaborating with Snow on " Informe ...

Mobb Deep Mobb Deep was an American hip hop duo from New York City. The duo consisted of rappers Prodigy and Havoc. They are considered to be among the principal progenitors of hardcore East Coast hip hopEdwards, Paul, 2009, '' How to Rap: The Art & Sci ...

Nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans ar ...

, Pete Rock and

Marley Marl Marlon 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 housing projects ...

among others, and yielded two charted singles: Mike Heron-produced "H-O-S-T-Y-L-E" and

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 is considered one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time. He was half of the hip hop du ...

-produced "F.A.Y.B.A.N. (Fuck All You Bitch Ass Niggas)". Screwball's follow-up album, Landspeed Records-released ''Loyalty'', gained 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 ( ; fa, آیت‌الله, āyatollāh) is an Title of honor, honorific title for high-ranking Twelver Shia clergy in Iran and Iraq that came into widespread usage in the 20th century. Etymology The title is originally derived from ...

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 from Queens, New York City. He began his career in the mid-1980s as one half of the group Kool G Rap & DJ Polo and as ...

, N.O.R.E.,

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. Chapman hails from the Queensbridge Housing Projects in Queens, New York City,Brown, Mar ...

, The Beatnuts, Cormega, Godfather Don and Nature among others. Its

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut 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. Release ...

, Lee Stone-produced "Torture" featured

M.O.P. M.O.P. (short for Mash Out Posse) is an American hip hop duo composed of East Coast rappers Billy Danze and Lil' Fame. The song " Ante Up", was released on their ''Warriorz'' album in 2000. The group has frequently collaborated with DJ Premi ...

, became the group's highest charted single with #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 ...

. All the group members, along with Noyd, R.A. the Rugged Man and their frequent collaborator Godfather Don, appeared on Hostyle's debut solo album ''One Eyed Maniac'', released on June 29, 2004, via Hydra Entertainment. In July 2004, the group released a compilation of new and old material, ''Screwed Up'', which was named after their debut single and is considered their final project to date. KL died in 2008 of an

asthma Asthma is a 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 wheezing, c ...

attack and Hostyle died in 2020.

Members

The Poet

Wilbur Bass a.k.a. Poet was earlier heard in the

diss Diss or DISS may refer to: *Diss, Alberta, a place in Canada *Diss, Norfolk, a market town in England, United Kingdom **Diss railway station **Diss Rugby Club ** Diss Town F.C. *Diss grass, a Mediterranean grass *Diss (music), a song whose primary ...

song "Beat You Down" towards

Boogie Down Productions Boogie Down Productions (BDP) was an American hip hop group originally composed of KRS-One, D-Nice, and DJ Scott La Rock. DJ Scott La Rock was murdered on August 27, 1987, five months after the release of BDP's debut album, '' Criminal Minde ...

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.Tuff City Records. The album is not well known, but Poet's lyrical flow and content give the album its share of publicity. The album's only guest star was young Cormega 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 debut 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 Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim world, ...

, Easy Mo Bee, Teflon, with KL the only featured Screwball member. Same year he signed with DJ Premier's Year Round Records. Poet and DJ Premier appeared on the song "The Victory" from

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 New York City. He rose to prominence as part of ...

and

's album '' Hip Hop Lives'', which made an end to KRS and Poet's rivalry during the Bridge Wars. He also appeared on the NYG'z debut 2007 album ''Welcome 2 G-Dom'' that also released through Year Round Records. Poet's sophomore solo album '' Tha Blaqprint'' was dropped on June 30, 2009.

Hostyle

Fredrick Ivey a.k.a. Hostyle released his debut solo album ''One Eyed Maniac'' on Hydra Entertainment on June 29, 2004. He also appeared on

DJ Muggs Lawrence Muggerud (born January 28, 1968), professionally known by his stage name DJ Muggs, is an American DJ, audio engineer and record producer. He is a member of Cypress Hill, a member of the trip hop band Cross My Heart Hope To Die and the ...

's 2000 '' Soul Assassins II'', Infamous Mobb's 2002 ''

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

'' and Cormega's 2007 album ''Who Am I?''. Hostyle's sons Fred Jr and Jasuan Ivey continue to live on in their father's legacy by making music as well. He reportedly died in January 2020 under unknown reasons.

KL

Kenneth Lewis a.k.a. KL, a cousin of Blaq Poet, also was a part of a duo called Kamakazee with fellow Screwball member Kyron "Solo" Jones and released a couple of hailed underground 12" singles in the late '90s and early 2000s, often produced by

. In 2006 KL appeared on the Molemen album '' Killing Fields'', on the song "Street Conflict", with Cormega, and fellow Screwball member Hostyle. KL died on March 28, 2008, of an asthma attack. Upon his death,

said:

Solo

Kyron Jones a.k.a. Solo appeared on

's 2001 come-back album '' Re-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 *''

'' **Released: July 19, 2004 **Singles: "I Ain't Saying Nothing" **Label: Hydra Entertainment

References

External links

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