The Federation is 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

Fairfield, California Fairfield is a city in and the county seat of Solano County, California, United States, in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay sub-region of the San Francisco Bay Area. The city has a diversified economy, with government, manufac ...

. The group was formed in 2002, composed of producer Ricardo "Rick Rock" Thomas and three rappers: Anthony "Goldie Gold" Caldwell, Marvin "Doonie Baby/Doon Koon" Selmon and Thomas "Stressmatic" Jackson. The group released their debut studio album in 2004 on

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), ...

and their sophomore album through

Reprise Records Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels. Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Green Day, En ...

in 2007, which is, to date, their recent effort.

History

Rick Rock Ricardo Thomas, also known as Rick Rock, is an American record producer originally from Montgomery, Alabama and based in Fairfield, California. He is a founding member of the former rap group Cosmic Slop Shop and the Federation with fellow ra ...

and Doonie Baby’s friendship and collaborative work dates back to the early ‘90s in

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, where they recorded as two-thirds of the group Cosmic Slop Shop along with Big Lurch. At age 16 and using a wheelchair after being shot, the

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

-born, Fairfield/ Vallejo-raised Federation member Goldie Gold met Rick Rock at a local mall, impressing Rock with his rapping skills.The Federation
artist profile at

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

In 2002, Rick Rock recruited Doonie Baby, Goldie Gold, and Mr. Stress to form the group.Jeffries, David.

The Federation The Federation may refer to: * Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, often just called "The Federation", a part of the country of Bosnia and Herzegovina * Russian Federation * United Federation of Planets, a fictional alliance in the ''Star Trek'' ...

biography at

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

The group debuted on Vallejo producer Mike Mosely's 2002 release ''Major Work: The Soundtrack'' with the Rick Rock-produced track "The Sickness", which sampled

Art of Noise Art of Noise (also the Art of Noise) were a British avant-garde synth-rock group formed in early 1983 by engineer/producer Gary Langan and programmer J. J. Jeczalik, along with keyboardist/arranger Anne Dudley, producer Trevor Horn, and ...

's 1983 song "Moments of Love". Their first single "Hyphy", featuring

E-40 Earl Tywone Stevens (born November 15, 1967), better known by his stage name E-40, is an American rapper. Stevens is a founding member of the rap group The Click (band), The Click and the founder of Sick Wid It Records. He has released 27 stud ...

, debuted in 2003, the title was based on a slang term established by Keak the Sneak in the 90s

Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose. The Association of Bay Area Governments ...

hip hop music. Hyphy became an instant hit in the Bay Area. The song even induced a riot when The Federation performed "Hyphy" during halftime of the AND1 Live Tour at

Oracle Arena An oracle is a person or thing considered to provide insight, wise counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. If done through occultic means, it is a form of divination. Descript ...

in June 2004. On the strength of "Hyphy" and their second single "Donkey", the group's self-titled debut album was released under

to critical reception. In 2005, Rick Rock signed the group under

, releasing the group's follow-up album ''

It's Whateva ''It's Whateva'' is the second studio album American hip hop group The Federation. It was released on September 4, 2007 via Warner Bros. Records and Reprise Records, and was entirely produced by Rick Rock. It also features guest appearances from C ...

'' in the summer of 2007. In 2009, Stressmatic was featured in an interview in the book ''

How to Rap ''How to Rap: The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC'' is a book on hip hop music and rapping by Paul Edwards. It is compiled from interviews with 104 notable rappers who provide insights into how they write and perform their lyrics.Edwards, Paul, 2 ...

'', along with several other rappers, including E-40,

Nelly Cornell Iral Haynes Jr. (born November 2, 1974), better known by his stage name Nelly, is an American rapper, singer, and actor. He grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, and embarked on his musical career in 1993 as a member of the Midwest hip hop g ...

Tech N9ne Aaron Dontez Yates (born November 8, 1971), better known by his stage name Tech N9ne (pronounced "tech nine"), is an American rapper and singer. In 1999, he and business partner Travis O'Guin founded the record label Strange Music. He has sold ...

Twista Carl Terrell Mitchell (born November 27, 1973), better known by his stage name Twista (also known as Tung Twista), is an American rapper. He is best known for his Chopper (rap), chopper style of rapping and for once holding the title of fastest ...

Pusha T Terrence LeVarr Thornton (born May 13, 1977), better known by his stage name Pusha T, is an American rapper. He rose to prominence as one half of the Virginia-based hip hop duo Clipse, which he formed with his older brother No Malice, Malice. M ...

Styles P David R. Styles (born November 28, 1974), better known by his stage name Styles P (also known Mononymous person, mononymously as Styles), is an American rapper, best known as a member of East Coast hip hop group the Lox. Formed with fellow rappe ...

will.i.am William James Adams Jr. (born March 15, 1975), known professionally as will.i.am (pronounced "will I am"), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is the frontman of the musical group Black Eyed Peas, which he ...

DJ Quik David Marvin Blake (born January 18, 1970), better known by his stage names DJ Quik or Da Quiksta, is an American rapper and record producer from Compton, California, known for his production in the G-funk style of West Coast hip-hop. Blake has ...

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 ...

Chuck D Carlton Douglas Ridenhour (born August 1, 1960), known professionally as Chuck D, is an American rapper, best known as the leader and frontman of the hip hop group Public Enemy, which he co-founded in 1985 with Flavor Flav. Chuck D is also a me ...

Discography

Albums

Singles

Featured singles

Members of the Federation have also appeared on many other songs by other Bay Area rappers, some of which received radio airplay locally. Their appearances are highlighted in bold.

References

External links

Federation's Official justRHYMES.com profileFederation's Myspace Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Federation, The Hip-hop groups from California Musical groups established in 2002 Musical groups from the San Francisco Bay Area Virgin Records artists Reprise Records artists People from Fairfield, California Rappers from the San Francisco Bay Area