| Soopafly | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Priest Joseph Brooks |
| Origin | Long Beach, California, U.S. |
| Genres | West Coast hip hop |
| Occupations | producer, rapper, vocalist |
| Instruments | Keyboards, sampler |
| Years active | 1993-present |
| Labels | Death Row DPG Recordz Doggystyle Gangsta Advisory E1 Music |
| Associated acts | Snoop Dogg Daz Dillinger Kurupt Nate Dogg Dubb Union |
| Website | www.myspace.com/soopaflydpgc |
Priest Joseph Brooks, better known by his stage name Soopafly, is a hip hop producer and rapper from Long Beach, California.
Early life[]
The oldest of three children, Brooks grew up in Long Beach. He was given a keyboard by his father after being inspired by the piano players he saw in church.[1].
Early career[]
During his teenage years, Brooks met rappers Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre. Proving himself with his keyboard skills, Soopafly was assigned his first piece of work for Death Row Records on the soundtrack Murder Was The Case.[1] He played keyboards for Dr. Dre and Ice Cube on the track "Natural Born Killaz", as well as his first production credit with "Who Got Some Gangsta Shit" featuring the Dogg Pound and company. In 1995, he produced "Sooo Much Style" for Tha Dogg Pound on their debut album "Dogg Food". He also played the keyboards on eight other songs throughout. Then in 1996, he was featured on the soundtrack to the movie A Thin Line Between Love and Hate on the song "I Don't Hang." A remix would later follow.
Soopafly was further introduced to mainstream listeners on Snoop Dogg's second studio album Tha Doggfather. He produced the songs "Freestyle Conversation" and "You Thought", appearing alongside veteran rapper Too Short. Since then, he has been featured primarily on albums by local artists such as Snoop Dogg, Daz Dillinger, Kurupt, Warren G, RBX, Bad Azz and Tha Eastsidaz.[2] To date, he has released two solo albums.
Westurn Union[]
In July 2006, the rap group called Westurn Union was formed. It features Soopafly, Damani and Bad Lucc. They made their first appearance on Snoop Dogg's album Tha Blue Carpet Treatment and released a street single titled "I Don't Think So",[3] produced by Rick Rock. In April 2008, a mixtape was released titled House Shoe Musik, Vol. 1 and was hosted by DJ Crazy Toones. After inking a deal with Koch Records and Doggystyle Records, the official debut album Snoop Dogg Presents: Dubb Union was released on September 2, 2008. Prior to the release, the group and the labels were approached by the company Western Union, threatening legal action if the name was not changed. Though there is a difference between Westurn and Western, the labels did not want to spend money dealing with a lawsuit, the name of the group was changed to Dubb Union.
Discography[]
- Main article: Soopafly discography
Solo albums[]
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2001 | Dat Whoopty Woop
|
| 2007 | Bangin West Coast
|
Singles[]
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. R&B | |||
| 1999 | "Like It or Not" | 111 | Dat Whoopty Woop |
As featured performer[]
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. R&B | |||
| 1998 | "Put the Monkey in It" (Daz Dillinger featuring Soopafly) | 101 | Nothing to Lose (soundtrack) |
Other appearances[]
| Year | Title | Artist(s) | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | "You Thought" | Snoop Dogg, Too Short | Tha Doggfather |
| 1997 | "Only in California" | Mack 10, Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg | Based on a True Story |
| 1999 | "Mamacita" | Don Cisco, Frost, Kurupt | Next Friday (soundtrack) and Oh Boy |
| "OG to BG" | Daz Dillinger | Suge Knight Represents: Chronic 2000 | |
| "Hell Ya" | Tray Deee, Daz Dillinger, Kurupt | Whiteboys (soundtrack) | |
| 2001 | "Your Gyrlfriend 2" | Tha Dogg Pound, Mac Shawn | 2002 |
| "Way Too Often" | Tha Dogg Pound | ||
| "Eastside Ridaz" | Tha Eastsidaz, Nate Dogg | Duces 'n Trayz: The Old Fashioned Way | |
| "I Pledge Allegiance" | Tha Eastsidaz, Kokane | ||
| "Dogghouse In Your Mouth" | Tha Eastsidaz, Suga Free, RBX, Kurupt, Ruff Dogg, King Lou, Mixmaster Spade | ||
| 2002 | "This Spot" | Bad Azz | We from the LBC |
| 2004 | "Lonely Girl" | 213 | The Hard Way |
| "Can U Control Yo' Hoe?" | Snoop Dogg | R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece |
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Deep In His Own Hustle". MCA Records. August 13, 2002. Archived from the original on November 10, 2006. http://web.archive.org/web/20061110204835/http://www.mcarecords.com/artistAbout.asp?selected=1&aboutId=40205&which=bio&artistname=Soopafly&artistid=380&title=Deep+In+His+Own+Hustle.
- ↑ Birchmeier, Jason. "Soopafly > Biography". allmusic. http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:3nfyxqlhldde~T1. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
- ↑ Nina (January 2007). "Damani & Bad Lucc". DubCNN. http://www.dubcnn.com/interviews/damani-badlucc/. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
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