8Ball & MJG

8Ball & MJG
8Ball & MJG
Birth name	Premro "8Ball" Smith, Marlon "MJG" Goodman
Also known as	The 8 & M Bros.
Origin	Memphis, Tennessee, United States
Genres	Hip hop, Crunk, Dirty rap, Hardcore rap
Years active	1989—
Labels	Grand Hustle, E1 Music, Suave House Records, Bad Boy Records, Grand Rappa Recording
Website	8ballandmjg.com

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8Ball & MJG is an American rap and crunk duo from Memphis, Tennessee. The two rappers Premro "8Ball" Smith (born 1972) and Marlon "MJG" Goodman (born 1971) met at Ridgeway Middle School in 1980.

[edit] Career

8Ball & MJG first appeared on the rap scene with their 1992 underground album Listen To The Lyrics. In 1993, they released Comin' Out Hard on Suave House Records, the album was successful commercially as well as critically and established the group as a prominent act in the then emerging Southern Rap scene. Their subsequent albums in the 1990s including 1994's On the Outside Looking In and 1995's On Top of the World further established their status among the South's rappers. On Top of the World was particularly successful, peaking at #8 on the Billboard Hot 200 and being certified Gold. It includes the song "Space Age Pimpin'", 8Ball & MJG's first single to chart, reaching #58 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles and Tracks chart and #22 on the Hot Rap Singles chart.

Subsequently, 8Ball & MJG released solo albums: MJG's No More Glory in 1997 and 8Ball's Lost in 1998. They reunited in 1999 to release their fourth album as a group, In Our Lifetime, Vol. 1. One year later they released their fifth group album, Space Age 4 Eva.

In 1996, they appeared on the Red Hot Organization's compilation CD America is Dying Slowly alongside Biz Markie, Wu-Tang Clan, and Fat Joe, among many other prominent hip hop artists. The CD, meant to raise awareness of the AIDS epidemic among African American men, was heralded as "a masterpiece" by The Source magazine.

In the early 2000s, the duo signed with Sean Combs' Bad Boy Records. They already had some experience with the label, being featured on the song "The Player Way" from Bad Boy rapper Mase's 1997 album Harlem World. Their first album for Bad Boy, Living Legends, was released in 2004 and certified Gold. Their second Bad Boy album Ridin High was released in March 2007.

Commercially one of the high points of 8Ball & MJG's career was their being featured on Three 6 Mafia's hit song "Stay Fly" in 2005 which peaked at #13 on the Billboard Hot 100. It is Three 6 Mafia's biggest hit. The song was a collaboration between two of Tennessee's most successful rap groups.

8Ball and MJG also head their own record labels. 8Ball heads 8 Ways Entertainment (distributed by Koch Entertainment). MJG heads MJG Muzik which features another Memphis duo, Da Volunteers, known for their 2006 single, "What's Yo Favorite Color?", which glorifies their neighborhood of Orange Mound.

In September 2007, 8Ball & MJG signed deals in Sacramento, California with Real Talk Entertainment. On April 1, 2008, 8Ball released Doin' It Big with E.D.I. of the Outlawz. MJG released a solo album, Pimp Tight, on April 29, 2008.

In June 2008, the duo announced that they officially signed onto T.I.'s record label Grand Hustle. Their eighth album as a group and their first on Grand Hustle, Ten Toes Down, was released in May 2010. It reached #36 on the Billboard 200 in its first week.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Studio albums

Year	Album	U.S.	R&B	HS	Certification
1992	Listen To The Lyrics	–	-	-
1993	Comin' Out Hard	–	40	20
1994	On The Outside Looking In	106	11	–
1995	On Top Of The World	8	2	–	Gold ^[1]
1999	In Our Lifetime, Vol. 1	10	1	–	Gold ^[1]
2000	Space Age 4 Eva	39	9	–
2004	Living Legends	3	1	–	Gold
2007	Ridin' High	8	4	–	200,000 copies
2010	Ten Toes Down	36	6	3	71,000^[2]
2010	From the Bottom 2 the Top	193	19	12	40,000

[edit] Compilation albums

Year	Album	U.S.	R&B	HS
1997	Lyrics Of A Pimp	–	–	–
2000	Memphis Under World	–	46	–
2008	We Are The South: Greatest Hits	–	59	–

[edit] Singles

Year	Single	Chart positions			Album
Year	Single	U.S. Hot 100	U.S. R&B	U.S. Rap	Album
1994	"Players Night Out"	–	–	–	On the Outside Looking In
1995	"Break'em Off"	–	–	–	On Top of the World
1995	"Space Age Pimpin'" (featuring Nina Creque)	–	58	22	On Top of the World
2000	"Pimp Hard"	–	76	–	Space Age 4 Eva
2004	"You Don't Want Drama" (featuring P. Diddy)	–	30	22	Living Legends
2004	"Forever" (featuring Lloyd)	–	–	–	Living Legends
2006	"Ridin High" (featuring Diddy)	–	–	–	Ridin High
2007	"Clap On" (featuring Yung Joc)	–	98	–	Ridin High
2010	"Bring It Back" (featuring Young Dro)	–	45	23	Ten Toes Down
2010	"Blunts & Broads"	–	–	–	From the Bottom 2 the Top

[edit] 8Ball albums

Lost
- Released: May 19, 1998
- Chart positions: 5 U.S.
- RIAA Certification: 2x Platinum ^[3]
- Singles: "Pure Uncut"

Almost Famous
- Released: November 20, 2001
- Chart positions: 47 U.S.
- Singles: "Stop Playin' Games"

Lay It Down
- Released: August 13, 2002

Light Up The Bomb
- Released: October 10, 2006
- Chart positions: –
- U.S. sales: 164,000^[4]
- RIAA certification: –
- Singles: "Time2hitdaclub"

The Vet & The Rookie (with Devius)
- Released: October 9, 2007
- Chart positions: –
- U.S. sales: 144,200
- RIAA certification: –
- Singles: "Ery' Body Kno Me"

Doin' It Big (with E.D.I. Of The Outlawz)
- Released:April 1, 2008
- Chart Position: -
- U.S. Sales: 130,700^{[citation needed]}
- RIAA certification

8Ball & Memphis All-Stars: Cars, Clubs & Strip Clubs^[5]
- Release Date: February 24, 2009
- Chart positions: N/A
- U.S. sales: –
- RIAA certification: –
- Singles: "Gettin' It In", "Gangsta Luv"

[edit] MJG albums

No More Glory
- Released: November 18, 1997
- Chart positions: 20 U.S.
- U.S. sales: 490,000
- RIAA certification: Gold^{[citation needed]}
- Singles: "That Girl"

Pimp Tight
- Release Date: April 29, 2008
- Chart positions: N/A
- U.S. sales: 25,000
- RIAA certification: –
- Singles: "Small Town Girl"

This Might Be The Day
- Release Date: July 15, 2008
- Chart positions: N/A
- U.S. sales: 16,000
- RIAA certification: –
- Singles: "Shades", "Big Time (feat. Slim)"