Boyz N da Hood

In mid-2003, four of the ATL's hardest solo MC's, Duke, Big Gee, Jeezy and Jody Breeze, came together to form the super-group Boyz N Da Hood. Referred to as the "NWA of the South," Boyz N Da Hood aren't just another crunk group from the ATL, these Boyz have a message. Reminiscent of NWA and The Geto Boys before them, the Boyz spit ardent, socially-charged rhymes over heavy-hitting beats. From the outset, the group sought to create music that would be true to the eyes and ears of the streets of ATL. After putting together a 15 song demo, the group shopped their work around to various labels before it landed in the lap of an initially-reluctant P. Diddy. After a brief courtship, Diddy signed the group to Bad Boy in 2004. In 2005, the group hit the airwaves with "Dem Boyz" as their lead single and, shortly thereafter, shot the single's video, featuring P. Diddy. The group's self-tiled debut album, Boyz N Da Hood, dropped on June 21st of 2005 and features production from southern hip-hop mainstays Jazze Pha, Frank Nitti and DJ Toomp.