Music
Press
Remy Ma's official DJ, Bedtyme357, hosts this surprising mixtape from No Good People - a white boy unit with potential. Able to make humorous light of the stereotypes often associated with white rappers, the team of Stress, Raida, Strange and O-Doub has written some witty rhymes indeed. Equally sharp choices in sampling further add to the overall effect of upbeat melody and rhythm. Although the song "Chug" is touted as a future hit single, stronger tracks exist. "St. Paddy's Day" is supported in tune by House of Pain classic "Jump Around", while "Runaway" twists the 80's Soft Cell track "Tainted Love" for the background. - Crunk Magazine
What's hood NGP? I heard your the greatest thing ever, what's that about?
O-Doub: That’s just the way we feel. So that’s the slogan. Everybody says they’re the greatest this, the king of that. Well we’re the greatest thing ever. Try to top that, bitches.
4 whiteboys rapping, 2 sets of brothers, and you all handle the mic well , when did hip hop get your attention and when did you know this was it?
Stress: The neighborhood we grew up in in Queens was real diverse. There was no majority. But the music that everyone was listening to was hip hop. We just got drawn to it. I never listened to any other type of music since I was old enough to really care.
Sean Strange: We’ve been doing this a long time and always felt that we had what it takes to make it. But the last couple of years we’ve seen that this can really happen. The more work that we put in, the bigger the payoffs were. Now we feel that there’s nothing that can stop us.
Your a rowdy bunch, loud, obnoxious, basically its a mele anytime you guys are around. How do you guys stay in the group without stabbing each other?
Stress: My brother stabbed me with a pen when we were younger.
Sean Strange: After you hit me with the phone.
Raida: When we fight, it’s like nothing you’ve ever seen before. Ask our engineer. But it’s not like two people that don’t know each other fighting. It’s brothers fighting. Then 5 minutes later we’re all laughing again and making music. If someone recorded the last year of us as a group it would be the #1 show on TV.
Ok EZ Lover is crazy, getting some spins, good crowd reaction, ladies seem to like it, what's the response like from radio and fans?
O-Doub: It’s been incredible. We don’t have a lot of songs where we’re being all that nice. The radio stations have been showing a lot of love. And the record is reacting with the listeners. It’s already been on the countdowns for most requested song on some of the stations.
Let's take it back to last mixtape 'White People Can't Dance', what has changed since then and how are you guys adapting to your position in the game as you grow as a group?
Raida: We still make that No Good People music. But the recognition has climbed since then. That mixtape was the beginning of us really putting ourselves on the map. We’re loving it right now. We just got nominated for Best Rap Group at this year’s Underground Music Awards. We’re just being us. The more we get back from this game, the harder it makes us work.
I've been meaning to ask you, what the f*ck is up with this dancing chicken????
O-Doub: Isn’t he incredible?
Sean Strange: That’s our boy Electric Gizzo. He would always come on stage with us during our shows and start breaking. So we put him in the chicken suit. The NGP mascot. We always wanted to have someone in a chicken costume on stage with us. I don’t even know why. We just thought it was the funniest thing in the world. If you were at a show, who would you remember, some dude up there doing a couple songs about how nice he is or 4 white kids running around chugging beers, throwing shit and a breakdancing chicken?
Stress: We might expand it and get a couple more animals up there. By next year our stage show will look like one big fucking barn.
And who is cousin pat??
Sean Strange: That’s me and Stress cousin. When we really started our push with this music he just got locked up. He did 5 years and just got home in November. That was our way of keeping his name out there. It was crazy how it took off with people. We would have the crowd chanting Cousin Pat at shows and we would play it for him over the phone, to let him know that everybody’s still with him. He’s back on the streets son, you heard?
Aside from music do you have any other mogul like aspirations? You guys definitely need your own sitcom. (Matter of fact I got dibbs on that, we should shoot a pilot)
Stress: The sitcom would have to be on HBO though. Otherwise the whole show would be one big bleep. The music is just the beginning. We really plan to take over the world on some Pinky and the Brain shit. I know Strange wants to have a white castle in his basement.
Raida: What we really need to do is have our own beer.
You guys are signed to Intelligent Music, owned and operated by well respected high power attorney Bob Celestin, how has this opportunity helped your career?
O-Doub: It opened up the doors for more opportunities. Before we met him, our options for shopping our music was literally sneaking into labels and putting our cds on everyone’s desk. It’s a great thing when you can link up with someone who gets what we’re doing and what we’re about and where we’re capable of going with this music shit. He gets those big meetings. Intelligent Music all day.
You guys are about to rock Mega Jam with Fat Joe and a bunch of other music industry legends, how are you guys preparing?
Raida: Just making sure the performance is tight. The music is there. And we got more energy and stage presence than most artists. We just got to control that energy so we don’t knock each other around, fly off the stage and kill someone in the process.
Sean Strange: We love performing. And to get the opportunity to rock a crowd of thousands and thousands of people is going to be incredible. Plus I sure the stage is huge which will give us a lot more things to jump on and throw.
What's next for NGP?
Stress: We got the single popping right now. And we got a lot more in the stash. Up next I see us becoming a household name in the near future. Everything is in place now. So we’re gonna enjoy it, get drunk, make music and cause chaos. There’s no other way to live life.
O-Doub: Watch out for NGP coming soon to a city near you to fuck everything up.
Where can fans find you online?
Raida: Check us out on myspace at www.myspace.com/nogoodpeople . Also check out our youtube channel at www.youtube.com/nogoodpeople. Lots of footage, performances, videos and general mayhem. Watch our short film of Strange shopping in the Corner Store of Horror.
Any plugs or shouts?
Stress: Everybody that’s been rocking with us. Supporting us. Shout out Intelligent Music, Cousin Pat, Concept, Electric Gizzo, Big Willie Promotions, Stonebrown Productions, The whole Inasirkl Music Group. All the DJs and radio stations showing us love. We’re coming for the top.
- J Hatch
No good people, what the f*ck is up? Let the readers know who you are and what you do.
Raida: We’re No Good People, NGP, A.K.A. The Greatest Thing Ever. Two sets of brothers originally from Queens, now out in L.I. We get busy in this rap shit. Your parents’ worst nightmare. We get heavily intoxicated and break shit.
Rumor has it your the greatest thing ever! Why is that?
Sean Strange: What’s greater than the greatest thing ever? Not even sliced bread. So these rappers can be the King of West Bumblefuck, we’ll stay the greatest thing ever.
Let's take it back to 'white people can't dance' hosted by Bedtyme357, what was the premise behind that mixtape and what was the feedback from the streets?
Stress: We used to never really talked about the fact that we’re white, but everything we did that’s all everyone would talk about. So we were like fuck it, we figured we would rock some of the known white rappers beats. The title was a play of the white people can’t jump, dance, rap, etc. We just thought it was funny so we rolled with it. The title catches people’s interest right off the bat.
O-Doub: We didn’t want to do the normal mixtape. So we did joints like “Ugly� flipping Bubba Sparxxx song into a song about ugly bitches. People have been eating this mixtape up. We even got disgusting chicks singing “That bitch is uuuggglllyyy!�
You have a new single about to smash mainstream radio 'Ez Lover'. Your already getting some major spins in a few key markets, how did that song come about and where do you see it going?
Stress: You gotta have something extra in order to break into the mainstream nowadays. We didn’t want to come up with a dance, cause we can’t dance. Unless it was called the “Can’t Dance, Dance�. I don’t even think I understand what I’m saying right now.
O-Doub: Raida was listening to the radio one day and that song came on and he started calling everybody saying that we should flip that record. My man Concept hooked the beat up and we got a singer to come in and rock the hook. Strange threw some scratching on in the beginning and end of the record. It just came together real quick.
Sean Strange: That song can smash every radio market. It’s already taking off on some radio stations. Making it on to the daily countdowns. Tons of requests for it. Blowing up the clubs in L.I. It’s got that familiarity to it with the Phil Collins sample. People just go crazy for it.
The buzz is so big in long island ny I heard you guys got invited to perform at Megajam with Pitbull and Nina Sky, how was that experience?
Sean Strange: It was incredible man. It was for the Long Island radio station Party 105. Pitbull, Naughty By Nature, Keith Murray, Colby O’donis. A lot of others. Thousands of people out there. It’s crazy to see all these people rapping the words to your song along with you. From adults in their 30’s to 12 year old kids.
Stress: I forgot to put sun block on though and now my face is pink. “Pink People Can’t Dance�
Your last record 'Chug' had a big internet buzz and the video has over 290k hits on youtube, how did that concept arise and how did you promote to get that many unique views?
Stress: We were always up on stage drinking while we were performing so we figured we should make a drinking song for the keg parties. Now there’s all these other songs about chugging, keg parties and all this drinking shit. Pay respect to your fathers. Haha.
Raida: For the video we just got a bunch of pizza and kegs and went to a frat house at NYU and bugged out. Drinking from like 9 in the morning until like midnight. Then we just started promoting that shit like crazy. We got the NGP Chug bottle openers that you can get at our shows or wherever you see us. We blasted the song and the video out to blogs, hip hop websites. Just wherever we could to get people to pass it on. And luckily, they have.
You were recently nominated for Best Rap Group at the 6th annual Undeground Music Awards, how did it feel to get recognized for al your hard work?
Sean Strange: It feels good to get the recognition. Cause a lot of times people will think that we just started doing this. We’ve been doing this a long, long time. Putting in the work. So it’s good to get the recognition for that. It shows that what we’re doing is working and that if we grind the way we’ve been grinding, we can’t be stopped.
So you've got a dope mixtape, a strong single, the press is piling up, you've been on BET, your video has 290k hits on youtube- what's it gonna take for NGP t get to that next level?
O-Doub: We just got to keep doing what we’re doing. We feel like we got everything it takes. The music, the stage show. What more could you ask for? The Greatest Thing Ever. EZ Lover is taking off and we feel this joint is going to take it to the next level. Chug got us that love on the college radio level, now EZ Lover is going to take over the world.
What's next for NGP?
Raida: We got everything in place now. So we’re going to keep moving how we’re moving. Keep making music, keep performing, just keep grinding. There’s 10 million rappers out there. So even if you’re the nicest, that doesn’t matter nowadays. You have put the work in. So we’ll sleep when we have $100,000 mattresses.
Where can fans find you online?
Stress: Check out the myspace page at www.myspace.com/nogoodpeople and the youtube channel at www.youtube.com/nogoodpeople. We got a bunch of shit up there. Performances, videos, clips of us looking for parking, dancing chickens, a 3 minutes silent horror movie and all that.
Shouts or plugs?
O-Doub: Yea shout out to rapmullet.com for keeping that mixtape shit going. Intelligent Music, Cousin Pat, J Hatch and Inasirkl Music Group. Concept. All the radio stations and DJs that are showing us love right now. And a big shout out to Planet Earth. Go green, smoke weed. - Big Chew
What's good No Good People, for those new to the movement, break it down for the readers.
Stress: No Good People aka NGP aka The Greatest Thing Ever. 4 of us in the group all grew up in Queens but now live in Long Island. We’ve been doing this for years. We’re basically a bunch of drunk assholes that make music that represents who we are and what we’re about.
Who are the members of NGP, where did you get the name from and how did you guys get together?
O-Doub: The group is made up of 2 sets of brothers. Sean Strange and Stress are brothers and me and Raida are brothers. We all grew up in Richmond Hill, Queens but we didn’t meet each other until we all moved out to Long Island and ended up in the same high school.
Sean Strange: Me and Stress met each other before we moved to Long Island though, since we shared a room and have the same parents.
Raida: We went into a store that one of our teachers owned and when we walked in he said “you guys can’t come in here, you’re no good people�. We thought it was great. Shout out to Mr. McGuire. We never listened to you in class, but you helped us out.
You guys used a sample from a phil collins song called 'easy lover' that was huge in the 80's then turned it into your own new single 'EZ Lover' which is making some noise in markets across the country, what's the concept and what has the feedback been like?
Stress: Speaking of the concept, shout out to my man Concept that produced the track.
O-Doub: It’s dope cause being that we’re new to a lot of the listeners, that sample gives the track some familiarity so it helps to kind of break the ice. The feedback has been incredible. The only people that are gonna hate on that track are the dudes mad cause their girls are calling the radio requesting it instead of listening to their version of “A Millie�.
Your first single and video for your song 'Chug' also did very well online, 100k myspace views, 280k youtube views, how important has the internet been in regards to creating and keeping your buzz?
Raida: You can’t stop technology, so you have to roll with it. Instead of letting it beat us, we try to use it to our advantage. 10 years ago if we made a song called chug, got drunk and filmed a video at a keg party it would’ve went as far as our VCR when we sat down and watched it.
Sean Strange: Now we can throw it up on youtube and watch it take off. And you can get instant feedback on what you’re doing. So we throw whatever we want up on the internet. I mean we have videos of us looking for parking spaces on youtube, it’s fucking ridiculous.
Let's take it back a step, 'White People Can't Dance' hosted by Bedtyme357, walk us through the cds premise and what the feedback was on the release.
Stress: We wanted to do a mixtape but we didn’t want it to be just another mixtape and call it like “I’ll Fuck You Up Volume 1�. We never really used to talk about the fact that we were white, but everything we did, that was the first thing mentioned, so we just flipped it like a play on the stereotypes. We went through some others white rappers beats and came up with some funny topics and it took off from there.
O-Doub: We flipped the Bubba Sparxxx “Ugly� except talking about ugly chicks. Ridiculous. We just wanted the mixtape to reflect all aspects of who we are. So we got funny songs, emotional songs, aggressive songs, we even got a political song. Who knew?
Sean Strange: Then my man Bedtyme357 came through and cosigned it and it took off. The feedback was really good man. People were eating it up. I feel like you can’t listen to that mixtape and write us off. That shit leaves too much of an impression on you.
Your live show is crazy, incredible energy, great stage presence and a breakdancing chicken? What do people experience at a NGP performance?
Raida: Exactly what you just said. They get a real performance. Crazy energy, throwing things all over the place, dancing chickens, stage diving, women dancing in tight shirts. Lots of alcohol. If you’re on the bill with us, you might want to call in sick that day.
Explain why NGP is the greatest thing ever?
Stress: Because we are greater than anything in the entire world.
Raida: Even sliced bread.
Since its RapTalk.net let's talk Rap....
Beastie boys or 3rd Bass?
Stress: Beastie Boys
Sean Strange: Beastie Boys
O-Doub: Beastie Boys
Raida: Beastie Boys
Vanilla ice or milkbone?
Stress: I’m not gonna front like I didn’t listen to Vanilla Ice, but I’ll say Milkbone.
Sean Strange: B Rad
O-Doub: Neither
Raida: I don’t really care either way.
Eminem or Jay Z?
Stress: I’m gonna cop out and say both.
Sean Strange: Jay-Z
O-Doub: Eminem
Raida: Eminem
Favorite album of all time?
Stress: Mobb Deep – The Infamous
Sean Strange: Kool G Rap – Roots Of Evil
O-Doub: Redman – Muddy Waters
Raida: Wu Tang Forever
Favorite rap song of all time?
Stress: Vanilla Ice – Ninja Rap
Sean Strange: EPMD – K.I.M.
O-Doub: Hip Hop is too dope to have a favorite song
Raida: LL Cool J – I Shot Ya
Favorite hip hop moment?
Stress: When I went on stage when I was 15 to perform for the first time and forgot my entire rhyme, that was pretty fun.
Sean Strange: Doing a song with PMD
Raida: The first time I heard us on the radio.
O-Doub: Isn’t it interesting that all our favorite hip hop moments have to do with us?
Salt n pepa or Queen Latifah/Monie Love?
Stress: Salt N Pepa.
Sean Strange: Queen Latifah cause in Juice she told that DJ his shit was sloppy, wack. Face It.
O-Doub: MC Lyte
Raida: Salt N Pepa’s videos were official back in the day.
Ok back to NGP....
What's next up for you guys?
Stress: To just keep doing what we’re doing. We got a lot of big things coming up. A lot of shows. We’re doing Mega Jam for Party 105 FM on August 9th. Over 50,000 people are gonna be there. We’re nominated for Best Rap Group at this year’s Underground Music Awards. Keep promoting, keep making music.
Where can people find you online?
Raida: Check out the myspace page at www.myspace.com/nogoodpeople and you can check our youtube channel if you want to see videos, show footage and clips of us acting like morons. www.youtube.com/nogoodpeople
Any plugs or shouts?
O-Doub: Yea shout out to Intelligent Music, Bob Celestin, Cousin Pat, Electric Gizzo, Concept, the whole team. And everyone out there that supports us.
Raida: Call your local radio station and request EZ Lover
Thanks for your time
Sean Strange: No doubt, thanks for the interview. - Dub
http://www.rapmullet.com/artist/artist40.htm
White people can't dance but they can do your taxes. Bad joke I know but when you're about to hear some more white MCs you need to prepare yourself for anything. I can't say I'm a fan of a lot of white MCs, especially when white MCs make it overly-known to the world that they are white...it's like a cop out. Anyway...NGP is the group, you already know the title of the mixtape and the shit is hosted/co-signed by DJ Bedtyme so you know I had to check it out regardless.
"Chug" was listed on the front cover as the "soon to be hit single" and I gotta say the shit has potential. Cats sound like they had fun with this one and I can see it appealing to the masses with it's non threating, getting drunk at the bar, running up on a chick to get laid theme. Def the most complete song on the CD. I don't understand why white MCs feel the need to rhyme over other/old white MCs beats. "St. Patricks Day" is over "Jump Around" which I don't really care to hear at this point. I mean the shit fits the concept of the song, the rhyme was on point and dude def captures the essence of "the irish". LOL "Run Away" has some mass appeal to it as well. I would have never thought anyone would flip a sample from Soft Cells "Tainted Love"...def creative. Back on other white rappers beats; "Ugly" flips Bubba Sparks first hit record. The thing with this is the rhyme is dope and funny as hell: "she fell from the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down." Build an original beat around this song that has a similar vibe and these cats might have a bonified hit record. "Gimme That" has cats sounding real comfortable and genuine on that beat. No mention of race, just cats being themselves talking about bitches...see it's so simple. With that said we come to the forced "Move With It". (*farts*) "Shake that a.s.a.p / shake that a.s.a.p". It's the "dance" track of the CD people. When are cats gonna understand a club/dance track has to be built organically. This shit sounds like a Club MTV out take from 1991, was Freedom Williams featured on this one? "How To Rob" has NGP robbing white artist...ehh. "White Boy Rap" is over "Real Slim Shady" or whatever that song was called. I think their trying to make fun of the song but once you hear that beat drop you're already reaching for the FF button. "Queens to LI" was heartfelt and real, you always need to give people that real life story music. "Burn" was that mixtape music I was fiending for, just raw rhyming without the "white" bullshit.
Cats always tell me I give white MCs a hard time but the truth is they need that critisism to make them better. It's like...ok tell me your white and keep it moving. Your Irish, you drink a alot, let fat red headed bitches give you blow jobs, you fight alot and life was probably not all that nice coming up. Cool, be who your are and let the music reflect that with out the "extra" shit. NGP def accomplished that for the most part on 3/4 of the CD. Straight up and down they can flat out rhyme...that's evident. Being a white MC is more curse than a gift, belive that...so let the MIC skills breathe, build original songs organically and watch the fan base grow. (5/17/07)
www.myspace.com/nogoodpeople - Rapmullet.com
From the moment Rakim kicked a hole in the speaker, pulled the plug and then jetted- the entire world new hip hop was going to be here for the long haul. Having crossed into the mainstream of america and to the stretches of the globe, hip hop is now brought back to it’s essence with new energy and of all things a dancing chicken. No Good People, consisting of 4 caucasion rappers (2 sets of brothers) is here to show the masses that rapid lyrics coupled with an explosive stage show will preserve their presence in the new wave of hip hop that also reminds us of where it came from. People, Get ready for some kicked in speakers and break dancing poultry.
No Good People, whats hood with ya?
Stress: Everything’s good man, on the grind
Lets identify all the members of the group first and foremost.
Raida: NGP is Raida, Stress, Sean Strange and O-Doub
‘White People Cant Dance’ is the mixtape, hosted by Bedtyme357 (Remy Ma’s DJ), what can listeners expect when they throw that cd in the deck?
O-Doub: They can expect straight hip hop, with that NGP touch. When you’re finished listening to it, you’ll know exactly what we’re about.
Sean Strange: We touch on everything from drinking, partying, what we would do if we were president, growing up with roaches, politics, ugly bitches in clubs, groupies, and stealing people’s shit.
I read that you guys won a $5000 cash prize from Ourstage.com , how did that happen?
Stress: We entered “Chug” into their contest for best song and we jumped to #1 in a couple of days and never slipped. It was a good look cause we just started promoting the single so it showed that people were feeling the record.
I just checked out the ‘Chug’ Video, definitely a hot record, kind of fits the mold for anyone, it’s hip hop and crossover, whats the response like?
Raida: The response has been great. That record has opened a lot of doors for us. That song came real natural to us cause that’s what we really do. My man Concept produced that record. We do a show with a crowd that’s never heard of us before and we drop that record and it’s a wrap. And during the video I stick a woman’s head in the toilet. Shout out to Mason Kaplan the director.
Whats an NGP show like?
O-Doub: Utter chaos
Sean Strange: We do shows and people can’t deny our music or energy. We got drunk people falling off stage, women dancing in really tight shirts. The energy is crazy. We don’t go up there, walk around and just rap straight for 20 minutes. Plus we have a dancing chicken.
Now can someone tell me whats up with this chicken? Ive seen it at the shows, in the video’s? Are you guys promoting for Perdue?
Stress: That chicken dances better than anyone in Justin Timberlake’s videos.
O-Doub: For years we been talking about putting our boy in a chicken costume and having him dance at our shows. I don’t even know where the idea originated from. We just thought it was hilarious. So when we won the money from ourstage.com, instead of buying jewelry or food, we bought a chicken costume.
Sean Strange: Shout out to Electric Gizzo.
There are 10 million rappers trying to get to each label and get that deal, what is NGP doing differently (aside from dancing chickens lol) to make themselves be noticed and hopefully signed someday?
Sean Strange: We make music about who we are and what we do, instead of trying to follow trends. When you follow a trend you’re always gonna be a step behind. We have the ability to make a record that can bang in a club and at the same time keep it lyrical. That’s rare nowadays. People feel what we’re saying and doing cause we ain’t afraid to be who we are. That attracts people.
Stress: Plus on top of having the music, our stage show is ridiculous. Like I tell everyone, you do a show with us, you better come with elephants and motorcycles jumping through hoops of fire, cause we tear stages apart.
From the NGP perspective, define Hip Hop Music.
Stress: That’s a dope question. To NGP, Hip Hop music is telling the story of who you are and what you’re about. It’s about having skill, paying dues. Anybody can pick up a pen and pad and write a rap. My 80 year old landlord could write a rap. That don’t make you hip hop. Copying what’s hot at the moment ain’t hip hop. That’s the exact opposite of hip hop. Listen to hip hop from the 80’s and 90’s, you hear it all the time, “fuck biters”. All of a sudden it’s turned into you have to bite to be able to make it in the game. To me, a straight A student doing songs about science tests is more hip hop than some dude making a song about selling drugs when he never has. At least the story is true.
Sean Strange: Hip hop nowadays reeks of shit and we don’t have anything in common with it
I heard you guys did a song with the legendary Parrish Smith from EPMD, how did that go down?
Raida: He was recording at a studio we were recording at, we played him some tracks and he was feeling them. He produced that record and dropped a 16. It’s PMD man, he’s a legend.
Sean Strange: Anyone out there that don’t know about EPMD, go do your homework.
So now the video and mixtape are out, the single is popping, whats next for No Good People?
O-Doub: We’re just gonna keep promoting. Get this buzz up. We got the album coming real soon, it’s crazy. Keep doing these shows, trying to put this tour together real soon. We ain’t stopping until there’s No Good People lunch boxes. NGP, Intelligent Music, Cousin Pat, that’s what we rep all day.
How can people check you out and become fans?
Raida: Check out the myspace page, www.myspace.com/nogoodpeople
Stress: Become a friend to the No Good People
Sean Strange: You can see the Chug video on there, any new music, show dates. Check out www.youtube.com/nogoodpeople for show footage and interviews.
- Hoodgrown Magazine
In April 2007, No Good People won a $5,000.00 prize from www.OurStage.com for receiving the most text votes for their first hit single “Chug”. Go to the following link to check out the Sixty Second Spotlight interview. http://ejblog.ourstage.com/2007/05/07/sixty-second-spotlight-no-good-people/ - Our Stage
What’s Up?
Sean Strange: We’re chilling.
How did No Good People come together?
Stress: Well, me and Strange are brothers and O-Doub and Raida are brothers. We actually all grew up in the same neighborhood in Queens but we didn’t meet each other until we all moved out to Long Island and we ended up in the same high school. A mutual friend introduced me and Raida. We were in the same grade and O-Doub and Strange were in the same grade. It’s actually weird how it worked out.
You guys have a very original style. How did you guys develop with that?
O-Doub: The style was actually cultivated because it’s really us. We don’t come around talking a bunch of crap. It wouldn’t be right for us to do so. We’re pretty much just talking about the situations that we go through.
Stress: We make songs like “Chug” because we drink a lot. And when we go to shows, we end up chugging beers anyway, so we may as well make a song about it.
On “Chug” you talk about how you can’t buy out the bar because you can’t afford it. Just how tired is the cliché of buying out the bar?
Stress: Well, it’s not true. We go to bars all the time and people ask us to buy a round because they’re fucking bullshitters. It doesn’t happen. People will spend $300 on a bottle but then they’ll take the train home.
What kind of response have you gotten to “Chug” so far?
Sean Strange: It’s been great. Basically you could say that that song took our career to the next level. We won the Ourstage.com contest and we won $5 g’s. Everybody from every race can relate to that song because 90% of Americans are drunks. And we have a great stage show to go with it. We have a dancing chicken. Se even if you don’t like the song, you’ll like the chicken.
“Runaway” is an interesting song. How did that come about?
Sean Strange: I produced that record. Ever since I was a kid, I always wanted to flip that joint into a beat but I was always afraid of the sample. I didn’t want to flip it because I didn’t think I could come correct on it. I finally did and the hook gives you a topic that you have to write to. All of our verses are reasons on why we have to run way from things in life. My verse is about running from a stalking girlfriend and Raida and O-Doub go back and forth and they’re talking about fucking with the same girl and fucking with different girlfriends.
Raida: That song has also been covered a lot of times. A lot of people have done it, but we’ve never heard it the way Strange flipped it. It had a certain energy in it that was up-pace and it banged real hard. It was the first time I had ever heard the song done in that light.
Your production is definitely different from the norm. What do you guys want in your beats?
Stress: The thing is, somebody will come out with something new, whether it’s snap music or putting some effect on your voice. There’s all different shit that people come out with and then everybody else wants to emulate that. We don’t want to be cool for the moment and then have nobody fuck with us. We’re not the typical rappers. We don’t rap like typical rappers, we don’t look like typical rappers, so why should we make typical rap music?
Raida: Back when we first started, we were doing the basic underground style that everybody else was doing. It wasn’t really popping off. We realized that we had to be ourselves but we never really though it would be appealing to people. And then we started shining ten times more than we thought we possibly could. People were telling us to keep it real and that’s what we did.
Who is your ideal fan?
Stress: We’re trying to catch everything, because nowadays with the way record sales are, you can’t just put out the same record that everybody else is putting out and expect to sell. We figure that if we can make our music about who we are and act the way that we always act, people are going to better relate to that as opposed to doing what everybody else is doing. We make fun music for the clubs but we also make music about the thing that we’ve been through. We’re not making music for a particular person. We’re basically just making music that we think people are going to feel and we’re trying to get the people to come towards it.
Sean Strange: We make all music. We make club music. We make keg party music. We make music you can play at your Bar Mitzvah. We make music for everybody. Everybody sells crack and shoots people. You can go into any record store and buy that record. We have fun and people die during our records. It’s fun for everybody. Fun.
You’ve released a couple of projects, the latest one being the mixtape White People Can’t Dance. How’s that doing for you guys?
Stress: When we take that to showcases, you have to look at the title and pretty much listen to it just based off of that. We took some white rappers’ songs. We took Bubba Sparxxx’s song “Ugly” and flipped it about ugly bitches walking around. You can go to the club and see some beasts walking around. Nobody’s ever done that, ever. You may have seen some ugly girls in videos, but never a whole song about it.
Sean Strange: I think what’s dope about White People Can’t Dance is that it’s us. When you go to a club and you see dudes in wife beaters with spiked hair where if you touch it you will cut your finger and they’re dancing to “Every Time We Touch” and they’re pumping fists with glow sticks, that’s who we’re talking about. The dope thing about the mixtape is that you can pick any song and you can get any type of vibe. We have a song titled “If I Was President” where we all have a debate about what we would all do if we were President. Then we have a record “Queens to LI” where my brother talks about growing up with roaches. We have a song called “Groupies”. Nobody flipped it like we did. We talk about what real groupies do backstage. Then we have funny joints where we flipped “The Real Slim Shady”. And everybody has their own solo joints on there. Everything you want from us, you’re going to get.
Are people responding the way you want them to?
O-Doub: Of course. The sky’s the limit but you’re always shooting for higher. You shoot for the sky all the time and nothing is ever going to be good enough.
As a group, what are you guys gauging your success on?
O-Doub: I would say our response. The response we get from people is more important. We don’t really keep track of the amount of records that we’ve sold. It’s about getting our name out there. The people need to understand the music and the movement that we have going on right now.
Stress: Right now, we can’t really be concerned with the amount that we’re selling. We’ve been doing this for over 10 years as a group. I can’t really tell you what I’m trying to say because I’m a moron, but we’re just trying to grind. We have to make sure that every time we do a show, the people leave the show remembering who we are and they want to listen to our CD when they leave. And if you do a show with us, you’re in for big problems. You better come in with a circus act and trampolines because we’re going to shut shit down.
Sean Strange: When you go to our show, it’s not your typical hip hop show. It’s not just kids on stage rapping and then you go home. It’s like a carnival but it’s not gay like a carnival. It’s not like there’s a kissing booth. We have girls walking around in tight t-shirts and a breakdancing chicken. It’s like the Rocksteady Crew but he’s a chicken. We have a show coming up in Long Island. I’m not going to give up too much, but let’s just say that we’re going to have a chicken jumping up in the air higher than you thought it could.
How’s the No Good People album coming?
O-Doub: We’ve been working on it. We’ve been in the studio working on it. We’re trying to get the buzz up. We’re letting the mixtape album rock for a little bit to increase the buzz. The album is definitely coming. The people should be prepared for that. The album is coming soon. It’s not like we just got started on it. It’s coming and the album is going to be a bundle of joy.
What’s the next move for No Good People?
Stress: We’re going to take over the world. We’re working hard and we’re grinding. Our last show we had people throwing toilet paper. Every show we do, we’re just trying to get more people out there. We come out with the craziest energy. The last time we had a show, the bartender told us he loved our show but that we were assholes because the people made such a mess when we were performing. When we do shows we surprise the people because they think four white kids are going to be like New Kids on the Block. But we’re here to stay. And we’re just going to keep with that.
What do you want to say to everybody?
Sean Strange: Honestly, to everybody that’s reading this interview, I want to say that if you listen to bad music every day of your life and you buy bad records, you should be ashamed of yourselves. Everything that you need is right here. It’s right in front of your face in this interview. You have fun, you get beat up, you get drunk, you get girls, you wake up with ugly women next to you and its okay. And I’m going to do a shameless plug right now. Anybody that needs beats, come to me, Sean Strange. I have cheap prices and I’ll bargain with you! (laughs)
- Hiphopgame.com
Discography
For All Videos (updated frequently)
www.youtube.com/nogoodpeople
Discography
Performed at:
Club Speed, Webster Hall, CBGB, Don Hill’s, Remi’s, Knitting Factory, Limelight, Downtime, Remote Lounge, Ocassions, Bongo’s, Fat beats and The Cop Shop, Dublin Pub ,Snitch Bar, Blaggard’s, The Pyramid, House of Blues – LA, The Clubhouse – Tempe, Arizona, The Terrace – Pasadena, CA, Catalyst – Santa Cruz, CA, Vesta, Reverb (Toronto), Sambuca , John Street Bar, Metasin, Knitting Factory (Hollywood), Molly Bloom’s, Club Occasions and Mega Jam (opened for Pitbull, Nina Sky and more), iStandard Producer Showcases in NY and Philly.
Opened For/ Collabed with
PMD, U God (Wu Tang), Mr Hyde, Domination, Prinz, Pitbull, Nina Sky
Music Features:
DJ Mike Nice- Cracking The Surface
Young NO- Early Morning Gunfire
No Good People- So Far, No Good (LP)
No Good People- Up to No Good
No Good People- White People Can’t Dance Hosted by Bedtyme357
Mighty Fuzz Young – For My Generals (Hosted By Superstar Jay)
Up To No Good Vol 2
Hate Money Radio Mixtape (Hosted By Maino)
The Industry’s Got a Problem Vol 1 & 2
Achievements:
Ourstage.com Song Winners $5000 Cash prize
Rolling Rock Original Sessions Winners
2008 - UMA Nominees for Best Rap Group
URB Magazine's "Next 1,000"
Press:
BET Rap City
DJ Deep Freeze TV
Video City TV
Grind Hard TV
Grindin 101 DVD
One On Hip Hop DVD
YRB magazine
iFlow Magazine
HipHopGame.com
Lifeonwax.com
Urb.com
Hoodgrownonline.com
Rapmullet.com Review
Wordsntunes.com
Jamnow.com
Hip-HopKings.com
993flz.com
Mogulstatus.blogspot.com
Check The Credits TV
HipHopRuckus.com
Rapmullet.com
StrongIslandHipHop.com
Raptalk.net
Jusswords DVD
ITF TV
Grind Hard TV
Protégé Magazine
Get Ryte TV
Online Video/ Music Posts
DJbooth.net
Sixshot.com
Artofrhyme.com
Hhnlive.com
HipHopPress.com
Kissnation.961kiss.com
HipHopRuckus.com
Hip-Hopkings.com
Worldstarhiphop.com
Clevver.com
Revver.com
Singingfool.com
Blastro.com
Blip.TV
Vimeo
Mywaves.com
Viddler.com
Hiphopgame.com
Metacafe.com
Strivin.com
Aol.com
Radio Shows:
DJ Kay Slay Drahma Hour on Hot 97
CorzRadio.com
Hofstra College Radio
QueensBorough College Radio
Hate Money Radio on 1.FM Jamz (iTunes Radio)
WDRE Party 105.3 NY
Hot 97 Drama Hour with Kay Slay
WNYU 89.1 Halftime Radio
Shade 45 – Tony Touch
91.9 – Hate Money Radio
WRAS 88.5 – Georgia
KCRW 89.9 – Santa Monica
KXLU 88.9 – LA
WRVU 91.1 – Vanderbilt University
WCLH 90.7 – Pennsylvania
WRHU – 88.7 – Hofstra Radio
Royal Radio – Netherlands
Corzradio.com
Hiphopphilosophy.com
Blogtalkradio
Crack Radio Distributors- Pace
SoulPitch Radio
Online Profiles:
www.youtube.com/nogoodpeople
www.facebook.com/ngpofficial
http://www.facebook.com/NGPWorld
www.myspace.com/nogoodpeople
www.showcaseyourmusic.com/nogoodpeople
www.unsigned.com/nogoodpeople
www.ourstage.com/profile/ngp
www.isound.com/no_good_people_ny
Contacts:
For press contact istandardpublicity@gmail.com
For Booking and general info contact intelligentmusicent@gmail.com
Photos
Bio
Barely lifting an eyebrow from behind the cash register, the attendant, a former high school teacher yelled, "Get out of here, you’re no good people". Recognizing the group of four boys from previous high school day antics, the former teacher promptly kicked them out of his store. Disgruntled and empty handed, the boys left the store but the term "No Good People," still lingered in their heads. Having heard that "they were no good" their entire lives, the foursome, already fledging hip-hop artists, recognized that they would be anything but. So, pride intact, and before they let one more person call them "no good," they slapped the title on themselves and officially formed the group, "No Good People."
No Good People, or NGP, is a breath of fresh air in the music game. A unique group made up of two sets of brothers of Irish and Italian descent, Stress, Sean Strange, Raida and O-Doub were all raised in the Richmond Hill section of Queens, but they did not meet until they had moved to Long Island and ended up in the same high school. Speaking to and for their generation, this four-some has perfected their craft with hard hitting one-liners, tight rhymes, undeniable beats, and the always hilarious and appreciated stab at themselves and others.
NGP created a buzz performing at numerous talent shows and open mic events in the New York metropolitan area, by appearing on mixtapes, releasing singles and working closely with other underground groups. In 2003, NGP completed their first full-length album entitled "Up To No Good," which was well received in Long Island and Queens and made a mark in the underground hip-hop scene. Also that year, due to mixtape and underground buzz, NGP earned a coveted spot on the "Van's Warped Tour" at Randall's Island.
As recognition for the group continued to grow, the brothers decided to hit the studio again and in 2004, they completed their second album entitled "So Far, No Good." The album featured a performance by the legendary PMD (of EPMD). In 2005, NGP was spotlighted on Hot 97's DJ Kay Slay's "Drama Hour."
NGP signed with Intelligent Music Entertainment, Inc., a label founded and owned by Bob Celestin, a prominent
entertainment attorney/manager known for working with artists such as Mary J. Blige, Diddy, Petey Pablo, City High and others. Shortly thereafter, NGP released the "White People Can't Dance" mixtape, which featured hit songs such as "Chug," "Runaway," and "Move With It" as well as other tracks showcasing the group’s lyrical prowess.
With the release of the college-anthem “Chug Remix” in 2012, NGP’s buzz continued to grow. “Chug”, which celebrated the groups’ love of keg parties and drinking, exploded onto the music scene, quickly being featured on internet and college radio stations across the country. A new video is beign prepared for releae on YouTube in May.
2008 saw the group gaining even more recognition. NGP was selected to URB magazine’s “Next 1000” as well as being
nominated for “Best Rap Group” at the 2008 Underground Music Awards and also made an appearance on BET’s “Rap City” in their “Spit Yo Game” segment. Their MySpace presence also increased and they now have over 37,000 “friends”. All the momentum NGP created in 2007 set them up to release their smash new single entitled “EZ Lover”. Borrowing from Phil Collins' 80's mega hit "Easy Lover", the song is a Top 40/Rhythmic club smash with a hypnotic yet melodic hook that features the groups humorous take on being “Casanovas”. "EZ Lover" gained local radio support from their hometown radio station WDRE-FM (Party 105 – Long Island/Hamptons). The song was so heavily requested on Party 105 that NGP was invited to perform at Party 105's MEGAJAM concert with established acts such as Fat Joe, Michelle Williams (Destiny's Child), Pitbull, Lady Gaga, Naughty by Nature and others.
NGP is currently circulating on college radio stations around the nation, placed top ten on the CMJ music chart, and have been invited to perform at Michigan Univeristy for a benefit concert in 2012!
Links