New CD “Ridin' High” from 8Ball & MJG

March 13, 2007, New York, NY – Legendary Southern rap duo, 8Ball & MJG will release today their highly anticipated 12th studio album, Ridin’ High on Bad Boy South. The album features collaborations with Diddy, Oscar and Grammy winners Three 6 Mafia, Bad Boy hit maker Yung Joc, producer Jazze Pha, fellow Memphis native Project Pat and former Bad Boys 112.

Read more »

8 Ball & MJG - Relax & Take Notes interview

8 Ball and MJ-f*ckin'-G have been making that ride out music for over a decade now. The Tennessee duo is set to release their new album “Ridin' High”. As the spotlight resides on the South, the partners-in-rhyme continue to bring their own eclectic sound to the masses.

Read more »

8Ball - Still Ridin´ High

With over a decade of experience in the rap game, 8Ball and MJG are unlike most rappers. Despite their unique and original style, they have accomplished feats that most brand new artists would dream of – being fresh, consistent, and most important of all, maintaining relevancy.

The rap game has changed greatly since 8Ball and MJG's premier album, Comin' Out Hard, debuted in 1993. The Dirty South runs hip-hop. Rap artists function as CEOs and manage multi-million dollar record labels.

Read more »

8Ball & MJG put down pimps

Tennessee rap pioneers 8Ball & MJG are preparing to release their next album, Ridin’ High on Bad Boy Records this February.

The Memphis duo has already released their first single, “Relax and Take Notes,” which features Notorious B.I.G. and Project Pat. A video for the single, directed by Harve Pierre and Flyy Kai debuted on BET’s “Rap City” earlier this week.

Read more »

8Ball & MJG launch labels

Bad Boy artists 8 Ball & MJG celebrated the launch of their new respective labels 8 Ways Entertainment and MJG Entertainment on Wednesday (Oct. 25) in their hometown of Memphis, Tenn.

A variety of industry tastemakers and DJ’s attended the invite-only event, held at Memphis Botanic Garden.

Read more »

Cover of 8Ball & MJG - Relax & Take Notes

Here’s the cover to the new single by 8Ball & MJG. The new single is called “Relax & Take Notes”.

Read more »

8Ball departs from Mjg momentarily

Memphis rap legend, 8Ball, of 8Ball & MJG fame, is covering new ground with the release of a solo album. In conjunction with his own 8Ways Entertainment, 8Ball is premiering Light Up The Bomb on October 31 alongside appearances for MJG, Juvenile, Big Gipp and more.

Read more »

Interview: Eightball's hustle and flow

Eightball, one half of the legendary Memphis rap duo, 8 Ball & MJG, is, literally, Ridin' High. With a new group effort of that same name on the way, and a follow-up to his gold-selling Bad Boy debut also in the pipeline, 2006 could be the year of the self proclaimed “Fat Mack.” Crave Online tracked down the Orange Mound resident, born Premro Smith, in his studio recently to talk about putting the final touches on his soon-to-be released Down South classic, a new movie project and his musical influences.

Read more »

Vibe review: 8Ball & MJG - Ridin' High

When Diddy signed 8Ball & MJG in 2002, fans feared he'd glitz up their dark, rowdy Memphis sound. Now two albums into their deal with Bad Boy, Ridin' High proves the duo's affinity for unapologetic gutter music has only grown stronger.

Read more »

XXL Review: 8Ball & MJG - Ridin' High

The current wave of Southern dominance has resuscitated the careers of pioneers like UGK and Three 6 Mafia. Unfortunately, 8Ball & MJG haven't been able to add their name to that list of born-again stars just yet. In 2004, the Memphis duo tried to cash in, but their unfocused Bad Boy disc Living Legends derailed those plans. So on their seventh album, Ridin' High, Ball & G go back to the basics and let their raw chemistry run wild.

Read more »

Radio charts may 18th

Urban National Airplay

Yung Joc #1 this week.

CHR/Rhythmic National Airplay

Yung Joc #9 this week.
Cassie #11 this week.

CHR/Pop National Airplay

Cassie #28 this week.

The Billboard Hot 100

Yung Joc last week #33, this week #26.

Cassie last week #57, this week #38

ISB Front Runners Chart

8Ball& MJG (Ridin High) #1 this week.

Top 10 Most Added Mainstream Urban 05/17/2006

Cassie #1 this week.

Russell "Block" Spencer interview

Atlanta native Russell “Block” Spencer is credited for guiding Young Jeezy and Boyz N Da Hood to stardom. As part owner of Sho’ Nuff Records, President of Bad Boy South and CEO of his own label Block Ent. the year ahead promises even more hits for Spencer, this week’s Player to Watch.

Read more »

8ball & MJg intervieweb by Concrete

Right now we are working on the next album with Bad Boy. The name of it is Pure American Pimpin'. We've got Big Boi from Outkast, T.I., Juvenile, Jazze Phae, Lil John, Avant, Floetry… and just a lot of gritty 8 Ball and MJG. We call this album Pure American Pimpin' because it's like back to basics for us.

Read more »

Bad Boy South information

Bad Boy South's president, Block, takes time out from running three different labels to speak on choosing between Dr. Dre and Diddy, getting Bruce Willis on a rap record and all the crazy rumors surrounding the future of Boyz N Da Hood.

Read more »

New album by 8Ball & MJG: Pure American Pimpin'

8Ball & MJG are currently putting finishing touches on Pure American Pimpin’, their eighth overall album and their second effort released via Bad Boy.

“We call this album Pure American Pimpin’ because it’s like back to basics for us” 8Ball told Concrete Magazine recently. “We’ve got Big Boi from Outkast, T.I., Juvenile, Jazze Pha, Lil Jon, Avant, Floetry…and just a lot of gritty 8Ball & MJG.

Read more »

Diddy introduced the next phase of Bad Boy Records

Diddy introduced a select few to the next phase of Bad Boy Records Tuesday night in New York. Sean Combs held a small party at his Daddy’s House studio and previewed music by newcomers Cheri Dennis and Yung Joc and veterans 8Ball and MJG.

Mario Winans update

Mario Winans’ is currently putting the finishing touches on P. Diddy’s new album expected to release in the Fall 2006. Mario Winans’ album is delayed as he is currently producing albums for artists Ce Ce Winans, Black Rob, 8-ball & MJG, and B5. Mario Winans’ is also producing the Making the Band TV show and album. Keep checking back for updates!

8Ball & MJG

8Ball & MJG

1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001… these are the years that 8 Ball and MJG have released albums. Pretty much consecutively. Undeniably consistently. Not many rappers can claim that they are about to release their 9th album in a decade, which makes 8 Ball and MJG’s forthcoming album, LIVING LEGENDS (Bad Boy Records), a rarity and the title all the more fitting.

8 Ball and MJG are rap giants and if the South were it’s own country, they would be national treasures. For starters, they were the first rap act from Memphis to go platinum and one of the first in the region to attain nationwide success. In their hometown of Memphis, TN, they have successfully accelerated the pace at which rap fans breathe, injecting their faces and trademark style into the veins of America’s heartland. The magnitude of their sound is so far reaching it has rocked the block in cities as far North as Brooklyn, NY and as far West as Compton, CA making artists like Mobb Deep and DJ Quick, Nelly and Ludacris fans for life. In fact, if you ask the average rapper or the average fan, most of them will tell you the same thing: The first Southern rap records that captivated them and changed their lives forever were 8 Ball and MJG. To put it blunt, 8 Ball and MJG are your favorite rap group’s favorite rap group.

8 Ball puts it this way, “The difference between us and the other groups people would compare us with is that those groups grew up on us,”

After signing the legends, an Executive at Bad Boy explained, “8 Ball and MJG are to down South what Biggie was to New York and what Tupac was to the West Coast.” Indeed, LIVING LEGENDS marks the merging of two powerhouses in the industry: Bad Boy Records and 8 and MJG. Both highly visible, both highly respected and both highly imitated in their parts of the world. LIVING LEGENDS, is simply, a landmark album.

Listening to the album you’ll quickly understand that there are Southern anthems and then there’s an 8 Ball and MJG anthem. The first single, “You Don’t Want Drama.” Is one of them. It’s a rambunctious, throw your hands up, party starter with a hook the country will have memorized come springtime. No matter what dance you do in your part of the country, you will want to do it with all your might when doing it to this track. As MJG put it, “It’s a get crunk, get buck, elbows, shoulder to shoulder, crowding the dance floor, pushing song… even P. Diddy got rowdy on the record.” 8 Ball laughs as he recalls the first time Diddy heard the beat. “He was dancing off some South s**t. It was a sight to see.” LIVING LEGENDS “space age 4 eva” digital flourish make the songs sound otherworldly, but still remains firmly planted in Southern soil thanks to premier producers like Lil’ Jon, Jazze Pha, David Banner and Bad Boy beat-maker Stevie J., as well as guest rappers like Ludacris and UGK’s Bun B.

Just as Memphis birthed the Blues, thanks to the foundation that 8 Ball and MJG laid, it is also the birthplace of much of Southern-style hip-hop as we know it today. It was 8 Ball and MJG who painted the blues on hip-hop, or hip-hop on the blues, and you can hear it in the moody tracks like “Memphis City Blues,” 8 Balls favorite song on this album. Struggle is the driving force in any ghetto in America, and even though their success has allowed them to transcend this to some degree, the aggression and the aggravation is still apparent in their unified voice. And, although the South is mostly known for its hospitality, “Don’t Make” is nothing short of haunting, menacing even, but still enjoyable and excitable. It is a beast of a song with a monster track.

The mix of 8 Ball and MJG’s individual voices has made their sound one of the most sought-after in hip-hop. They both approach rapping the same: they hear the music, inhabit the mood, and then construct their rhymes. MJG describes it mystically, “The lyrics are born from the music. We let the spirit motivate the pen.” as evident in “Hold What You Got,” where they wrote off the Baptist gospel soul sound and flipped into a song that MJG describes as “pimping goes to church.”

On their previous solo endeavors 8 Ball and MJG made their individuality known. MJG revealed he was the more political member on his 1997 album NO MORE GLORY (the album cover featured a burning confederate flag). 8 Ball uncovered his preference for personal, confessional rhymes on his 2001 CD ALMOST FAMOUS. Through these releases and a few label changes, their union remains unbroken hence the album title.

Together, 8 Ball and MJG are the necessary symmetry of two eyes, two arms—a unit born of the same hood. “We grew up in a few blocks from each other. That weighs more than anything that could come between us. The friendship will be first,” 8 Ball explains. “At the end of the day if I ain’t got nothing in the world but my underwear I know that’s my friend…that’s what keeps us together, where we come from.”

Spit Your Game video debuts!

Tune in this Sunday 2/26 @ 3:30pm to catch MTV2’s ‘Makes A Video’ – The Notorious B.I.G.’s “Spit Your Game” on Sucker Free Sunday! The new video features appearances from Twista, 8 Ball & MJG, Bone Thugs N Harmony and super-producer Swizz Beatz!

Read more »

New Bad Boy & Clinton Sparks mixtape

Clinton Sparks welcomes Diddy back to the mixtape game, as the Bad Boy Records CEO and founder welcomes you to Bad Boy on this major motion, major label mixtape.

Read more »

8ball & Mjg new album

Inside MJG’s black Cadillac Escalade, the music from the Orange Mound duo is pulsing through the speakers as he sits in the parking lot of Naj Hammadi, a natural hair care salon in Whitehaven, waiting to get his dreadlocks done.

Read more »

Remember to vote Bad Boy artists!

Remember to vote new Bad Boy videos from 8Ball & MJG (Forever) and B5 (All I Do) in 106 & Park and MTV – Advance Warning to make them number one!

Support

Upcoming releases

More upcoming releases (and older releases) at the releases section.