Brand Nubian Only Enjoyed Minimal Success: What Happened?
Brand Nubian was a hip-hop group from New Rochelle, New York. Immediately, the group became a hit with fans because of their controversial lyrics. Eventually, the group would disband before they could enjoy great success.
Brand Nubian Music Was Very Controversial
The rap trio consisted of Grand Puba, Maxwell Dixon, Sadat X, Derek Murphy, Lord Jamar, Lorenzo Dechalus.
Their debut album “One For All” was released in 1990. Although, the album was not a great success it was met with controversy. The controversy was surrounding members of Brand Nubian’s religious beliefs, according to Britannia.
Members of the group were practicing alleged militant Five-Percenters. Clarence 13X split from the Nation of Islam in 1963. From that split, he formed the “Five Percent Nation.”
In this particular culture or movement, the premise is based on “Supreme Mathematics.” The members of the Five Percent Nation rejected being called a religion, preferring instead to be known as a culture and way of life.
And, two songs on the rap group’s album “Drop the Bomb”, and “Wake Up” helped to increase sales. However, the video associated with “Wake Up” was banned from MTV. Primarily, because it featured a Black man in white-face makeup, as reported by The Vogue.
The Group Disbanded Too Soon
Unfortunately, Grand Puba had some issues with Lord Jamar and Sadat X. Grand Puba left the group and went solo. Lord Jamar and Sadat X enlisted a new group member and DJ. DJ Sincere replaced DJ Alamo in 1992.
Later that year, Brand Nubian released a hit song “Punks Jump up to Get Beat Down.” Once again, Brand Nubian’s was met with controversy because of the alleged homophobic content on the song.
Having said that, Brand Nubian’s other album(In God We Trust)which was also released in 1992 did fairly well. At the same time, Brand Nubian kept having issues with the kind of music they were putting out.
Accusations of the group’s music seemed to allegedly promote hate speech. Therefore, Brand Nubian broke up in 1995. In 1997 the original members reunited. A soundtrack which was featured on the movie “Money Talks”, “Keep It Bubblin” provided the re-formed group was able to enjoy some success.
Brand Nubian – Slow Down (Official Music Video)
Widely popular re-make song, “Don’t Let It Go To Your Head”, was one of my favorites.
Also, the song made it to the number 54 spot on Hot 100. This song was Brand Nubian’s highest-ranking song on the charts. Rightfully so, I still grove to it today.
Meanwhile, Grand Puba has enjoyed a great solo career. He released his third solo project in 2001. In addition, original member Sadat X released his own solo project in 2005 entitled “Experience and Education.” His project was met with positive reviews. Lord Jamar has ventured into acting. Some of his acting roles include appearances on The Sopranos, Oz, Third Watch, and Law & Order.
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