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 вЂњMemphis City Blues,вЂќ 8 Balls favorite song on this album. 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 a sight to see.вЂќ LIVING LEGENDS вЂњspace age 4 evaвЂќ digital flourish make the songs sound otherworldly, but still remains firmly planted in Southern soil thanks to premier producers like LilвЂ™ Jon, Jazze Pha, David Banner and Bad Boy beat-maker Stevie J., as well as guest rappers like Ludacris and UGKвЂ™s Bun B. Diddy got rowdy on the record.вЂќ 8 Ball laughs as he recalls the first time Diddy heard the beat.

As MJG put it, вЂњItвЂ™s a get crunk, get buck, elbows, shoulder to shoulder, crowding the dance floor, pushing songвЂ¦ even P.

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. ItвЂ™s a rambunctious, throw your hands up, party starter with a hook the country will have memorized come springtime. The first single, вЂњYou DonвЂ™t Want Drama.вЂќ Is one of them. Listening to the album youвЂ™ll quickly understand that there are Southern anthems and then thereвЂ™s an 8 Ball and MJG anthem. LIVING LEGENDS, is simply, a landmark album. Both highly visible, both highly respected and both highly imitated in their parts of the world. To put it blunt, 8 Ball and MJG are your favorite rap groupвЂ™s favorite rap group.ДЁ Ball puts it this way, вЂњThe difference between us and the other groups people would compare us with is that those groups grew up on us,вЂќДЄfter signing the legends, an Executive at Bad Boy explained, вЂњ8 Ball and MJG are to down South what Biggie was to New York and what Tupac was to the West Coast.вЂќ Indeed, LIVING LEGENDS marks the merging of two powerhouses in the industry: Bad Boy Records and 8 and MJG. 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. 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 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 AmericaвЂ™s heartland. 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. Not many rappers can claim that they are about to release their 9th album in a decade, which makes 8 Ball and MJGвЂ™s forthcoming album, LIVING LEGENDS (Bad Boy Records), a rarity and the title all the more fitting.ДЁ Ball and MJG are rap giants and if the South were itвЂ™s own country, they would be national treasures.

8 ball and mjg