TEAM RNS PRESENTS

ARTIST: 8Ball & MJG

TITLE: Living Legends (Retail)

LABEL: Bad Boy South

RIPPER: Team RNS

198kbps avg - Rap
1hr 12min total-107.5mb

RELEASE DATE: 2004-05-11
RIP DATE: 2004-04-25

02 You Don't Want Drama           4:34
03 Straight Cadillac Pimpin'      4:59
(Feat. Shannon Jones)
04 We Do It                       5:09
05 The Streets (Feat. Bun B)      4:15
06 Mad Rapper (Interlude)         1:16
07 Shot Off (Feat. Ludacris)      5:20
08 When It's On (Feat. P. Diddy)  5:06
09 Trying To Get At You (Feat.    4:18

10 Baby Girl (Feat. P. Diddy)     4:17

12 Forever (Feat. Lloyd)          5:00
13 Look At The Grillz (Feat. T.I. 5:20

14 Living Legends (Interlude)     1:10

16 Memphis City Blues             4:48

18 Confessions (Feat. Poo Bear)   4:33

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

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 Ball 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

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 Ball's 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."

After the advance earlier this year,
here's the retail version. Enjoy it.