Foesum
| Foesum | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Perfection |
| Origin | Long Beach, California, U.S. |
| Genres | West Coast hip hop, Gangsta rap, G-funk |
| Years active | 1986–Present |
| Labels | Perfection, Tommy Boy Records, Penalty Recordings, Big Beat Records |
| Associated acts | The Twinz, The Dove Shack |
| Members |
T-Dubb MNMsta DJ Glaze |
| Past members |
Wayniac Trip Locc Domino Travvy Trav (deceased) |
Foesum is an American hip hop group whose members included T-Dubb, MNMsta and DJ Glaze. They recorded an album on Penalty/Tommy Boy Records called Perfection. Perfection was released on October 22, 1996.[1]
History
In 1986, DJ Glaze and MNM created a DJ crew called "Perfection" and recruited members from their local high school. The next three years "Perfection" would rock a number of school dances and parties around town. By the year 1989, Perfection recruited close to a dozen members. Towards the end of Perfection's senior year, the group decided they wanted to produce their own record. Travvy Trav, one of the oldest members of the group went on a search for the dopest MC in Long Beach. Back then, it was a dude named Domino who attended Millikan High School. Perfection recruited Domino and pitched in on the purchase of a Roland 808 drum machine to start making demos in the garage with the intention of getting a record deal. Dozens of songs were cut and members Tender D and Mellow D (now known as The Twinz) were brought into the group by T-Dubb and Travvy Trav, who are in real life first cousins. After many disappointments and some personality conflicts, Domino separated from the group leaving Perfection to fend for themselves. This sparked a collaboration with fellow LB Eastsider Snoop Doggy Dogg called "'Let Em Understand Perfection" on a compilation album called "Please Pass The Mic" which was a diss track aimed at Domino for leaving the crew. This explains one of the lines by Snoop in Dr. Dre's Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang, "Perfection is perfected, so I let em understand."
By 1991, Perfection met Big Wes and Suge Knight who at the time were bodyguards for New Edition. Big Wes had his own label, Lockdown Records in the works and took an interest in the group. After a few months, the name Perfection was dropped and Foesum was born. Foesum (slang for Foursome) had more street appeal and consisted of four members: T-Dubb, Wayniac, MNM and DJ Glaze. Foesum recorded an entire underground album at Solar Records, home of legendary groups like Lakeside, the Whispers and Babyface. Some of the songs that were recorded but never released included 'Ridin' High' (recut on the Twinz album) 'Point of No Return,' 'Knick Knack Patty Wack,' 'Ain't No Fun' featuring Kid Frost, 'Much Love,' and MNM's 'Chrome To The Dome.' After seeing little possibility of obtaining a record deal, Foesum moved on. The group Foesum was inactive for about a year, but in 1992 member Wayniac was approached by Warren G who needed help writing his album "Regulate...G Funk Era." Eventually, Wayniac would team up with his brother Trip Locc to be known to the world as "The Twinz" signing their own record deal on Def Jam Records. In the meantime, this left Glaze, MNM and T-Dubb left to carry on the group themselves. They decided to keep the name and make Travvy Trav (who died from a heart problem during the struggle) the silent fourth member.
In 1994 Foesum hooked up with Tony G and Julio G of the original 1580 AM KDAY Mixmasters. Ruthless Records CEO, Eazy-E put Julio G down to co-host a radio show on LA's 92.3 The Beat called "The Ruthless Radio Show." In just a few weeks and with the help of Tony G, Foesum recorded the songs "Lil Somethin' Somethin' " and "Listen To The Sound." It caught the ear of Eazy E and hip hop entrepreneur Kevin Mitchell in New York who was able to shop deals with Big Beat/Atlantic and Tommy Boy Records. Foesum eventually signed a deal with Atlantic Records in January 1995. The first single 'Lil Somethin' Somethin' was released in the summer of 1995 on Big Beat/Atlantic Records and received major play on the video show "The Box" and radio stations everywhere. The album 'Perfection' was released on Penalty Records/Tommy Boy in the fall of 1996. Since then Foesum has been working on new albums to release on their own independent venture called The Perfection Label including The FoeFathers, A Greatest Hits album, and solo projects.[2]
Discography
| Year | Title | US R&B Chart | US Top 200 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Perfection | – | – |
| 2002 | The Foefathers | – | – |
| 2004 | The Lost Tapez | – | – |
| 2005 | U Heard of Us | – | – |
| 2006 | The G-Mixes | – | – |
| 2010 | Loyalty and Respect | – | – |
| 2012 | Futuristic G'z | – | – |
| 2014 | Gfunk-shun | – | – |
| 2014 | Cali Life | ||
| 2016 | What Legends Are Made Of | – | – |
Solo albums
- 2002 : DJ Glaze – "Ultimate Collaborations" (compilation)
- 2004 : MNMsta – "Walk In My Shoez"
- 2007 : MNMsta – "Here For A Reason"
- 2011 : MNMsta – "Unbreakable"
Compilations
- 2004 : The Greatest Hits – Volume One
- 2011 : The Greatest Hits Volume Two