Souls of Mischief

Souls of Mischief is a hip hop group from Oakland, California, that is also part of the hip hop collective Hieroglyphics. The Souls of Mischief formed in 1991 and is composed of rappers A-Plus, Opio, Phesto, and Tajai.

Souls of Mischief
OriginOakland, California, U.S.
GenresWest Coast hip hop
Years active1993–infinity (present)
LabelsHieroglyphics Imperium, Jive/BMG
Associated actsHieroglyphics, Extra Prolific, The Pharcyde
MembersA-Plus
Phesto
Opio
Tajai

History

East Oakland native Tajai began rhyming with future bandmate A-Plus at age 8, while both were in elementary school.[1] Tajai and Phesto met later in junior high school.[2] Tajai recruited his best friend Phesto in middle school and A-Plus brought Opio into the budding act in high school[3] before making its major-label debut on Jive Records with the group's well-received album 93 'til Infinity, in 1993.[2]

The group is part of the hip-hop collective Hieroglyphics, along with emcees Del tha Funkee Homosapien, Casual, Pep Love, Jaybiz, and producer Domino.[2] The group participated as full members in all three of Hieroglyphics' studio albums: 1998's 3rd Eye Vision, 2003's Full Circle, and 2013's The Kitchen.

93 ’til Infinity is the group's highest charting album to date (#17 Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums; #85 Billboard 200) and, in January, 1998, was named one of the Top 100 Rap albums by The Source magazine.

The group stayed with Jive for one more album, 1995's No Man's Land, before being released from the label during the same year.

The group released two albums on Hiero's self-owned independent label, Hieroglyphics Imperium Recordings: 1999's Focus, and 2000's Trilogy: Conflict, Climax, Resolution.

On October 30, 2006, Hierocast (Hieroglyphics' official podcast), Del tha Funkee Homosapien reported that the Souls of Mischief was currently working on its next studio album with Prince Paul (De La Soul, Gravediggaz, Handsome Boy Modeling School).

On January 6, 2009, Souls of Mischief released the Tour Stories EP produced by Domino and co-produced by Prince Paul. The song is taken from the group's fifth studio album, Montezuma's Revenge, released on Hieroglyphics Imperium.

In 2013, a documentary about the band was released entitled Til Infinity: The Souls of Mischief.[4] Produced and directed by Shomari Smith, it reflected on the 20 year anniversary of the band's debut album 93 'Til Infinity and includes over 50 interviews with prominent MCs, DJs, and producers of the era.

During the 2017 NBA Playoffs, Gatorade released a television commercial promoting Gatorade Flow, which featured Indiana Pacers star forward Paul George and the instrumental music of Souls of Mischief' 93 'Til Infinity.[5]

Discography

Studio albums
List of studio albums, with selected chart positions
Title Album details Peak chart positions
US
[6]		 US
Ind.
[7]		 US
R&B
[8]		 US
Rap
[9]
93 'til Infinity 85—17—
No Man's Land
  • Released: October 10, 1995
  • Label: Jive
  • Formats: Cassette, CD, digital download, LP
 111—27—
Focus ————
Trilogy: Conflict, Climax, Resolution
  • Released: October 24, 2000
  • Label: Hieroglyphics Imperium
  • Formats: Cassette, CD, digital download, LP
 —37——
Montezuma's Revenge
  • Released: December 1, 2009
  • Label: Clear Label
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 ——93—
There Is Only Now
  • Released: August 26, 2014
  • Label: Linear Labs
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 ——3520
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Singles
List of singles, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
US
[10]		 US
Dance
Sales
[11]		 US
R&B
[12]		 US
Rap
[13]
"93 'til Infinity" 1993 72206511 93 'til Infinity
"That's When Ya Lost" ———[upper-alpha 1]24
"Get the Girl, Grab the Money and Run" 1994 —23—50 A Low Down Dirty Shame soundtrack
"Never No More" —15—[upper-alpha 2]46 93 'til Infinity
"Rock It Like That" 1995 —22—[upper-alpha 3]44 No Man's Land
"Fa Sho Fa Real" ————
"Shooting Stars" 1999 ———— Focus
"Step Off" ————
"Medication" 2000 ———— Trilogy: Conflict, Climax, Resolution
"Bad Business" ————
"Acupuncture" ————
"Soundscience" ————
"Tour Stories" 2009 ———— Montezuma's Revenge
"Proper Aim" ————
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Notes
  1. "That's When Ya Lost" did not enter the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number twenty-two on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart.[14]
  2. "Never No More" did not enter the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number twenty on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart.[14]
  3. "Rock It Like That" did not enter the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number seventeen on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart.[14]

References
  1. "Tajai Interview". Gorilla Movement.com. 2005. Retrieved 2007-02-03.
  2. "Phesto Interview". StinkE Productions. 1996-07-18. Archived from the original on 2006-07-19. Retrieved 2007-02-03.
  3. "Souls Of Mischief - Humanity Magazine". Mag.citizensofhumanity.com. 2020-03-02. Retrieved 2020-03-06.
  4. Smith, Shomari, Til Infinity: The Souls of Mischief (Documentary), Stretch Armstrong, Adisa Banjoko, Yasiin Bey, Casual, SkyFre Productions, retrieved 2020-10-31
  5. "Ball is Life Article". ballislife.com. 2017. Retrieved 2017-04-20.
  6. "Souls of Mischief – Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
  7. "Souls of Mischief – Chart History: Independent Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
  8. "Souls of Mischief – Chart History: Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
  9. "Souls of Mischief – Chart History: Top Rap Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
  10. "Souls of Mischief – Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
  11. "Souls of Mischief – Awards". AllMusic. TiVo Corporation. Archived from the original on September 9, 2013. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  12. "Souls of Mischief – Chart History: Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
  13. "Souls of Mischief – Chart History: Hot Rap Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
  14. "Chart search – "Souls of Mischief", Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
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