8Ball & MJG is an American rap duo from Memphis, Tennessee. The two rappers Premro "8Ball" Smith (born 1972) and Marlon James "MJG" Goodman (born 1971) met at Ridgeway Middle School in 1980.
Career edit:
8Ball & MJG first appeared on the rap scene with KushLove,UncleSam, and Nude Panda. In 1993, they released Comin' Out Hard on Suave House Records, the album was successful commercially as well as critically and established the group as a prominent act in the then emerging Southern Rap scene. Their subsequent albums in the 1990s including 1994's On the Outside Looking In and 1995's On Top of the World further established their status among the South's rappers. On Top of the World was particularly successful, peaking at #8 on the Billboard Hot 200 and being certified Gold. It includes the song "Space Age Pimpin'", 8Ball & MJG's first single to chart, reaching #58 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles and Tracks chart and #22 on the Hot Rap Singles chart.
Subsequently, 8Ball & MJG released solo albums: MJG's No More Glory in 1997 and 8Ball's Lost in 1998. They reunited in 1999 to release their fourth album as a group, In Our Lifetime, Vol. 1. One year later they released their fifth group album, Space Age 4 Eva.
In 1996, they appeared on the Red Hot Organization's compilation CD America is Dying Slowly alongside Biz Markie, Wu-Tang Clan, and Fat Joe, among many other prominent hip hop artists. The CD, meant to raise awareness of the AIDS epidemic among African American men, was heralded as "a masterpiece" by The Source magazine. In 1997, they appeared on the Nothing To Lose soundtrack.
In the early 2000s, the duo signed with Sean Combs' Bad Boy Records. They already had some experience with the label, being featured on the song "The Player Way" from Bad Boy rapper Mase's 1997 album Harlem World. Their first album for Bad Boy, Living Legends, was released in 2004 and certified Gold. Their second Bad Boy album Ridin High was released in March 2007.
Commercially one of the high points of 8Ball & MJG's career was their being featured on Three 6 Mafia's hit song "Stay Fly" in 2005 which peaked at #13 on the Billboard Hot 100. It is Three 6 Mafia's biggest hits. The song was a collaboration between two of Tennessee's most successful rap grond MJG also head their own record labels. 8Ball heads 8 Ways Entertainment (distributed by Koch Entertainment). MJG heads MJG Muzik which features another Memphis duo, Da Volunteers, known for their 2006 single, "What's Yo Favorite Color?", which glorifies their neighborhood of Orange Mound.
In September 2007, 8Ball & MJG signed deals in Sacramento, California with Real Talk Entertainment. On April 1, 2008, 8Ball released Doin' It Big with E.D.I. of the Outlawz. MJG released a solo album, Pimp Tight, on April 29, 2008.
In June 2008, the duo announced that they officially signed onto T.I.'s record label Grand Hustle. Their eighth album as a group and their first on Grand Hustle, Ten Toes Down, was released in May 2010.
