Crunk ain’t dead! Crunk ain’t dead! Duke Deuce is back with a new album, Tribe, but it’s not a solo project. This is the inaugural release for his new group, Made Men Mafia. This trio of Tennessee natives was founded by the crunk champion earlier this year, dropping their first single, “Get Nasty,” last month. Deuce has recruited Turnt LilThadd and Dubba G for this joint venture, and it looks to be another effort in keeping this Memphis subgenre alive. These three have been close behind the scenes for years, so we are sure they are excited to bring the vision to life this weekend.
According to a press release, there are some specifics that Duke Deuce and Made Men Mafia wanted to execute on Tribe. “The album, predominantly produced by Duke Deuce, fuses his iconic Memphis crunk with Dubba G’s trap elements and Turnt LilThadd’s high energy.” We definitely think that their goals were realized, as there really aren’t many misses. Even the slower tracks like “How We Live,” still present an engaging listen. But we also have to be transparent and say that the turnt tracks are what people are going to gravitate toward. Deuce doesn’t get enough for his producing chops, but there are some wavy and incredibly funky beats across the 12-song tracklist. Some examples include “Clickin,” which features some haunting keys and synth passages. “Stanga” is another one with its rumbling adlibs and piercing keys. In short, Tribe is a blast, and Deuce may have one of the most enticing new groups in rap right now.
Crime Mob, a pioneering force in the Southern Hip Hop scene, rose to prominence in the mid-2000s. Within that decade, the Atlanta-based group left its mark with hits like “Rock Yo Hips” and the classic “Knuck If You Buck.” With their distinct blend of crunk and unapologetic lyrics, the group earned a dedicated fan base and cemented their place in the genre’s history. Their work has also been sampled by artists like Erica Banks. As the years passed, the members of Crime Mob have navigated various personal and professional paths. For fans of the group who have wondered where they are now, here’s what they have been up to.
Crime Mob
Formed in 2002, Crime Mob was originally a group of six rappers, including M.I.G., Cyco Blac, Diamond, Princess, Lil’ Jay, and Killa C. However, following his arrest in 2003, Killa C left the group before they debuted in the music scene. Subsequently, Crime Mob introduced themselves to the world with their debut single, “Knuck If You Buck,” in 2004. Soon after, in August 2004, their self-titled debut album dropped. It appeared on the Billboard 200 chart, peaking at No. 90. However, it failed to sell enough units to earn a Gold certification from RIAA. Nonetheless, it brought Crime Mob national fame and set the stage for the success of their subsequent release.
In 2006, Crime Mob released their sophomore album, Hated on Mostly. Peaking at No. 31 on the Billboard 200, it is the group’s highest-charting album. While it isn’t certified in the US, the album spawned the hit song “Rock Yo Hips” ft. Lil Scrappy. Being that it peaked at No. 30 on the Billboard Hot 100, “Rock Yo Hips” is the group’s highest-charting single.
Since 2006, Crime Mob has not released any new albums. They disbanded in 2007 and only briefly reunited in 2012 to perform at Atlanta’s Hot 107.9’s Birthday Bash. Everybody but Princess was present for the performance, and afterward, Crime Mob wasn’t seen together again for a while. However, in 2018, Mike Will Made It succeeded in getting the group back together to feature on “We Can Hit” from the Creed II movie soundtrack. While Crime Mob hasn’t released any new material since then, the group has continued to perform at festivals, shows, and whatnot.
After Crime Mob initially broke up, M.I.G. released his mixtape Small Circle, No Squares in 2010. While he hasn’t released any additional projects since, the rapper has continued working on music and performing with Crime Mob. He is also very active on social media. M.I.G. often gives fans glimpses of his personal life, especially on Instagram.
While mostly keeping a low profile, rapper and producer Lil’ Jay has kept busy over the years. He has produced work for several prominent artists, including Rick Ross and Nicki Minaj. Besides his solo endeavors as a producer, Lil’ Jay has shown up for Crime Mob over the years. Moreover, he continues to perform with the group.
Princess
Younger sister of Lil’ Jay, Princess is one of only two women in Crime Mob. Since the group first separated in 2007, Princess has released a number of solo projects. These include Takin Ova the Throne, Dirty Pop, and PSA. In addition, she promised to release an EP titled Southern Comfort in 2016. However, the EP has yet to drop, but she did become a mother in 2016. Subsequently, in 2019, Princess released Vagina Power, a collaborative EP with Diamond.
The youngest member of Crime Mob, Diamond has built up a successful solo career over the years. Although she is no longer a group member, she certainly made her mark when she was and will always be remembered by fans of Crime Mob. Since her exit from the group, Diamond has worked with several prominent artists, including Ludacris, Gucci Mane, and Waka Flocka, among others. With over ten projects to her name, Diamond has the most extensive solo catalog of all members of Crime Mob. Her most recent body of work, Slim Thick Reloaded, was released in February 2022. She also dropped a handful of singles in 2023, including “Pop Off,” “Bab,” and “BBL.”
Like Lil’ Jay, Cyco Blac produced several songs for Crime Mob, including “Go to War” and “All Madden.” While information about Blac is limited, he has continued to produce over the years. Additionally, he has a family and owns a cell phone store in Atlanta. Besides that, he’s maintained a low-key personal life.
Killa C
Although he is one of the founding members of Crime Mob, Killa C unfortunately did not get to enjoy the group’s success. As aforementioned, he dropped out of Crime Mob before their debut single was released. He spent time in jail for failing to register as a sex offender after being found guilty of child molestation. After the ordeal, he kept a very low profile for many years. However, in 2016, he appeared with other Crime Mob members in a post-show interview. Since then, not much has been seen or heard about the rapper.
Duke Deuce defines Memphis rap. While many associate the rise of Crunk, a sub-genre of hip-hop, to the city of Atlanta, the movement actually began in the streets of Memphis in the ’90s. Crunk is often associated with up-tempo Southern raps, curating a sound tailor-made for club-oriented environments. The sub-genre arose from an inherent desire to subvert hip-hop’s familiar sound in the 1990s, extenuating between the West Coast and boom-bapping East Coast. However, as Andre 3000 put it at the 1995 Source Awards, “The South [had] something to say.”
Self-imposed Crunk Star Duke Deuce was destined to rap from the day he was born. As he puts it when speaking to us back in 2022, “S**t run through the family, man. From my granddaddy to my pops, I had to be in this. I grew up in the studio with my pops. He was a producer, engineer, and rapper. He did it all, so I had no choice.” Deuce is the product of generations of creatives in his family, with the work finally paying off in the form of his mainstream success. In essence, there was no other career plan for the outspoken Deuce. It was always going to be the studio or the streets. Towards the beginning of his career, that meant spending more time in the latter.
Duke Deuce Is Reviving Crunk
It wouldn’t be until 2017 that Duke Deuce began to garner real change in the music industry. His hit “Whole Lotta” caught the attention of Atlanta’s Offset, who took it upon himself to pen Deuce to Quality Control. Soon after, he released the enraging mixtape Memphis Massacre. While the now-trilogy didn’t do worldwide numbers, the project spurned the revival of Crunk in the local scene. In addition, he presents a distinguished sound compared to his Memphis contemporaries. Less polished and more raw compared to icons such as Yo Gotti or Key Glock, he’s been an undeniable breath of fresh air.
However, Duke Deuce would get his well-deserved mainstream appeal with the 2019 single “Crunk Ain’t Dead.” The speaker-blasting anthem became so critically acclaimed, in part, due to Deuce’s captivating music video for the track. His dancing throughout the video captured a wave on social media platforms such as TikTok, proving he was a performer and rapper. The multi-talented hyphenate can do it all, from delivering menacing verses to producing. “Crunk Ain’t Dead” exemplified everything great about the sub-genre, blending pure happiness with outspoken grittiness.
Now approaching the halfway mark of 2023, Duke Deuce’s sound has officially reached the top of hip-hop’s mainstream studios. Take Drake’s “Jimmy Cooks” off of Honestly, Nevermind. While most of the record attempts to imitate dancehall grooves, the outro track acted as a prelude to Her Loss. The track samples the echoing “Just Awaken Shaken,” a classic Memphis underground cut, a direct remnant of Deuce’s delivery of the sub-genre. In fact, Duke Deuce talked about directly contacting Drake regarding making music in the near future on Zack Fox’s The Internet People Live podcast.
The year 2022 was big for Duke Deuce. Crunkstar was 52 minutes of pure entertaining rage, featuring artists such as Rico Nasty, GloRilla, and Lil Yachty. Of course, the project’s hard-knocking hardcore hip-hop is there. However, there are also aggressive guitar riffs meandering through the record mix. In addition, there’s been a noted focus on Crunkstar as well as Memphis Massacre III to incorporate Memphis artists. When speaking to Billboard, Duke said, “It was very important. It is my way of giving back so we can keep the momentum as a city. As long as we show love to each other, we will always get bigger. Memphis deserves the spotlight, because we do not have the industry in our city, but we always had the talent. Now that we have the shine, we have to keep it going.”
Regarding Duke Deuce, half of the appeal is his hilarious and outlandish personality. He truly lives within the Crunk persona rather than solely creating music around it. Of course, that energy will always garner detractors and haters of your sound. Back in May, he was hospitalized after a truck nearly ran him over. Fortunately, the truck merely hit his arm without breaking any bones in the process. Now approaching the half-decade mark of his relevancy in hip-hop, Duke Deuce is just getting started.
