Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E.
Of Samoan descent, Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. were born and bred in the Los Angeles neighbourhood of Carson, where their father was a Baptist minister. Life was tough, evidence of which exists in their choice of name (slang for a shotgun being discharged). Running with the Bloods gang, every member of the clan had endured a stretch in prison, and one of their brothers, Robert ‘Youngman’ Devoux, was shot dead before the family turned musical. The brothers freely admit to having had involvement with drug production and brokering, as well as gun running. Ultimately the group took the death of their kin as a sign from God, and headed for Japan to escape the gang warfare, staying with their Sumo wrestler cousin. There they subsisted by working as a rap/dance outfit in Tokyo, which convinced them their success could be imported back to LA. Island were the first to see a potential market for a sound which fused gangster imagery with hardcore hip hop, and obtained their signatures. They appeared in Michael Jackson's Disney film Captain EO as breakdancers, as well as television shows Fame and The A-Team. The line-up boasts lead rapper Ganxsta Ridd (aka Paul Devoux), EKA, Rosco, Ganxsta OMB, The Godfather (aka Ted Devoux), and Don-L. Some members of the Los Angeles Police Department still harbour suspicions that the Tribe is merely a front for their continued illicit activities, but powerful singles like Psyko Funk represented a genuine, bullying rap presence. They returned in 1994 with a second album, featuring further gangland narratives like Kreepin' Through Your Hood and Gangstas Of The Industry—a putdown of fake posturing for profit.