Brand Nubian
From the Bronx, New York, and led by Grand Puba (b. Maxwell Dixon; ex-Masters Of Ceremony), Brand Nubian's work is as cool, classy and unaffected as hip hop comes. Joined by Lord Jamar (b. Lorenzo Dechelaus, 17 September 1968, New Rochelle, New York, USA), Sadat X (b. Derrick Murphy, 29 December 1968, New Rochelle, New York, USA) and DJ Alamo (the latter two cousins), Puba sings Muslim-influenced lyrics, backed by steals from some of soul music's greatest moments. Samples of James Brown and Roy Ayers ensured the backing was never less than interesting. In 1991 Grand Puba split to go solo, taking DJ Alamo with him, but Brand Nubian elected to continue as a three piece unit with the addition of DJ Sincere. Their first album following his defection was IN GOD WE TRUST, focused more on their intensely held beliefs with tracks such as The Meaning Of The 5%, Allah And Justice and Ain't No Mystery. The album title referred to a significant element of Five Percent doctrine. ‘We represent ourselves as god’, said Lord Jamar, ‘and we're not trusting any mystery in the sky to help us with what we have to do. When a religion teaches you to depend on something else instead of being self-sufficient, then that becomes the downfall of people.’