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The Professionals (hip-hop)
Encyclopedia
The Professionals are an American hip-hop duo based out of Lakeland, Florida
, a small city between Tampa and Orlando, Florida. The group's musical style is often referenced as a mixture of true East Coast hip-hop, with influences of Dirty South, Rock
and Soul music. The duo consists of Florida natives Garrett "G-Wes" Wesley and Kevin "Tygerstylez" Davis. The group's music has been featured on MTV
, as well as various music compilations and soundtracks.
in Lakeland, Florida where they both worked. G-Wes began making music using MTV's Music Generator
and his Sony PlayStation 2
to make beats which allowed them to write in lieu of professional production. Originally dubbing themselves the "Ill Emcees", the duo later changed its name to The Professionals, citing the movie "The Professional"
as a major influence in their music and personal style. The group was originally a trio until the third member, Rico, removed himself from the group and moved away. The group's earliest tracks were produced by Thomas Love with a simple beat machine in his garage. Their underground single "Just Gettin' Started" was written and produced in just over an hour and was well-received in the local underground music scene.
Tired of the culture consistent with today's hip-hop/rap music (gaudy jewelry, extra-long t-shirts, guns, materialism, etc.) the group wanted to stand out from other acts. The group is heavily inspired by The Blues Brothers
and the Redman's "Whateva Man
" video which also draws from The Blues Brothers. G-Wes & Tygerstylez perform in black suits and ties with white dress shirts layered underneath. G-Wes typically wears a cap while Tygerstylez often wears a bandana
and/or black gloves. Keeping true to their hip-hop roots while remaining comfortable on stage, the group complete their wardrobe with classic Adidas
Superstar shelltoe shoes. Their look is referenced on their song "Black Suit".
While continuing their full-time jobs, the duo released an EP in 2004 titled "Dangerous", which was led by the single of the same name. Looking to upgrade their production, the album was produced by Rafael Torres of UP2U Music with contributions by G-Wes. The album was not sold, but distrubted freely to labels, record executives, A&Rs and the general public. After releasing the EP, the group began writing more music with the purpose of releasing a full album. A mixtape track titled "Chaos", which featured instrumentals produced by The Neptunes
and Wu-Tang Clan
has been immensely popular and die-hard fans consider the track The Professionals' best work to date. The group continued to push "Dangerous" and managed to get their music featured on 93.3 FLZ and Wild 98.7, and while the music was well-received, the group did not receive the notoriety they were seeking.
/metal
band with friends Mike Barfield and Adam Klatka while continuing work on his Internet
podcast
, The Cousin Jay & Garrett Show with childhood friend Adam "Cousin Jay" Ward. Tygerstylez returned to his original love of mixed martial arts
and participated in various contests in Florida. While they both headed in different directions, G-Wes and Tygerstylez were merely pursuing their other interests with full intention to returning to the group in 2008. G-Wes, in an interview in 2007 stated "with different priorities in my life and Kevin's (Davis), "The Professionals are on hiatus until we can both devote more time to the group."
's Making the Band
. The group is also composing tracks for the upcoming movie "Stiletto".
Frustrated by the lack of music venues and musical gatherings in Polk County, Florida
, the group, along with fellow local act Hierarchy, created the Central Florida Music Showcase. According to G-Wes, the showcase was created to "not just provide a way for hip-hop and urban acts to be seen, but to also provide an outlet for performers of all genres in Central Florida." The first show was held May 24, 2008 at the Theatre Winter Haven, becoming the first urban music act to ever be held at the historic theatrical venue. The nearly four-hour show, hosted by comedian Tony B., featured fellow local acts Hierarchy, Saiah, C.B., Twan D the Student, Deshun, and Yung Kelz.
and Morpheus
but was later removed and has not been found for download since.
Lakeland, Florida
Lakeland is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States, located approximately midway between Tampa and Orlando along Interstate 4. According to the 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimate, the city had a population of 94,406...
, a small city between Tampa and Orlando, Florida. The group's musical style is often referenced as a mixture of true East Coast hip-hop, with influences of Dirty South, Rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
and Soul music. The duo consists of Florida natives Garrett "G-Wes" Wesley and Kevin "Tygerstylez" Davis. The group's music has been featured on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
, as well as various music compilations and soundtracks.
The Beginning (2000)
G-Wes and Tygerstylez met in 2000 at GeicoGEICO
The Government Employees Insurance Company is an auto insurance company. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway that as of 2007 provided coverage for more than 10 million motor vehicles owned by more than 9 million policy holders. GEICO writes private passenger automobile insurance...
in Lakeland, Florida where they both worked. G-Wes began making music using MTV's Music Generator
Music (software)
Music is the common name of a series of music creation programs created by Jester Interactive and published by Codemasters. The programs are tools that allow the user to create music. This can be done either by inserting pre-made riffs and other sound samples, or creating original riffs by...
and his Sony PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
to make beats which allowed them to write in lieu of professional production. Originally dubbing themselves the "Ill Emcees", the duo later changed its name to The Professionals, citing the movie "The Professional"
Léon (film)
Léon is a 1994 French thriller film written and directed by Luc Besson...
as a major influence in their music and personal style. The group was originally a trio until the third member, Rico, removed himself from the group and moved away. The group's earliest tracks were produced by Thomas Love with a simple beat machine in his garage. Their underground single "Just Gettin' Started" was written and produced in just over an hour and was well-received in the local underground music scene.
Tired of the culture consistent with today's hip-hop/rap music (gaudy jewelry, extra-long t-shirts, guns, materialism, etc.) the group wanted to stand out from other acts. The group is heavily inspired by The Blues Brothers
The Blues Brothers
The Blues Brothers are an American blues and soul revivalist band founded in 1978 by comedy actors Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as part of a musical sketch on Saturday Night Live...
and the Redman's "Whateva Man
Whateva Man
"Whateva Man" is the second single released for Redman's third album, Muddy Waters. It is a mellow track produced by and featuring Erick Sermon, although he is not in the video. Method Man and Keith Murray appears in the video, although they are not on the song. It reached #42 on the Billboard Hot...
" video which also draws from The Blues Brothers. G-Wes & Tygerstylez perform in black suits and ties with white dress shirts layered underneath. G-Wes typically wears a cap while Tygerstylez often wears a bandana
Bandana
Bandana can refer to:*Another name for a kerchief*Bandana *Bandana *Bandana, Kentucky, a small town in the United States*Y Bandana, a Welsh alternative rock band.**Y Bandana , their self-titled debut album....
and/or black gloves. Keeping true to their hip-hop roots while remaining comfortable on stage, the group complete their wardrobe with classic Adidas
Adidas
Adidas AG is a German sports apparel manufacturer and parent company of the Adidas Group, which consists of the Reebok sportswear company, TaylorMade-Adidas golf company , and Rockport...
Superstar shelltoe shoes. Their look is referenced on their song "Black Suit".
While continuing their full-time jobs, the duo released an EP in 2004 titled "Dangerous", which was led by the single of the same name. Looking to upgrade their production, the album was produced by Rafael Torres of UP2U Music with contributions by G-Wes. The album was not sold, but distrubted freely to labels, record executives, A&Rs and the general public. After releasing the EP, the group began writing more music with the purpose of releasing a full album. A mixtape track titled "Chaos", which featured instrumentals produced by The Neptunes
The Neptunes
The Neptunes are a record production duo consisting of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, who are credited with contributing the sound for many successful hip hop, R&B and pop artists in the late-1990s and 2000s...
and Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
The Wu-Tang Clan is a hip-hop group from Staten Island that consists of RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and the late Ol' Dirty Bastard. They are frequently joined by fellow childhood friend Cappadonna, a quasi member of the group...
has been immensely popular and die-hard fans consider the track The Professionals' best work to date. The group continued to push "Dangerous" and managed to get their music featured on 93.3 FLZ and Wild 98.7, and while the music was well-received, the group did not receive the notoriety they were seeking.
Hiatus (2005-2006)
In late 2007, there was speculation the group would disband and go their separate ways after keeping relatively quiet with no new music released in 2005 or 2006 and only one live performance. It was believed that G-Wes was looking to compose and perform new music whenever possible while Tygerstylez had a distinct direction on where the group should be headed. Fans of the group credit this supposed disagreement as the basis for the group's inactivity. G-Wes, always looking to expand and experiment musically, would later help form Project Reign, a rap/rockRock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
/metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band with friends Mike Barfield and Adam Klatka while continuing work on his Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
podcast
Podcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
, The Cousin Jay & Garrett Show with childhood friend Adam "Cousin Jay" Ward. Tygerstylez returned to his original love of mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...
and participated in various contests in Florida. While they both headed in different directions, G-Wes and Tygerstylez were merely pursuing their other interests with full intention to returning to the group in 2008. G-Wes, in an interview in 2007 stated "with different priorities in my life and Kevin's (Davis), "The Professionals are on hiatus until we can both devote more time to the group."
The Return (2008)
After a break of nearly two years, The Professionals returned to making music in 2008. The year has indeed proven to be one of resurgence for the group as they have contributed music for various television shows, movies, and music compilations and soundtracks. The single Dangerous was featured during the fourth season of MTVMTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's Making the Band
Making the Band
Making the Band is an ABC/MTV reality television series that exists in separate iterations, each iteration focusing on a specific music act. It spawned musical acts O-Town, Da Band, Danity Kane, Day26, and Donnie Klang...
. The group is also composing tracks for the upcoming movie "Stiletto".
Frustrated by the lack of music venues and musical gatherings in Polk County, Florida
Polk County, Florida
Polk County is located in central Florida between the Tampa Bay and Greater Orlando metropolitan areas. The county was established by the state government in 1861 on the eve of the American Civil War and named after former United States president James K. Polk. The county seat is Bartow and its...
, the group, along with fellow local act Hierarchy, created the Central Florida Music Showcase. According to G-Wes, the showcase was created to "not just provide a way for hip-hop and urban acts to be seen, but to also provide an outlet for performers of all genres in Central Florida." The first show was held May 24, 2008 at the Theatre Winter Haven, becoming the first urban music act to ever be held at the historic theatrical venue. The nearly four-hour show, hosted by comedian Tony B., featured fellow local acts Hierarchy, Saiah, C.B., Twan D the Student, Deshun, and Yung Kelz.
Future projects
The group is currently writing and soliciting tracks for their release scheduled in 2009 titled "The Definition"(unconfirmed title). The group plans to incorporate more melody and a host of different sounds into the new album by enlisting guitarist Mike Barfield and (unconfirmed) guest appearances by Twan D the Student, Deshun, Saiah and others. The rumored first single, "Black Suit", was previously leaked to music download sites such as LimewireLimeWire
LimeWire is a free peer-to-peer file sharing client program that runs on Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and other operating systems supported by the Java software platform. LimeWire uses the gnutella network as well as the BitTorrent protocol. A free software version and a purchasable "enhanced"...
and Morpheus
Morpheus (computer program)
Morpheus was a file sharing and searching peer-to-peer client for Microsoft Windows, developed and distributed by the company StreamCast, that originally used the Opennap protocol, but later supported many different peer-to-peer protocols...
but was later removed and has not been found for download since.
Singles
- 2003: Dangerous
- 2003: Dance All Night
- 2004: 5 Deadly Venoms (feat. S.K. & High Society)
- 2007: Bang Bang
- 2008: Black Suit
External links
- The Professionals at MySpaceMySpaceMyspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
- The Professionals at SoundclickSoundClickSoundClick is a music-based social community. It offers bands, artists, and music labels a platform for self-promotion. Songs can be streamed, downloaded in MP3 format, sold through the store, or licensed to others. SoundClick compiles daily charts for various genres, based on how many times a...
- The Professionals at YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
- The Professionals at Loud.comLoud RecordsLoud Records is a subsidiary of SRC Records founded by Steve Rifkind in 1992.Loud was a hip hop label which has released material by acts such as Wu-Tang Clan, Big Punisher, Mobb Deep, Krayzie Bone, The Beatnuts, M.O.P., Tha Alkaholiks, Pete Rock, Lil' Flip, Three 6 Mafia, Project Pat, Xzibit,...
- The Cousin Jay & Garrett Show at Liberated SyndicationLiberated SyndicationLiberated Syndication, often shortened to LibSyn, is a podcast media hosting company which opened in November 2004. It offers hosting of files to podcast producers under a monthly subscription model...
- Central Florida Music Showcase at MySpaceMySpaceMyspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....