Ying Yang Twins
Encyclopedia
The Ying Yang Twins is an Atlanta
-based American
crunk
rap
duo consisting of Kaine (born Eric Jackson on December 16, 1978) and D-Roc (born De'Angelo Holmes on February 23, 1979). The group debuted in 2000 and rose to mainstream popularity in 2003 collaborating with Lil Jon
in his single "Get Low
". In 2004 and 2005, Ying Yang Twins became more popular with party singles "Salt Shaker
", "What's Happnin", "Shake
", and "Badd
". They have received notoriety for their song "Halftime (ft. Homebwoi)" which is played at New Orleans Saints
homegames after most touchdowns.
Immediately after discovering fellow Atlanta hip hop artist Lil Jon
, A&R
Bryan Leach began talks with representative Michael 'DJ Smurf' Crooms about signing the Ying Yang Twins to TVT Records
. Protracted negotiations meant that a deal was not finalized in time to for the label to release their next album, Alley: The Return of the Ying Yang Twins
, which instead appeared in 2002 on Koch. The album was successful among hip-hop fans in the Southern United States
. The same year, the group appeared on the album Kings of Crunk
by Lil Jon
on the single "Get Low
", and the song was a huge club and radio hit. As Crooms had negotiated only a one-album deal with Koch, the duo was free to finally submit to the advances of TVT, who had impressed them with their recent work with Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz.
Their first album for TVT, Me & My Brother
, was certified platinum
on April 12, 2005 and yielded three more hits — "Whats Happnin!", "Naggin'" and the popular Lil Jon collaboration "Salt Shaker". The same year the duo appeared on Britney Spears
' album In the Zone singing the song "I Got That (Boom Boom)" and her television special of the same name. In 2004, TVT released My Brother & Me
, an album composed largely of remixes which featured a bonus DVD
of the group's videos.
A new album U.S.A. (United State of Atlanta)
appeared in the summer of 2005 as its singles "Wait (The Whisper Song)
", "Badd
", and "Shake
" were dominating urban radio, and U.S.A. (Still United), a collection of outtake
s, remixes, and collaboration
s similar to My Brother & Me
followed in December 2005. It too was accompanied by a DVD featuring music videos and other footage from the U.S.A. (United State of Atlanta)
period.
In 2005, D-Roc and his younger brothers, Mr. Weeny, and Da Birthday Boy, formed the group Da Muzicianz and released their first single, "Camera Phone". Their self-titled album was released on February 28, 2006.
The group's fifth album Chemically Imbalanced was released in November 2006. For this album the Twins collaborated with producers Wyclef Jean
and Keith Duplessis in addition to Mr. Collipark
, who produced a majority of the songs on the group's previous album. The first two singles were the Hall & Oates
-sampling "Dangerous
", featuring Wyclef Jean
, and "Jigglin'". In 2008, the Twins released the mixtape The Official Work
and a promo single titled "Drop". A highlight of the Ying Yang Twins' tour includes a visit to the Epsilon MU Chapter of Sigma Chi
. Here they performed all their hits live in front of a sold out Texas crowd. All of the proceeds from the show went to charity. In 2009, the Twins released their latest album with Deep Records, Ying Yang Forever
, and started a tour titled "Ying Yang Forever Tour".
Their song "Halftime (Stand Up and Get Crunk)" is now a standard in many NFL football stadiums, and is considered to be the unofficial anthem of the New Orleans Saints during their Super Bowl victory season, even though it has been a staple at Saints games since 2006. This song was performed live during the victory parade. The song has also been used in NFL Street 2
and Madden NFL 11
.
On November 3, 2009, Ying Yang Twins released their greatest hits album via The Orchard and BOOTY Records. The album includes top ten billboard hits “What’s Happinin”, “Shake”, “Salt Shaker”, and “Wait (The Whisper Song)” plus three new tracks.
(1991) sesame street
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
-based American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
crunk
Crunk
Crunk is a music style that originated in Memphis, Tennessee in the mid-to-late 1990s and gained mainstream success around 2003–2004. Performers of crunk music are sometimes referred to as crunksters. An archetypal crunk track most frequently uses a drum machine rhythm, heavy bassline, and...
rap
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
duo consisting of Kaine (born Eric Jackson on December 16, 1978) and D-Roc (born De'Angelo Holmes on February 23, 1979). The group debuted in 2000 and rose to mainstream popularity in 2003 collaborating with Lil Jon
Lil Jon
Jonathan Mortimer Smith , better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, music producer, entrepreneur, and occasional disc jockey who was a member of the group Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz. Lil Jon formed the group in 1997, and the group released several albums between then and 2004...
in his single "Get Low
Get Low
Get Low can mean:* "Get Low" , a song by Lil Jon and the Eastside Boyz featuring Ying Yang Twins* "Get Low", a song by Lloyd Banks from the Get Rich or Die Tryin soundtrack* "Get Low", a song by Stat Quo from Eminem Presents The Re-Up...
". In 2004 and 2005, Ying Yang Twins became more popular with party singles "Salt Shaker
Salt Shaker (song)
"Salt Shaker" is a crunk music song released by rap group the Ying Yang Twins featuring Lil Jon and The East Side Boyz. It was released on their third studio album, Me & My Brother . The song was released as the album's second single...
", "What's Happnin", "Shake
Shake (Ying Yang Twins song)
"Shake" is the third single from the Ying Yang Twins album, U.S.A. . It features the rapper Pitbull. The song contains a sample of "Din Daa Daa" by George Kranz....
", and "Badd
Badd
"Badd" is the second single from the Ying Yang Twins' album U.S.A. . It features Mike Jones and Mr. Collipark. In 2006 it reached #6 on the US Rap chart and #29 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was produced by Mr. Collipark...
". They have received notoriety for their song "Halftime (ft. Homebwoi)" which is played at New Orleans Saints
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....
homegames after most touchdowns.
Career
Ying Yang Twins debuted in 2000 with the single "Whistle While You Twurk", which was played on urban and pop radio stations and peaked at #17 on the US R&B/Hip-Hop chart. They grew even more famous when they toured with Juz tha King, Kat Nu and Demo Dil on the tour called King Me. Their full-length debut album, Thug Walkin, came out later that year.Immediately after discovering fellow Atlanta hip hop artist Lil Jon
Lil Jon
Jonathan Mortimer Smith , better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, music producer, entrepreneur, and occasional disc jockey who was a member of the group Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz. Lil Jon formed the group in 1997, and the group released several albums between then and 2004...
, A&R
A&R
Artists and repertoire is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists. It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label.- Finding talent :...
Bryan Leach began talks with representative Michael 'DJ Smurf' Crooms about signing the Ying Yang Twins to TVT Records
TVT Records
TVT Records was an independent US record label founded by Steve Gottlieb. Over the course of its 25 year history the label released some 25 Gold, Platinum and Multi-platinum releases. Its roster included Nine Inch Nails, Ja Rule, Lil Jon, Underworld, The KLF, Sevendust, Brian Jonestown Massacre and...
. Protracted negotiations meant that a deal was not finalized in time to for the label to release their next album, Alley: The Return of the Ying Yang Twins
Alley: The Return of the Ying Yang Twins
Alley: The Return of the Ying Yang Twins is the second studio album by Atlanta-based rap duo Ying Yang Twins. It was released on March 26, 2002. The album debuted at #79 on the Billboard 200 and peaked at #58 two weeks later. The album also sold over 400,000 copies in the US- Track listing :#...
, which instead appeared in 2002 on Koch. The album was successful among hip-hop fans in the Southern United States
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
. The same year, the group appeared on the album Kings of Crunk
Kings of Crunk
Kings of Crunk is the fourth studio album by Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz.Based on the success of the album's second single "Get Low", Kings of Crunk made the top twenty of the US album chart in September 2003...
by Lil Jon
Lil Jon
Jonathan Mortimer Smith , better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, music producer, entrepreneur, and occasional disc jockey who was a member of the group Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz. Lil Jon formed the group in 1997, and the group released several albums between then and 2004...
on the single "Get Low
Get Low (song)
"Get Low" is a popular song by Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz featuring Ying Yang Twins, released in 2003. It is featured on the 2002 album Kings of Crunk. The song reached number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart and number 20 on the US Hot Digital Songs...
", and the song was a huge club and radio hit. As Crooms had negotiated only a one-album deal with Koch, the duo was free to finally submit to the advances of TVT, who had impressed them with their recent work with Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz.
Their first album for TVT, Me & My Brother
Me & My Brother
Me & My Brother is the third studio album by Atlanta-based rap duo Ying Yang Twins. The album debuted at #11 on the Billboard 200 with approximately 62,000 copies sold in the first week released. It remained on the charts for 54 weeks and was certified platinum by the RIAA with an excess of 1...
, was certified platinum
RIAA certification
In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...
on April 12, 2005 and yielded three more hits — "Whats Happnin!", "Naggin'" and the popular Lil Jon collaboration "Salt Shaker". The same year the duo appeared on Britney Spears
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
' album In the Zone singing the song "I Got That (Boom Boom)" and her television special of the same name. In 2004, TVT released My Brother & Me
My Brother & Me
My Brother & Me is the first Remix album by Atlanta-based rap duo Ying Yang Twins. The album was a successful hit reaching #11 in the U.S. and #68 on the UK Charts...
, an album composed largely of remixes which featured a bonus DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
of the group's videos.
A new album U.S.A. (United State of Atlanta)
U.S.A. (United State of Atlanta)
U.S.A. is the fourth studio album by Atlanta-based rap duo Ying Yang Twins. The album debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 with approximately 201,000 copies sold in the first week released making the duo's highest charting album to date...
appeared in the summer of 2005 as its singles "Wait (The Whisper Song)
Wait (The Whisper Song)
"Wait " is a noted snap song released by Atlanta crunk rap duo Ying Yang Twins off their album U.S.A. . The song originally written by Lettie Thompson consists of a minimal bass pulse, a few finger-snaps, and whispered, sexually explicit lyrics...
", "Badd
Badd
"Badd" is the second single from the Ying Yang Twins' album U.S.A. . It features Mike Jones and Mr. Collipark. In 2006 it reached #6 on the US Rap chart and #29 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was produced by Mr. Collipark...
", and "Shake
Shake (Ying Yang Twins song)
"Shake" is the third single from the Ying Yang Twins album, U.S.A. . It features the rapper Pitbull. The song contains a sample of "Din Daa Daa" by George Kranz....
" were dominating urban radio, and U.S.A. (Still United), a collection of outtake
Outtake
An outtake is a portion of a work that is removed in the editing process and not included in the work's final, publicly released version. In the digital era, significant outtakes have been appended to CD and DVD reissues of many albums and films as bonus tracks or features, in film often, but not...
s, remixes, and collaboration
Collaboration
Collaboration is working together to achieve a goal. It is a recursive process where two or more people or organizations work together to realize shared goals, — for example, an intriguing endeavor that is creative in nature—by sharing...
s similar to My Brother & Me
My Brother & Me
My Brother & Me is the first Remix album by Atlanta-based rap duo Ying Yang Twins. The album was a successful hit reaching #11 in the U.S. and #68 on the UK Charts...
followed in December 2005. It too was accompanied by a DVD featuring music videos and other footage from the U.S.A. (United State of Atlanta)
U.S.A. (United State of Atlanta)
U.S.A. is the fourth studio album by Atlanta-based rap duo Ying Yang Twins. The album debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 with approximately 201,000 copies sold in the first week released making the duo's highest charting album to date...
period.
In 2005, D-Roc and his younger brothers, Mr. Weeny, and Da Birthday Boy, formed the group Da Muzicianz and released their first single, "Camera Phone". Their self-titled album was released on February 28, 2006.
The group's fifth album Chemically Imbalanced was released in November 2006. For this album the Twins collaborated with producers Wyclef Jean
Wyclef Jean
Wyclef Jean is a Haitian musician, record producer, and politician. At age nine, Jean moved to the United States with his family and has spent much of his life in the country...
and Keith Duplessis in addition to Mr. Collipark
Mr. Collipark
Michael Crooms, better known by his stage name Mr. Collipark and also known as DJ Smurf, is a hip hop producer and the president of his own Atlanta-based record label, Collipark Records....
, who produced a majority of the songs on the group's previous album. The first two singles were the Hall & Oates
Hall & Oates
Hall & Oates are an American musical duo composed of Daryl Hall and John Oates. They achieved their greatest fame in the late 1970s and early to mid-1980s. Both sing and play instruments. They specialized in a fusion of rock and roll and rhythm and blues styles, which they dubbed "rock and soul."...
-sampling "Dangerous
Dangerous (Ying Yang Twins song)
"Dangerous" is the first single by the Ying Yang Twins taken from their album Chemically Imbalanced.-Song information:The song features Wyclef Jean and Mr. Collipark, and is produced by Wyclef Jean. It contains samples from Ram Jam's version of Black Betty...
", featuring Wyclef Jean
Wyclef Jean
Wyclef Jean is a Haitian musician, record producer, and politician. At age nine, Jean moved to the United States with his family and has spent much of his life in the country...
, and "Jigglin'". In 2008, the Twins released the mixtape The Official Work
The Official Work
The Official Work is a mixtape by Atlanta-based rap duo Ying Yang Twins, released on August 26, 2008.-Track listing:# "Rollin'" - 3:42# "Ying Yanguage " - 0:57# "Don't Trip" - 4:06# "Swag" - 3:15# "What Ying Yang Mean " - 0:27...
and a promo single titled "Drop". A highlight of the Ying Yang Twins' tour includes a visit to the Epsilon MU Chapter of Sigma Chi
Sigma Chi
Sigma Chi is the largest and one of the oldest college Greek-letter secret and social fraternities in North America with 244 active chapters and more than . Sigma Chi was founded on June 28, 1855 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio when members split from Delta Kappa Epsilon...
. Here they performed all their hits live in front of a sold out Texas crowd. All of the proceeds from the show went to charity. In 2009, the Twins released their latest album with Deep Records, Ying Yang Forever
Ying Yang Forever
Ying Yang Forever is the sixth studio album by Atlanta-based rap duo Ying Yang Twins. All of the tracks were Produced by Joe Traxx.-Disc One:# "We Back Intro" - 0:29# "Ying Yang Forever" - 4:55# "Yall Ain't Ready" - 4:44...
, and started a tour titled "Ying Yang Forever Tour".
Their song "Halftime (Stand Up and Get Crunk)" is now a standard in many NFL football stadiums, and is considered to be the unofficial anthem of the New Orleans Saints during their Super Bowl victory season, even though it has been a staple at Saints games since 2006. This song was performed live during the victory parade. The song has also been used in NFL Street 2
NFL Street 2
NFL Street 2 is American football video game developed by EA Tiburon and published by Electronic Arts. It was originally released for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube on December 22, 2004...
and Madden NFL 11
Madden NFL 11
Madden NFL 11 is an American football video game based on the National Football League published by EA Sports and developed by EA Tiburon. It is the 22nd annual installment in the bestselling Madden NFL video game franchise. It was released on August 10, 2010 in North America, and on August 13 in...
.
On November 3, 2009, Ying Yang Twins released their greatest hits album via The Orchard and BOOTY Records. The album includes top ten billboard hits “What’s Happinin”, “Shake”, “Salt Shaker”, and “Wait (The Whisper Song)” plus three new tracks.
Studio albums
- Alley: The Return of the Ying Yang TwinsAlley: The Return of the Ying Yang TwinsAlley: The Return of the Ying Yang Twins is the second studio album by Atlanta-based rap duo Ying Yang Twins. It was released on March 26, 2002. The album debuted at #79 on the Billboard 200 and peaked at #58 two weeks later. The album also sold over 400,000 copies in the US- Track listing :#...
(2002) - Me & My BrotherMe & My BrotherMe & My Brother is the third studio album by Atlanta-based rap duo Ying Yang Twins. The album debuted at #11 on the Billboard 200 with approximately 62,000 copies sold in the first week released. It remained on the charts for 54 weeks and was certified platinum by the RIAA with an excess of 1...
(2003) - U.S.A. (United State of Atlanta)U.S.A. (United State of Atlanta)U.S.A. is the fourth studio album by Atlanta-based rap duo Ying Yang Twins. The album debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 with approximately 201,000 copies sold in the first week released making the duo's highest charting album to date...
(2005) aka U.nited S.tate of A.tlanta - Chemically Imbalanced (2006)
- Ying Yang ForeverYing Yang ForeverYing Yang Forever is the sixth studio album by Atlanta-based rap duo Ying Yang Twins. All of the tracks were Produced by Joe Traxx.-Disc One:# "We Back Intro" - 0:29# "Ying Yang Forever" - 4:55# "Yall Ain't Ready" - 4:44...
(2009)
Compilation albums
- Legendary Status: Ying Yang Twins Greatest Hits (2009)
- Gumbo Vol. 1 (2010)
- Gumbo Vol. 2 (2010)
Awards and Nominations
- (2000) Best Rap Song with Group "Whistle While You Twerk" - Won
- (2000) Best New Artist - Nominated
- (2002) Best Rap Song with Group "Say I Yi Yi" - Won
- (2003) Best Rap Song with Group "Get Low" ft. Lil JonLil JonJonathan Mortimer Smith , better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, music producer, entrepreneur, and occasional disc jockey who was a member of the group Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz. Lil Jon formed the group in 1997, and the group released several albums between then and 2004...
& The Eastside Boyz - Nominated - (2005) Best Rap Song with Group "Wait (The Whisper Song)" - Nominated
(1991) sesame street