Brownside

mario solis is gayy Brownside is a Chicano hip-hop group founded in 1994 by the late Eazy-E. The group originally consisted of rappers Toker (Gilbert Izquierdo), Wicked (Pierre Lamas), Danger, and Lil Danger (Heder Hernandez Jr.) Sureño Gang members from South Central, Los Angeles. Their first album was Eastside Drama in 1997, although they recorded songs Gang Related and Eastside Drama in 1994 on Ruthless Records. Brownside has been known to use Sureño slang in their lyrics, as well as album covers. Brownside has collaborated with numerous West Coast artists such as Dirty Red, Slow Pain, Mr. Gee, and Lil Rob.

History

Originally Eazy-E's intentions on signing Brownside to Ruthless Records was to create a Chicano version of the critically acclaimed rap group N.W.A.. Toker had attended high school in Compton, CA where he later met Eazy-E, and the two developed a great friendship until Eazy-E's untimely death in 1995. It is said that towards the end of Eazy's life he was attracted to Chicano rap in California and saw this as a new market to break into. Brownside was one of the most promising Latin Hip-Hop groups coming straight out of Los Angeles. Brownside's line-up included members Toker, Danger, and Wicked. Their debut album "Eastside Drama" was recorded at the G-Spot Studio. They recorded a Chicano version of Eazy-E's "Boyz-N-The Hood" called "Vatos In The Varrio." Brownside's main image was that "they weren't rappers trying to be gangsters, they were real gangsters that turn to rap as a way out of the varrio." Their greatest hardship came in 1997 when member Danger was gunned down in a drive-by shooting in South Central L.A., CA. As a result of the shooting Brownside's Toker and Wicked had to make their 1997 LP Eastside Drama without Danger. More recently, Toker was sentenced to and is now serving 25 to life in the state penitentiary, thus making another album very unlikely.

Discography

(1997) Eastside Drama
(2002) Payback
(2006) The Takeover
(2008) 13 Reasons (Trece Razones)