Yo Majesty

Blending a bass-heavy sound with crunk’s unhinged energy and punky electro sounds, freaky Tampa hip-hop group Yo Majesty is currently performing as a duo backed by Austin, TX dude DJ Orion—original rapper Shon B. is no longer with rapper Jwl B. and singer Shunda K. The 2006 debut EP Yo was produced by JJ Fad-adoring Brit crew Hard Feelings UK. It featured tracks like the sweaty, hedonistic “Kryptonite Pussy” and the anthemic “Club Action,” with its eminently crowd-pleasing chorus of “Fuck that shit! Fuck that shit!” It’s somewhere between Salt-N-Pepa and The Geto Boys. The group’s been around since the early parts of this decade and have finally gotten around to releasing a full-length on Domino Records.

Futuristically Speaking… Never Be Afraid is as confrontational as it is party-ready. Yo Majesty can get all political on "Night Riders," addressing issues of drugs and racism, or incisively critical on "Leather Jacket," a take-down of too-cool hipsters. But the two also take time to get bottom-heavy and crunk in the club, as on "Party Hearty" and the bouncy "Booty Klap."

Live, the ladies got sweaty, ferocious and, yes, topless–that’s one of the band’s trademark live moves, both a nod towards and cheeky inversion of the overly masculine braggadocio of most hip-hop. And while most emcees are content to give their all for one song and then waste time lazily instructing the deejay to skip around on tracks, Yo Majesty consistently seems on the brink of exhaustion (or rapture), committing fully to every performance. That dedication comes across on Futuristically Speaking more often than not—be thankful it does.

—Chris Hassiotis
02.03.09

After ten years in the game, with enough headline fodder to drum up major attention for the group -- including extremely explicit musical content, consistent on-stage nudity while supporting the Gossip and CSS, and contradictory lifestyle choices (Shunda K., a God-fearing Christian, briefly became Muslim and married a man after coming out as a lesbian) -- NME listed Yo Majesty as one of the top up-and-coming bands of 2008 and the burly Jewel Baynham (Jwl B.) and thuggish LaShunda Flowers (Shunda K.) signed to the British heavyweight Domino Records, home of Arctic Monkeys, Tricky, and Franz Ferdinand. Seemingly a strange fit as an American rap duo, the girls used their new international connections and paired up in the studio with producers Basement Jaxx, Germany's CLP, Switzerland's Mercedes, Sunship, Radio Clit, Dee Kline, and Hard Feelings UK. Released soon after the Yo Kryptonite Pussy EP, which is also known in some circles as the "dirty" EP, hot electro beats, lust, and rage fill their expectedly X-rated debut Futuristically Speaking: Never Be Afraid. Starting with "Fucked Up," a threatening little restraining order of a number, Jwl B. yells "You blame me for fuckin' up your car, I sliced your tires and I ripped out your seats" over an out of tune, distorted guitar and a syrupy beat. An exhausting rant of a song, fortunately they change gears and tone down the animosity here and there to keep from burning out listeners. "Leather Jacket" shows the girls' silly side as they diss a fashion flawed hipster, and "Night Riders" strikes a political chord by tackling the issues of racism and drug abuse without ever sounding overly preachy. But no one tunes in to hear Yo Majesty wax on a provocative level, and they're wise to this. Dancefloor fun is the cornerstone of the record, and the primary lesson to be learned is that there's nothing wrong with grindin' and shakin'. Big bottom crunk singles "Club Action," "Party Hearty," and "Booty Klap" feature Southern-style tongue twisters spat at a pace that would feel fitting in an 8Ball & MJG, Mystikal, and Twista freestyle session. Apt wordsmiths, they have blistering lyrical chops for women or men, and their beat selections are an energetic combination of hot Miami Bass and chilly 8-bit architecture that sounds both futuristic and derivative of old school. Think Spank Rock vs. J.J. Fad, Peaches tag-teaming with Luke Campbell, or DJ Assault against Salt-N-Pepa in a steel cage match. No, make that a mud-wrestling match. ~ Jason Lymangrover, All Music Guide