M.O.P.'s Warriorz Turns 26: The Brownsville Album That Kicked the Door In
October 10, 2000. While radio was polishing everything to a shine, Brownsville's M.O.P. walked into the room with a crowbar. Warriorz hit shelves on Loud Records exactly 26 years ago today.
Photo: M.O.P. in Hamburg, Germany, November 2001. Credit: Mikamote, CC BY-SA 3.0.
The Duo
Billy Danze and Lil' Fame are Mash Out Posse: two MCs from Brownsville, Brooklyn who rap like the mic owes them money. They'd been at it since their 1994 debut single "How About Some Hardcore." Almost-yelled verses, street-level stories, drums that hit like a door getting kicked in. No hooks built for the club, no apologies.
Premier Behind the Boards
DJ Premier is the executive producer and handled the mix, and he personally produced five joints on the record: "Everyday," "Face Off," "On the Front Line," "Follow Instructions" and "Roll Call." Chopped soul, hard snares, scratched hooks. The rest of the album is stacked with DR Period, Fizzy Womack (that's Lil' Fame's producer name), Nottz and the duo themselves, but the Premier cuts are the spine.
"Ante Up" and the Remix
The street anthem was "Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory)," produced by DR Period over a flip of Sam & Dave's "Soul Sister, Brown Sugar," with Funkmaster Flex on the record. On the surface it's a stick-up song. Billy Danze has said it was really about their careers: they'd put out three albums, wrecked every stage and every guest verse, and still weren't getting their respect, so they came to take it.
The remix brought in Busta Rhymes, Remy Ma and Teflon. The video was shot in Bed-Stuy by director Little X and turned into a New York roll call, with cameos from Gang Starr, Method Man, Buckshot, Steele of Smif-N-Wessun, Afu-Ra, Tony Touch, DJ Green Lantern, Easy Mo Bee and Ralph McDaniels. The song has since landed in films and shows including Brown Sugar, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and the dance film You Got Served.
On the Floor
Here's what we know from the floor: ever since this song came out, it doesn't matter if you're in the club or at a b-boy jam. The second "Ante Up" comes on, the floor goes crazy. Every time.
The Numbers
Warriorz debuted at No. 25 on the Billboard 200, No. 5 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and No. 2 on the Independent Albums chart. It was M.O.P.'s biggest album by a wide margin and their last on a major-label-affiliated release. Loud folded in 2002. Both "Ante Up" and "Cold as Ice" (built on a Foreigner sample) broke the UK top ten.
The same day, Ja Rule dropped Rule 3:36. Same shelf, completely different universe. That was the split in 2000: glossy on one side, raw on the other. M.O.P. stayed raw.
Why It Still Matters
Warriorz is a blueprint for hardcore New York rap when nobody's trying to sell it to you, and its fingerprints show up from battle-rap stages to drill. If you've never listened front to back, put it on loud today.
If the beats are your thing, we've got the gear for it:
The Beats Hustler Men's T-ShirtNew to M.O.P.? Quick Answers
Who is M.O.P.? A Brooklyn hip hop duo, Billy Danze and Lil' Fame, known for aggressive, shouted, high-energy rap.
What does M.O.P. stand for? Mash Out Posse.
Where do I start? "Ante Up (Robbing-Hoodz Theory)," then "Cold as Ice."
Why is DJ Premier on this? He's the album's executive producer, mixed it, and produced five of its tracks.
Sources: Wikipedia, The Source, Rock the Bells, Apple Music
