Brand Nubian

Brand Nubian is an alternative hip hop crew from New York City. Grand Puba, Sadat X, DJ Alamo and Lord Jamar formed the group in 1989 (see 1989 in music) and soon signed to Elektra Records for the release of All for One in 1990 (see 1990 in music). Generally acclaimed, the album drew fire for militant rhetoric on tracks like "Drop the Bomb"; the controversy helped sales, though the album was still not a great commercial success. Soon after its release, Grand Puba, the crew's leader, left and took DJ Alamo with him, while Jamar and Sadat added DJ Sincere for In God We Trust (1993, 1993 in music), which sold moderately well and was also controversial for its alleged homophobic content. The group's controversy grew with the release of Everything Is Everything (1994, 1994 in music), which contained even more examples of what a growing number of critics labelled "hate speech". They soon broke up and launched solo careers in music and television. The original members reunited in 1998 (see 1998 in music) and released Foundation to glowing reviews, but promptly broke up to continue their respective solo careers.