Pitch Black

Can you envision the perfect mc? Would he/she be hardcore, conscious, funny, clever? What type of flow would he/she kick: laidback, ferocious, melodic? In 1994 five Brooklyn cats were building on this exact question, and decided that one person could never fully embody hip-hop. Only a group could perfectly express the culture, and thus Pitch Black was born.

Pitch Black’s members (D.G., Devious, Fast, G.O.D., and Zakee) have each been involved with hip-hop since day one. Zakee says “Everybody was doing their thing, talent shows, school performances, beat boxing, djaying, we all wrote graffiti. So we’re 360 degrees of hip-hop, we cover every aspect of the culture, the way of life.” After forming Pitch Black in 1994, the five went straight to the lab and honed their skills, writing rhymes, and recording tracks.

Pitch Black paid serious dues, starting from the bottom with independent releases: “Hold Me Down” b/w “Ashes to Ashes” and shortly after a 5 track EP. The budget was bare bones but the music blazed trails up and down the East Coast. D.G. says “People felt our music and we realized our potential. We saw that it could be, so we pushed it to the next level.”

Pitch Black maneuvered into the big leagues by opening for Jay-Z, DMX, Cash Money Tour, Lil Kim, Big Pun, MJG & 8 Ball, Trick Daddy, Luke, Redman and Method Man, Mobb Deep, on and on. “We were rubbing elbows with the right people, but even better, finally getting respected for what we were trying to do.” Pitch Black recorded 2 songs with Lord Finesse: “Show and Prove” and “Don’t Deal With It,” G.O.D. was featured on Wylcef’s “The Mixshow” from the Masquerade album with D.G., as well as Kool G. Rap & Nas’ “Fast Life.”

The group dropped their own bomb mixtape earlier this year “Pitch Black Season,” hosted by DJ K-Slay. Guest rockers include Busta Rhymes, Wyclef, and Teflon from M.O.P., but mostly the tape whets appetites for Pitch Black’s upcoming album. So far the streets have loved how Pitch Black floss over todays hottest tracks, of course with their trademark tag team frenzy, D.G. explains: “the mixtape proves that our chemistry is crazy, our skills are bananas, and everyone is checking for us.”

Pitch Black’s long awaited debut album “Pitch Black Law” is slated for a December 2003 release on Travio Records/Universal. This album is brimming with bangers and ready to go. The first single “It’s All Real” is produced by none other than DJ Premier who also appears in the video which is currently in rotation on BET. Other heavy hittin producers such Swizz Beats, Teddy Riley, and Tone from The Trackmasters have laced this album with mind-blowing tracks, and guest appearances from Wyclef, Busta Rhymes, and Foxy Brown ensure broad appeal. “The sounds on the album are varied, we got stuff for the ladies, for the fellas, and of course it’s all hard, true hip-hop.”

The average rapper today knows more about diamonds and silk than beats and rhymes, but Pitch Black brings pure hip-hop into the 21st century. “We’re a throwback to original b-boys, but in a new package, we’re old-school new-school niggas. It’s high-tech, b-boyish, schizophrenic, we come one after another and it’s like an explosion!” Together, Pitch Black does what no single individual could ever accomplish. They are hip-hop perfection live and direct in your ear hole. Jump in the cipher and cop that! Jump in the cipher and cop that!