B-Real talks on Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. protecting Eminem from LA Crips in 2003.
In 2003, Eminem, Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E., and Cypress Hill’s B-Real collaborated on the single “911,” one of 12 tracks on Boo-West Yaa’s Koastra Nostra album. But it turns out that the song is much more than simply a standard rap duet – it’s much more. Eminem, B-Real, and Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E., a Samoan rap group, collaborated on “911” off Boo-West Yaa’s Koastra Nostra album in 2003. Em’s participation in the song was part of a deal he struck with Boo-Yaa to get him out of attempted extortion by Crips gang members, according to Monsta Gunja of The Regime. Monsta is the nephew of Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E., which included brothers Paul “Ganxsta Ridd,” Vincent “Gawtti,” Roscoe “Murder One,” Donald “Kobra,” Danny “Monsta O,” David “E.K.A.” and the late Ted “Godfather” Devoux.
Last month, Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E.’S nephew Monsta Gunjay appeared on Australia’s Fresh 92.7 where he revealed that once Eminem was being extorted by the Crips in LA, which is reflected in Eminem’s ‘911’ collaboration with Boo-Yaa rap group and B-Real in 2003.
“That’s how that song ‘Hip Hop is in a state of 9-1-1′ with Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. and B-Real, that’s how that song came about because Paul Rosenberg reached out,” Monsta G explained. “He was getting extorted by some Crips. Eminem was getting extorted by some Crips. Maybe he was paying them money and getting bullied, I don’t know the exact details. “I do know a few phone calls were made and then that’s how the feature came about ’cause they were like, ‘Anything in return, what do you want?’ They’re like, ‘I want a feature from Em, you know what I’m saying?’ If you hear what he says, he’s like, ’40, 50 Samoans,’ he throws the lyrics out.”
Now, Cypress Hill’s B-Real recently sat down with HipHopDx where he was about the song’s backstory, and he revealed that he wasn’t really aware of the behind-the-scenes politics, and he learned about it later.
“I didn’t hear too much about that because I never got involved with any of that stuff with Em,” B-Real told DX. “They just called me to be on this record and Boo-Yaa, they’ve always been family to us. Gangsta Ridd was one of my big-time homies. They were always with us in the early days. And so when that project came up and I heard Em was on it, I’d always wanted to flip on a record with him, so it was easy to work, it was family and Em was on it. I was like, ‘Oh, sh*t. All right, let’s do it’.”
He continues, “And I didn’t think of the politics, he was just somebody I wanted to get down with because I love Em. He’s one of my favorite top three, and so I had a chance to work with him there, along with my family. It was a no brainer to me, and yeah, you know the politics I heard about it later, but Boo-Ya washed that sh*t out for them.”
“No one was f**king with those guys, you know?” B-Real added. “If they got behind you and they said, ‘Hey, he’s with us,’ you don’t f**k with him. Nobody f**ks with those guys. But yeah, I was just glad to get on it, and me and Em talked about it sometime later, and it was just a cool experience. I was glad to be on it, for sure.”
Anyone who is familiar with the Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. knows how scary they are. The gang, which once consisted of brothers Paul “Ganxsta Ridd,” Vincent “Gawtti,” Donald “Kobra,” Danny “Monsta O,” Roscoe “Murder One,” David “E.K.A.,” and the late Ted “Godfather” Devoux, rolled deep and had a way of ironing things out.
After performing on tour in Japan in the middle of the 1980s, Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E.—then known as the “Blue City Crew”—became well-known. Their name is pronounced “Boo-Yaa” and stands for “Too Rough International Boo-Yaa Empire,” while the “T.R.I.B.E.” stands for “Too Rough International Boo-Yaa.” Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. is “synonymous with hip hop in Los Angeles,” claim hip-hop documentarians.
Check out their 2003 collaboration below.
