Jan 05 2009
Mixtape Monday: Agallah ‘09 Is Mines’
One of my favorite slang words of all time is piff. If you don’t know what piff is, where it came from, and how many variations of the word have come about since it’s inception, you probably don’t know who Agallah is. So let me get on my job.
When I first heard him he was 8 Off the Assasin, which was a great Hip Hop name, using the number/word combo to approximate Adolph. But he managed to top that when he re-dubbed himself Agallah. He’s from Brownsville projects, he’s half Puerto Rock, half Pinoy, and he’s a weed head’s weed head. He got his start in the game as a producer, and the first track I heard of his was RA the Rugged Man’s song “Till My Heart Stops” off of Rawkus records first Soundbombing compilation. A little research reveals he also did tracks for EPMD, Das EFX, Group Home, and Onyx.
While the industry got introduced to the man behind the boards, 8 Off was also earning his assassin moniker through rap battles amongst the lyricist lounge set. He also earned money ghostwriting songs for artists on major labels. Eventually he got hooked up with Shiest Bub and formed Purple City, which got him linked up with the Dipset, which finally got his work the buzz it needed in the streets for him to become bona fide famous in NY. If you are a mixtape fan anywhere you already know these names. Purple City in it’s various incarnations has sold over 800,000 copies of it’s 8 mixtapes, and had 3 mini-major label releases. (Sorry Babygrande, maybe you should stop signing and shelving artists and you could be REALLY major)
Eventually like everything Jimmy touches, the deal with Purple City fell apart and Agallah went solo. Instead of letting it catch him up though, he transferred that momentum into some classic solo joints as well, including You Already Know and Propane Piff . The latest is a nice demonstration of his appeal. Some people won’t dig it, but if you’ve ever spent time in New York post 2002, you can at least relate to it a little bit. And what am I saying, you love Hip Hop. So enjoy. Once again, if you want on the list, send an email to hiphoplivesmixtapes@gmail.com, and you’ll get your stuff early. For everybody else, here’s your sample.
Guess which one of these guys came up with piff?
