{{Short description|American hip hop group}} {{Infobox musical artist |name = Black Menace |image = |caption = |background = group_or_band |alias = |origin = New Orleans, Louisiana |genre = Hip-hop, gangsta rap |years_active = 1989–2001 |label = Hollygrove, Big Boy, Menace G-Slimm |past_members = * Ronald Jones, Jr. * Wilson Williams * Edward Woods }}
'''Black Menace''' was an American gangsta rap group from New Orleans, Louisiana, active from 1989 to 2001.
== History == Black Menace was formed in 1989, with its initial lineup consisting of Ronald Jones Jr., Wilson Williams, and Edward Woods. The members met each other while competing against each other in ''The Gong Show''. When they started performing as a group, they won first place in the show for the next few months. After the show ended, they sought investors to back their musical career and collaborated with DJ Precise, who produced their first EP, which was published by Hollygrove Records in 1992. After the LP released, they were signed onto Prime Suspect Productions, who published their first LP, ''A Warning to Amerikka'' the same year.<ref name="offbeat1">{{cite news |last1=Cortello |first1=Karen |title=Black Menace Issues A Warning; the Boogerman's Dreams Come True |url=https://www.offbeat.com/articles/black-menace-issues-a-warning-the-boogermans-dreams-come-true/ |access-date=5 August 2025 |work=OffBeat Magazine |date=1 January 1993}}</ref>
They collaborated with Odyssey Records to produce an album, although it was never released.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Fensterstock |first1=Alison |title=Odyssey Records on Canal Street to shut its doors, after more than 30 years in business |url=https://www.nola.com/entertainment_life/music/odyssey-records-on-canal-street-to-shut-its-doors-after-more-than-30-years-in/article_7b1eddfb-b69e-54b1-a0d2-78772cceecfd.html |access-date=5 August 2025 |work=The Times-Picayune |date=11 May 2013 |language=en}}</ref> Despite that, it allowed them to leave Prime Suspect,<ref>{{cite news |title=Interview with Black Menace |url=https://louisianadigitallibrary.org/islandora/object/amistad-nohh%3A9 |access-date=5 August 2025 |work=NOLA Hiphop and Bounce Archive |date=2 October 2012}}</ref> causing them to be signed onto Big Boy Records several years later,<ref name="offbeat2">{{cite news |last1=Cortello |first1=Karen |title=It's Drama Time for Black Menace; Lil' Prede Boy Hopes to Go from Rags to Riches |url=https://www.offbeat.com/articles/its-drama-time-for-black-menace-lil-prede-boy-hopes-to-go-from-rags-to-riches/ |access-date=5 August 2025 |work=OffBeat Magazine |date=1 August 1995}}</ref> alongside Mystikal, Ghetto Twiinz, Boot Camp Clik, G-Slimm, and Tim Smooth.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Crawford |first1=Percy |title=The Magical Mystikal Tour continues: Rapper 'Unsung' but far from finished |url=https://newpittsburghcourier.com/2021/04/06/the-magical-mystikal-tour-continues-rapper-unsung-but-far-from-finished/ |access-date=5 August 2025 |work=New Pittsburgh Courier |agency=Zenger News |date=6 April 2021}}</ref> The group released their first album, ''Really Doe'', in 1993.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Braxton |first1=Charlie |title=Gangsta Gumbo: Une anthologie du rap sudiste via Houston, Memphis, Atlanta, Miami, Jackson et la Nouvelle Orléans |publisher=Camion Blanc |isbn=978-2-35779-422-1 |date=2012 |page=232 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-K_SCQAAQBAJ&pg=PT232 |language=fr}}</ref> They released their second ''Drama Time'' in August 1995 via Big Boy Records,<ref name="offbeat2" /> It became the group's most successful album, peaking at No. 48 on the US ''Top R&B Albums'' chart and spending eight weeks there.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Whitburn |first1=Joel |title=Joel Whitburn's Top R&B albums, 1965-1998 |date=1999 |publisher=Record Research |location=Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin |isbn=978-0-89820-134-5 |page=16 |url=https://archive.org/details/joelwhitburnstoprnb00whit/page/16/mode/1up/ |access-date=5 August 2025}}</ref> Additionally, it peaked at No. 35 on Cashbox's ''Top 75 R&B Albums'' chart.<ref>{{cite news |title=Top 75 R&B Albums |work=Cash Box |page=12 |volume=LIX |issue=1 |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/90s/1995/CB-1995-09-02.pdf}}</ref>
Following ''Drama Time'', the group went inactive, although they released two more albums in the early 2000s, ''Mo Drama'' in 2000 and ''IV Horseman'' in 2001. They have not released any albums since.<ref>{{cite web |title=Black Menace Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/black-menace-mn0000093282 |website=AllMusic |access-date=5 August 2025 |language=en}}</ref>
==Discography== * ''Really Doe'' (1993) * ''Drama Time'' (1995) * ''Mo Drama'' (2000) * ''The IV Horsemen'' (2001)
==References== {{Reflist}}
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Category:Musical groups established in 1989 Category:Musical groups disestablished in 2001 Category:American musical groups Category:American hip-hop groups