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Souls of Mischief
Souls of Mischief; from left to right: Phesto, Tajai, Opio, A-Plus
Background information
Origin	East Oakland, California, U.S.
Genres	West Coast hip hop, alternative hip hop
Years active	1991–present
Labels	Hieroglyphics Imperium, Jive/BMG
Members	A-Plus Phesto Opio Tajai

Souls of Mischief is a hip hop group from Oakland, California, that is also part of the hip hop collective Hieroglyphics. The Souls of Mischief formed in 1991 and is composed of rappers A-Plus, Opio, Phesto, and Tajai.

History

East Oakland native Tajai began rhyming with future bandmate A-Plus at age 8, while both were in elementary school. Tajai and Phesto met later in junior high school. Tajai recruited his best friend Phesto in middle school and A-Plus brought Opio into the budding act in high school before making its major-label debut on Jive Records with the group's well-received album 93 'til Infinity, in 1993.

The group is part of the hip-hop collective Hieroglyphics, along with emcees Del tha Funkee Homosapien, Casual, Pep Love, Jaybiz, and producer Domino. The group participated as full members in all three of Hieroglyphics' studio albums: 1998's 3rd Eye Vision, 2003's Full Circle, and 2013's The Kitchen.

93 ’til Infinity is the group's highest charting album to date (#17 Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums; #85 Billboard 200) and, in January, 1998, was named one of the Top 100 Rap albums by The Source magazine.

The group stayed with Jive for one more album, 1995's No Man's Land, before being released from the label during the same year.

The group released two albums on Hiero's self-owned independent label, Hieroglyphics Imperium Recordings: 1998's Focus, and 2000's Trilogy: Conflict, Climax, Resolution.

On October 30, 2006, Hierocast (Hieroglyphics' official podcast), Del tha Funkee Homosapien reported that the Souls of Mischief was currently working on its next studio album with Prince Paul (De La Soul, Gravediggaz, Handsome Boy Modeling School).

On January 6, 2009, Souls of Mischief released the Tour Stories EP produced by Domino and co-produced by Prince Paul. The song is taken from the group's fifth studio album, Montezuma's Revenge, released on Hieroglyphics Imperium.

In 2013, a documentary about the band was released entitled Til Infinity: The Souls of Mischief. Produced and directed by Shomari Smith, it reflected on the 20-year anniversary of the band's debut album 93 'Til Infinity and includes over 50 interviews with prominent MCs, DJs, and producers of the era.

During the 2017 NBA Playoffs, Gatorade released a television commercial promoting Gatorade Flow, which featured Indiana Pacers star forward Paul George and the instrumental music of Souls of Mischief' 93 'Til Infinity.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Notes

1. "That's When Ya Lost" did not enter the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number twenty-two on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart.
2. "Never No More" did not enter the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number twenty on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart.
3. "Rock It Like That" did not enter the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number seventeen on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart.

References

1. "Tajai Interview". Gorilla Movement.com. 2005. Retrieved 2007-02-03.
2. ^ "Phesto Interview". StinkE Productions. 1996-07-18. Archived from the original on 2006-07-19. Retrieved 2007-02-03.
3. "Souls Of Mischief - Humanity Magazine". Mag.citizensofhumanity.com. 2020-03-02. Retrieved 2020-03-06.
4. Smith, Shomari, Til Infinity: The Souls of Mischief (Documentary), Stretch Armstrong, Adisa Banjoko, Yasiin Bey, Casual, SkyFre Productions, retrieved 2020-10-31
5. "Ball is Life Article". ballislife.com. 2017. Retrieved 2017-04-20.
6. "Souls of Mischief – Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on August 26, 2018. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
7. "Souls of Mischief – Chart History: Independent Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on August 26, 2018. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
8. "Souls of Mischief – Chart History: Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on August 26, 2018. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
9. "Souls of Mischief – Chart History: Top Rap Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on August 26, 2018. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
10. "Souls of Mischief – Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on August 26, 2018. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
11. "Souls of Mischief – Awards". AllMusic. TiVo Corporation. Archived from the original on September 9, 2013. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
12. "Souls of Mischief – Chart History: Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on August 26, 2018. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
13. "Souls of Mischief – Chart History: Hot Rap Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on August 26, 2018. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
14. ^ "Chart search – "Souls of Mischief", Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
15. "British certifications – Souls of Mischief". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved July 10, 2022. Type Souls of Mischief in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
16. "American single certifications – Souls of Mischief – 93 'til Infinity". Recording Industry Association of America.

External links

• Allmusic Biography
• Discogs.com Profile
• Hieroglyphics.com Official Site

• Hip-hop groups from California
• Alternative hip-hop groups
• Musical groups established in 1993
• Jive Records artists
• Musical groups from Oakland, California
• Underground hip-hop groups