Speedknot Mobstaz

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Tucked away on Chicago's notorious west side are the crime riddled streets of K-Town, affectionately known as Kill Town by some residents. It's this tough neighborhood that gave rise to the Speedknot Mobstaz, a two emcee collective consisting of Liffy Stokes and Mayz.
Liffy and Mayz were both early rappers, realizing their passion for the art of emceeing at the age of 12 and 10, respectively. While the two began their sonic journeys separately, they came together when Mayz moved on the same block as Liffy: "One of my guys knew this shorty who could rap," remembers Liffy. "We met and we just clicked."
While the streets schooled the two Chicago natives on the harsh realities of life on the Chicago's west side, the lyrics of emcees such as Slick Rick, Big Daddy Kane, Scarface, and Ice Cube schooled Liffy and Mayz on the ways of Hip-Hop. "Scarface and Ice Cube were speaking the realest things," comments Mayz. "What those two said will transcend through the generations."
In 1991, another Chicago emcee, Twista, was starting to become a hometown Hip-Hop hero thanks to his unique rapid-fire delivery. It was one night, as Twista was leaving a local radio station that he first ran into Liffy and Mayz. "We was riding around the West Side and we saw him driving around and we pulled him over," recalls Liffy. "We pulled up in the gas station and we battled. A couple months later his friend saw me in the studio and when I got there the next day Twista was sitting in the studio." This was the birth of the Speedknot Mobstaz.
Liffy and Mayz began frequenting the studio with Twista as he recorded his Atlantic debut, Adrenaline Rush, learning valuable lessons about the recording process. "We didn't even know how to count bars," recalls Liffy. "Twista showed us how to count them so we could actually do proper 16 bar verses." As Twista, Liffy, and Mayz, hit the studio to record Adrenaline Rush, they also began working on their group album, Mobstability, which hit shelves on October 6, 1998.
Fourteen tracks deep, Mobstability was well received by fans and painted vivid images of Crook County street life over grimy instrumental canvasses. "We just came from the heart on Mobstability," shares Mayz. "Most of the songs were done before we were ever in the studio… just while we were ridin' around in the hood." Mobstability ultimately sold over 700,000 units and was certified gold by the RIAA. The album also produced "In Your World", which was featured on the Dr. Dolittle soundtrack.
After the Atlantic Records debut, the Mobstaz became a part of Legit Ballin' Records, which went on to become one of Chicago's and the nations' most successful independent labels, moving nearly a half million units of Volumes 1 and 2 of its compilation album. After Legit Ballin', The Mobstaz began touring with Twista and working on his next two albums, Kamikaze and The Day After, helping propel the albums to over two and half million in sales internationally.
With plenty of music experience under their belts, the Mobstaz are now on the heels of their next release, Mobstability 2: Nation Business. With production from the likes of Chicago producer, Cuzzo and the team from China White Productions, Liffy and Mayz are ready to serve their fans with another dose of street knowledge. "The album is the streets just like the first one was," says Mayz. "We don't have to create a fake image, we just have to let our soul speak to the people." Mobstability 2 will be in stores late 2007 or early 2008 and will be released on Showtime Entertainment/Koch Entertainment.
"To be a hustler, to be a standup guy is what it means to be a Speedknot Mobsta," summarizes Mayz. "It's the essence of being a gangster." Liffy adds, "Being a Speedknot Mobsta means going hard with everything you do. It's being a go getter."



Speedknot Mobstaz "Money to Blow" featuring Twista and Skooda