Yo! Majesty is an American hip hop group consisting of singer and rappers Shunda K and Shon B, produced by UK-based electro group HardfeelingsUK.[1]
Yo! Majesty was mentioned as one of the 'Top 11 new bands of 2008' by NME magazine[2] as well as one of the '25 Most Exciting Bands in America'.[3]
Biography
Yo! Majesty's current members are W,[4] Shon Burt, stage name Shon B, and LaShunda Flowers, known as Shunda K. The group members are openly lesbian[5] and self-identify as Christian.[6] Their sound is a hybrid of crunk, Baltimore club music,[7][8] and electro,[9] and they have garnered comparisons to punk for their defiance of labels and creation of new sounds.[10]
Rappers Shunda K and Shon B started out as a duo named Yeah Majesty before they were rounded out circa 2001 by gospel-raised vocalist Jwl B.[10] They started collaborating with London-based electronica duo HardfeelingsUK (David Alexander and Richard Winstanley), who supplied Yo! Majesty with their electro-rap club beats, in 2002.[11] After a hiatus during Shunda K's marriage, Yo! Majesty regrouped.[10] Once they established a name for themselves on the underground club circuit, both in the US and the UK, Yo! Majesty self-released their first official release, the Yo EP, in 2006.[12]
They "made a splash" at SXSW in 2007[13] and that year toured alongside CSS and Gossip.[10] Yo! Majesty has also toured with Peaches and was featured in her parody video of the Black Eyed Peas' "My Humps" called "My Dumps".[14] The group signed with Domino Records in 2007,[15] and the label released an EP and full-length record by the band in 2008, which included a track produced by Basement Jaxx.[16]
A documentary based on the band, Das Wassup, directed by Johannes Schaff, was released in 2017.
