Within the early 2000s, MTV aired a expertise search hosted by Sean “Diddy” Combs, drawing music fans and millennial TV viewers alike. Tens of 1000’s auditioned for a spot on the competitors sequence, and, ultimately, in 2002 4 teams had been shaped: O-City, Da Band, Danity Kane, and Day 26 (with Donnie Klang).
Among the many Da Band members had been Sara Stokes Rivers, Dylan DilinJah, Frederick “Freddy P” Watson, Kevin Lamont “Chopper” Barnes Jr. Lloyd “Ness” Mathis, and Lynese “Babs Bunny” Wiley. The six had been famously identified for touring from Midtown Manhattan over the Brooklyn Bridge to go to Junior’s to get cheesecake for his or her boss, garnering important consideration for exhibiting over the three seasons from 2002 to 2004 why they needed an opportunity at being on Unhealthy Boy a lot.
Over 50 million viewers watched the present.
At this time among the Da Band members stay notable, with two of them pioneering a brand new frontier in hip-hop, notably in battle rap, a ability they honed in the course of the competitors.
Junior’s and the Cheesecake Run
In keeping with Diddy, the group had probably not seen New York Metropolis as a result of that they had been locked up of their rooms. So, in episode 1 of season 2 he despatched Da Band on a cheesecake journey.
When Ness advised the Unhealthy Boy government that he was “ravenous,” Diddy responded, “I’m ravenous too. You understand one thing, I would like me a bit of cheesecake.”
always remember, Diddy made the entire band stroll throughout Brooklyn Bridge for a cheesecake and he did not even eat. pic.twitter.com/iFVmDr9ZZ8
— 𝐒𝐊• (@spankyKILLMovEs) February 28, 2024
He turned to Babs Bunny, the Brooklynite of the crew, and mentioned, “Have you learnt the place to get … the cheesecake spot is at?”
She smirked, realizing he had one thing loopy up his sleeve, whereas Dylan and others yelled “Downtown.”
“Yeah yeah and y’all can stroll from right here, get the cheesecake, see the town, benefit from the sights,” the music mogul mentioned. “Present them round. Take them over the Brooklyn Bridge and let that wind hit them over the water. See how y’all really feel as a bunch.”
Diddy would say that the rationale why he made them stroll the miles to Brooklyn to get the dessert was not as a result of he needed to embarrass or haze them, however to show them that within the music enterprise “generally you need to do issues that you simply don’t wish to do.”
Dylan, Dylan, Dylan
DilinJah, also referred to as Dylan, is a Caribbean hip-hop artist, government producer, and philanthropist, from Brooklyn, New York, who has been doing music since he was 10 years outdated, in line with his web site.
When he was 13, his household despatched him to Grenada to flee the gang influences of Brooklyn and refocus his life.
Three years after being on the Caribbean island he grew to become a DJ/reggae selector at 16 earlier than absolutely immersing himself in music as an artist and later discovering himself on the present and in Da Band.
At the moment, Dylan remains to be releasing new music and dealing on an upcoming movie referred to as “Brooklyn Bred” produced by Tionna Smalls and Angela Yee, however life hasn’t all the time been candy. In a current interview with We Are Flatbush YouTube channel, he spoke out about how he was blasted in a skit on the “Chappelle Present,” steering him into notoriety — and in the end destroying his life.
“Dave Chappelle mentioned the highest 5 rappers are ‘Dylan, Dylan, Dylan, Dylan, Dylan.’” Dylan mentioned. “I by no means mentioned that.”
In keeping with the artist, the entire those who the comic and his forged normally made enjoyable of noticed their direct quotes remixed for the jokes. However that’s not what was finished with him.
“I had no management over this. You [referring to Chappelle] mentioned I’m [the] prime 5 rappers. You mentioned I spit sizzling fireplace,” he advised We Are Flatbush, including that he was solely a child when this all occurred and that the ramifications had been terrible.
In 2005, Dylan had grow to be a brand new father and was not capable of feed his new child as a result of he couldn’t get a deal nor might he get booked by promoters.
“Nobody is asking me. Everyone seems to be laughing,” he continued. “Nobody selecting up their cellphone … not a one label,” as a result of he had grow to be the joke.
Finally, Dylan needed to make it work for him. He went on to trademark the phrase and capitalize off the skit with a craft beer and radio present based mostly on it.
Babs Bunny, The First Girl of The Streets
Lynese “Babs Bunny” Wiley is among the most profitable members of Da Band. The Brooklynite, whose battle-rapping skills earned her a spot in the home, has taken her love for aggressive emceeing and supporting ladies in hip-hop to launch (together with her two companions Debo and Obscure) the primary all-female battle rap league, Queen of the Ring, the third-largest English-speaking league on this planet launching the profession of artists like 40 B.A.R.R.S., Jaz the Rapper, Shooney Da Rapper, Phara Funeral, C3, Casey J, O’fficial and extra.
Atlanta Black Star spoke completely to the emcee and she or he mentioned along with inspiring others, together with Remy Ma, who additionally entered into the battle rap trade as an proprietor, Babs Bunny is transitioning into performing. She has three movie initiatives that she has been part of “Forty 12 months Outdated Model,” “Trapt,” and “Foster Sin.”
She had an Instagram present with rapper Girl Luck referred to as “Bacon, Egg and Cheese” that resulted in 2023, and is at the moment engaged on a brand new documentary titled, “Babs Bunny Presents Promenade Night time,” that includes Rah Digga and Remy Ma.
When reflecting on her time with Diddy and Da Band, she mentioned she discovered lots and noticed it as a “dream come true,” even with among the challenges she skilled.
“I’d undoubtedly not say it was my worst nightmare,” Babs mentioned in an interview with Mrecktv. “I might say it was a dream come true, it was goals coming true with nightmares out and in. … For me, that was my expertise. I used to be a sponge. And irrespective of with all of the adverse issues over time, I simply tried to give attention to the entire constructive issues that I discovered.”
Sara (Stokes) Rivers
Sara Stokes has not skilled the identical sort of success her Da Band sister Babs has.
Reviews be aware that the Port Huron native has had suicide makes an attempt, extreme ingesting and being held within the St. Clair County Jail in 2014 after being convicted of home violence in opposition to her then-husband, Emanuiel “Tony” Stokes. This ultimately led to the dissolution of their 18-year marriage. He filed two days after her arrest.
In keeping with TMZ, along with being arrested and charged with home violence, the arrest has triggered a probation violation for an earlier incident the place she stabbed her Tony in 2009.
In 2009, Sara claims, she co-wrote and produced two songs, together with Jennifer Hudson’s “What’s Unsuitable” with T-Ache. Nonetheless, she ended up suing the “Sprung” hitmaker, claiming that regardless of Hudson’s album going gold, Sarah acquired no producer, songwriter or performer credit for her function in creating the tune. She later mentioned she discovered he was making offers with third events to re-record the tune together with her unique vocals.
Not each second post-Da Band was harsh for her. Now, Sara’s life is totally modified in 2024. She has shed her outdated self and solely goes by Sara Rivers on-line. The married mother of 4 lives in Georgia and has been noticed taking pictures at a party with “The Actual Housewives of Atlanta” star Porsha Williams. Sara can also be invested in well being and sweetness and her new firm, SaraFina Co., is a portal the place she sells skincare merchandise, make-up, equipment, and merch.
She not too long ago spoke about her time within the group, remembering absolutely the chaos that surrounded her within the early 2000s, when Da Band was shaped.
“They might be beating down the automobile doorways, home windows, attempting to get to us, grabbing at us, attempting to hug us,” Rivers mentioned in a 2016 interview with the Detroit Free Press. “Police needed to escort us out of there. It was candy, but it surely’s scary, too. On the mall, we could possibly be buying, and they’d be off the hook, operating at us going loopy. Subsequent factor we knew, we’d have a crowd following us, particularly if I had Chopper or Babs with me.”
Chopper
Through the finish of COVID-19, Chopper, who was one of many breakout stars from “Making of the Band 2,” discovered himself in hassle with the regulation for allegedly utilizing social media to lure ladies into his pimp sport.
In April 2022, in line with an announcement from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Division, the rapper who makes use of the alias Rodney Hill was arrested and charged with one rely of intercourse trafficking of an grownup and booked into the Clark County Detention Middle in Nevada.
The police assertion revealed his important social media presence, with about 340,000 Instagram followers, allegedly used to recruit ladies for intercourse work.
He purportedly coerced a sufferer in Las Vegas by means of messages and calls, threatening her and bragging “imma wealthy pimp, imma boss.”
He went on to say he had a number of ladies working for him in his “steady,” police said. He additionally advised her that he knew folks in her city who might “discover” her and damage her, writing, “I could make it dangerous for you.”
This was sufficient to lock him up.
Regardless of arrest, he was launched on his personal recognizance, and it stays unsure if he confronted prosecution for the offense.
Freddy P
Freddy P has been within the information for his views on Diddy, calling for the trade to close him down years earlier than his current allegations.
The previous Da Band artist took to social media and blasted his former boss for making him stroll to Brooklyn for cheesecake, interfering in his profession, and snatching his goals.
“God is aware of if I used to be @diddy I’d’ve finished WAY MORE FOR THESE KIDS, any actual ninja would’ve,” he wrote within the caption in a now-removed Instagram put up. “God gone have the final chortle. My expertise was given to me to the touch hearts and houses an it was silenced. You silenced Gods plan. Everybody who ever took half will depart horribly from [planet Earth emoji].”
In a video on the app, he mentioned, “Lots of people don’t perceive what I’ve been by means of. This yr alone, I’ve contemplated suicide two or thrice. I finished pictured my brother strolling in, discovering me lifeless. I cried a couple of occasions enthusiastic about leaving my son, since you simply will get uninterested in life. It’s like, it doesn’t matter what you attempt to do, you simply gotta preserve battling.”
Freddy P continued, “N—gasoline acquired they foot in your neck, n—gasoline wanna see you fall. It’s these n—gasoline like Puffy, he my foremost mom—kin’ motive why I actually hate f—kin’ life, canine. Folks don’t even perceive.”
In a video posted shortly after Diddy settled with Cassie, Freddy mentioned that he would kill the Mount Vernon native for $200K including that he is aware of that the manager sexually assaulted different males in his camp and referred to as on them to return ahead.
Ness (E. Ness)
Ness, a Philadelphia native who now goes by the title E. Ness, was considered one of Diddy’s favorites on the present and sometimes referred to as “Captain” or “Thinker.”
A enjoyable truth about his title is that he snagged the moniker E. Ness from Eliot Ness, the Chicago Bureau of Prohibition agent identified for his efforts to carry down mobster Al Capone. Eliot Ness and his regulation enforcement colleagues had been generally known as “The Untouchables,” nicknamed that as a result of they might not be influenced to do filth.
When speaking about Ness, Da Band member’s mates mentioned his abilities had been so good he was going to “clear up the rap sport” the best way the lawman cleaned up the streets.
His foray into battle rap as knowledgeable got here when he and Jae Millz went loopy on one episode, serving to to put a blueprint for what’s now a multi-million-dollar trade.
Nonetheless one of many hottest battle rappers round, E. Ness has been featured in leagues such because the Final Rap League, the Battle Academy, U. Dubb Community, Trenches, Verbal Warfare Zone, Gates of the Backyard, Uncommon Breed Leisure, and internationally in Canada at King of The Dot and in London at Don’t Flop.
He’s nonetheless releasing new music.
This month E. Ness introduced he was beginning a comedy podcast together with his firm 54villent Studio.
