Ridaz

IT WAS AUGUST 1997 AND THE FRONT PAGE A1 STORY OF THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC BELONGED TO NASTYBOY KLICK. THAT YEAR YOU COULDNT GO ANY WHERE IN ARIZONA WITHOUT HEARING SOMEONE TALK ABOUT NBK. AS A MATTER OF FACT, BEFORE OR SINCE THEN NOT ONE HIP HOP GROUP OUT OF ARIZONA HAS MATCHED THE LEVEL OF NATIONAL SUCCESS THESE MEXICAN RAPPERS HAVE REACHED. IN TUCSON ARIZONA NBK STILL HOLDS THE RECORD FOR THE LARGEST CROWD IN TUCON HISTORY. IT WAS A HUGE RADIO EVENT WITH HOT 98.3 AT KENNEDY PARK. IT ALL STARTED IN A SMALL HOME STUDIO WHERE MC MAGIC, DÔS, ZIG ZAG AND SLY WERE WORKING ON SONGS FOR THEIR FIRST INDEPENDENT RELEASE ON MC MAGICS LABLE NASTYBOY RECORDS. THERE WAS ONE SONG THAT EVERYONE FELT HAD HIT POTENTIOAL. MAGIC AND CO-PRODUCER L.DOGG AGREED THAT ALL IT NEEDED WAS A DASH OF ROGER TROUTMANS FAMOUS TALK BOX SOUND. SEVERAL PHONE CALLS LATER MAGIC WAS TALKING ONE ON ONE WITH THE LEGENDERY ROGER TROUTMAN ABOUT A POSSIBLE FEATURE ON A SONG TITLED DOWN FOR YOURS.YOU KNOW MAGIC I JUST DID CALIFORNIA LOVE FOR DR. DRE AND 2PAC AND HE PAYED ME $16,000 DOLLARS. OUT OF THE KINDNESS OF HIS HEART ROGER TROUTMAN AGREED TO BLESS THIS UN-KNOWN GROUP OUT OF ARIZONA FOR A SMALL FEE OF ONLY $10,000 DOLLARS. MAGIC HAD ABOUT $1200 FROM SELLING THOSE RAP CASSETTES AT PHOENIX PARK-N-SWAP. AND ROGER HAD TO HAVE $5000 BEFORE HE EVEN GOT A ON THE AIRPLANE. HE ALSO REQUESTED IT BE SENT IN CASH VIA OVERNIGHT FED-EX. MAGIC AND ROGER AGEED ON THIS DEAL ON A MONDAY. WE SOLD A FEW PERSONAL ITEMS BORROWED FROM FAMILY AND EVEN TOOK OUT A COUPLE PERSONAL LOANS SAYS MAGIC. AND BY THAT WEDNESDAY ROGER TROUTMAN HAD HIS FED-EX DEPOSIT AND A ROUND TRIP TICKET TO PHOENIX FROM OHIO. DOWN FOR YOURS WAS AN INSTANT HIT AT POWER 92.3 AND 103.9 THE PARTY. PHOENIXS HIP HOP STATIONS AT THE TIME. IN A MATTER OF TWO WEEKS THE SONG HAD SPRED INTO TUCSON AND ALBUQURQUE. IN NO LATER THAN ONE MONTH AFTER THA 1ST CHAPTER WAS RELEASED, MAGIC WAS IN NEW YORK CITY NEGOTIATING A RECORD DEAL BETWEEN UNIVERSAL RECORDS AND GLASS NOTE/ MERCURY RECORDS. I WANTED TO GO WITH UNIVERSAL BUT SOME OF THEIR BUISNESS TACTICS BOTHERDED ME SAYS MAGIC. AT ONE POINT I WAS IN A MEETING WITH DOUG MORRIS (THE CHAIRMAN OF UNIVERSAL RECORDS AT THE TIME) AND ONE OF HIS ASSISTANTS WALK IN TO ANNOUNCE THAT MAGIC HAS A PHONE CALL, SO MR. MORRIS HANDED ME THE PHONE, IT WAS SUPERSNAKE, A RADIO DJ FROM PHOENIX THAT HAD ALWAYS OPPOSED ANYTHING MAGIC DID, UNIVERSAL TRACKED HIM DOWN TO HELP CONVICE ME TO SIGN. NBK DECIDED ON GLASS NOTE / MERCURY AND DOWN FOR YOURS REACHED ..10 ON THE BILLBOARD RAP SINGLES CHART IN AUGUST OF 1997. GLASS / NOTE MERCURY DIDNT EXERCISE THEIR OPTION FOR A SECOND ALBUM SO NBK WAS FREE TO LOOK FOR A DIFFERENT RECORD DEAL. NBK WAS TAKING A BREAK FROM EACH OTHER SO THERE WAS A BRIEF MOMENT OF DOWN TIME. THEN A RADIO STATION IN CENTRAL CALIFORNIA STARTS PLAYING A SONG CALLED LOST IN LOVE THIS WAS A SONG MAGIC RECORDED WITH TRACY CELAYA BEFORE NBK. WE PUT IT ON THE SINGLE OF DOWN FOR YOURS AS A BONUS TRACK. JOHN LOPEZ OWNER OF UPSTAIRS RECORDS HEARD THE SONG ON THE RADIO AND NEW IT COULD BE A BIG HIT. ERIC VALDEZ A RADIO STATION PROGRAMMER HELPED JOHN LOPEZ CONTACT MAGIC AND MR. LOPEZ OFFERED NBK A DEAL FEATURING LOST IN LOVE AS THE FIRST SINGLE. LOST IN LOVE DID EXACTLY WHAT DOWN FOR YOURS DID ALL OVER AGAIN. UPSTAIRS RECORDS FLEW NBK TO SAN JOSE CALIFORNIA TO QUICKLY RECORD THA SECOND COMING WE RECORDED THAT ENTIRE CD IN LESS THAN A MONTH SAYS DÔS. THE SECOND CD TOOK NBK BACK OUT ON THE ROAD DOING CLUBS AND RADIO STATION SHOWS FROM MIAMI TO HAWAII. ONLY THIS TIME AROUND THE GROUP STAYED BUSY FOR ABOUT TWO YEARS. IN 2000 MAGIC AND DÔS REQUESTED TO BE RELEASED FROM UPSTAIRS RECORDS TO VENTURE OUT ON A DIFFERENT GROUP PROJECT. THIS IS WHEN THEY STARTED A NEW PROEJCT CALLED NB RIDAZ. THE OTHER TWO MEMBERS ZIG ZAG AND SLY CHOSE TO STAY WITH UPSTAIRS RECORDS AS MR.LOPEZ HAD INTENTIONS ON RELEASEING ANOTHER NBK CD. JULY 2001 NB RIDAZ RELEASE THE FIRST SINGLE RUNAWAY.ANOTHER BIG HIT FOR THE BOYS FROM THE AZ SIDE. THIS RECORD FEATURED ANGELINA. ONCE AGAIN JOHN LOPEZ WANTED TO BRING THE PROJECT TO UPSTAIRS RECORDS. THINGS WERE WORKED OUT AND ZIG ZAG JOINED THE NB RIDAZ, SAME KLICK NEW TITLE. NB RIDAZ DID NOT INCLUDE SLY AS HE AND MAGIC HAD GONE THROUGH SOME DIFFERENCES AND MAGIC FELT THINGS WOULD RUN A THREE MEMBER GROUP. TODAY SLY HAS OWN COMPANY CALLED SOWED UP ENTERTAINMENT AND HE IS WORKING ON A SOLO RELEASE OF HIS OWN. MARCH 2004 WILL MARK THE RELEASE OF NB RIDAZ LATEST FULL LENGTH CD: NbRidaz.com March 16, 2004 MAGIC, DÔS and ZIG ZAG FEEL THIS IS DEFINATLEY THE BEST WORK TO DATE. ONLY TIME WILL TELL IF THIS IS THE CD THAT TAKES THE BOYZ FROM THE AZ SIDE WORLDWIDE!! IF THE INITIAL SUCCES OF THE FIRST SINLGE SO FLY IS ANY INDICATION. THEN WE WILL BE HEARING A LOT MORE FROM THE 602 CREW. THE NbRidaz