A Lighter Shade of Brown
| A Lighter Shade of Brown | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | LSOB |
| Origin | Riverside, California, United States |
| Genres | Hip Hop |
| Years active | 1989-1999, 2010-2016 |
| Labels | Quality, Mercury, Thump |
| Associated acts | DJ Battlecat, DJ Muggs, Frost, Jay Tee, 2Pac, A.L.T., Emcee N.I.C.E. |
| Website |
www |
| Past members |
|
A Lighter Shade of Brown (LSOB) was a Mexican American hip hop duo from Riverside, California best known for their 1990 hit single "On a Sunday Afternoon", a success in the U.S., written by songwriters/musicians David Dunson & Micah Carson.
History
LSOB was formed in 1989 by One Dope Mexican (Robert Gutierrez) and Don't Try To Xerox (Bobby Ramirez).[1] They recorded demos and landed a record deal soon after with small independent label Pump. Their debut album, 1990's "Brown and Proud," brought the group their lone Top 40 single in the U.S. with "On A Sunday Afternoon," which contained samples of The Young Rascals' 1967 hit "Groovin' " and Tommy James and the Shondells' 1969 hit "Crystal Blue Persuasion" and peaked at #39 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song also went to #1 for 2 weeks in New Zealand.
The duo provided songs for Latino-market movies such as Mi Vida Loca and I Like It Like That following the release of their second LP, 1992's '"Hip Hop Locos," which failed to chart. The success of "Sunday Afternoon" nonetheless resulted in Mercury Records signing the group and releasing their third disc, Layin' in the Cut, in 1994. The record did not sell as well as was hoped, peaking at #184 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. LSOB went on a temporary hiatus,[1] returning in 1997 on indie with Danny "Dice" and Eric "Bajo" Thump Records. Their self-titled fourth album featured guest appearances from Rappin' 4-Tay and Dwayne Wiggins of Tony! Toni! Toné!.
1999 marked the last of their releases, including a greatest hits album and a non-charting single, "Sunny Day." That year, Gutierrez became a DJ at San Bernardino radio station KGGI and Bobby carried on touring as LSOB and working on new music. A decade later on October 18 2011 the album "It's A Wrap" was released through Illuminated Entertainment Group. The album was produced by Playalitical and Ramirez is the only one out of the group that raps on it as sort of a one man Lighter Shade of Brown. The album's radio single "Call Me Over" was produced by Fingazz and featured Playalitical and Zig Zag of the NB Ridaz. A music video was also filmed and released for the song. On June 25, 2016, Rumors surfaced that DTTX had died. Although ODM commented he is still living but in critical condition. On July 18th, he died after being in a coma for 11 days.[2]
Discography
Albums/Compilations
| Year | Title | Label | US R&B Chart[3] | US Top 200[3] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Brown & Proud | Quality/Mercury | - | 184 |
| 1992 | Hip Hop Locos | Quality/Mercury | 87 | - |
| 1994 | Layin' in the Cut | Mercury | 54 | 169 |
| 1997 | A Lighter Shade of Brown | Thump | - | - |
| 1999 | If You Could See Inside Me | Thump | - | - |
| 1999 | Greatest Hits | Thump | - | - |
| 2011 | It's A Wrap | Illuminated | - | - |
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart Positions | Album | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [4] |
US R&B HipHop [5] |
US Rap | US Dance [6] |
AUS [7] |
NZ [8] |
NED [9] |
UK [10] | |||
| 1990 | "T.J. Nights" (US only) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Brown & Proud |
| 1991 | "Latin Active" | 59 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "On a Sunday Afternoon" (featuring Shiro and Huggy Boy) | 39 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 49 | — | ||
| 1992 | "T.J. Nights" (AUS/NZ only) | — | — | — | — | — | 36 | — | — | |
| "Spill the Rhyme" | — | — | — | — | — | 47 | — | — | Hip Hop Locos | |
| "Homies" | 57 | 54 | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993 | "Check It Out / Latin Active" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1994 | "Hey DJ" | 43 | 67 | 18 | 32 | 12 | 33 | — | 33 | Layin' in the Cut |
| "If You Wanna Groove" (feat. Aulsondro Emcee N.I.C.E. Hamilton) | — | — | 45 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Dip Into My Ride" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011 | "Call Me Over" (feat Playalitical & Zig Zag of NB Ridaz)" | — | —61 | — | —20 | — | — | — | — | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. | ||||||||||
References
- 1 2 Biography, Allmusic.com
- ↑ http://www.tmz.com/2016/07/18/dttx-a-lighter-shade-of-brown-bobby-ramirez-dead/
- 1 2 Billboard, Allmusic.com
- ↑ "A Lighter Shade of Brown - US Hot 100 Chart". billboard.com. Retrieved 2014-07-06.
- ↑ "A Lighter Shade of Brown - US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart". billboard.com. Retrieved 2014-07-06.
- ↑ "A Lighter Shade of Brown - US Dance Club Songs Chart". billboard.com. Retrieved 2014-07-06.
- ↑ "A Lighter Shade of Brown - Australian Chart". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2014-07-06.
- ↑ "L.S.O.B. IN NEW ZEALAND CHARTS". Charts.org.nz. Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
- ↑ "A Lighter Shade of Brown - Dutch Chart". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 2014-07-06.
- ↑ "The Official Charts Company - A Lighter Shade of Brown". The Official Charts Company. 6 July 2014.