T. S. F. THUG SLAUGHTER FORCE "The Hammer Crew" BIOGRAPHY What's hotter than fire? Stronger than water? Harder than steel? The lives of 5 rugged goons who continue to endure the struggles of the bloodsucking ghetto streets of New York. THUG SLAUGHTER FORCE, better known as T.S.F., is a nucleus of 5 profound lyricists--each an individual threat, on and off the mic--whose creativity, confidence, and musical intuition clearly defines the essence of what every hip-hop fan secretly desires; the missing element, better described as: Originality. This collection of artists was not formed by the pride of false perceptions, or some vain hope, but out of the necessity to escape the destinies of the criminal lifestyle. United by fate, bound by an ancient code, these hooded-out Hebrews were driven by the realities of life to trade their "cracks" for "tracks"--essentially, turning hip-hop tracks into "crack" and hip-hop fans to fiends. In collaboration with industry professionals: Lance Pierre and Ysae Southwell, and Brooklyn's own DJ Ali, along side a small variety of industry linked producers, such as, DJ White and Filth Rich, among few others; T.S.F. is, undeniably, a Force to be felt. Rebel "Asa Bucannon", Drama "Crime Sinatra", Tempa', Blanco "The Don", and Filthy F. Rich, started cookin'-up tracks together in 1999 out of their family's over-crowded apartment in the hood of Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York, while simultaneously cookin'-up crack, hustling out of town, dating back long before that. However, the spark that ignited the flame began in 1994, when Rebel (Rebelz Of Authority) signed a deal with Spike Lee featuring two songs--"Blast of the Iron" & "Sex Soldier"--on the soundtrack for the movie, CLOCKERS. In short, it turned out to be a "jerk" deal, so Rebel dropped out of school to sell drugs, in an attempt to get fast money in order to put out his own music. Or, at least, that was the plan, as his two little brothers, Drama & Tempa', inspired by big brother's idea, followed shortly after. Coincidentally, Blanco, a California native, just fired from his job at Death Row Records Recording Studios (Can-Am,1996) received a call from a childhood friend by the name of Dirt (before he was Filthy), offering an invitation to get involved in a rapidly increasing drug-money operation in New York. So he moved to N.Y. and linked up with Filthy, on a mission to get fast money in order to put out their own music--or, at least, that was the plan. Little did they know, their paths would soon cross, and their plans would soon change. As fate would have it, Blanco ended up in Brooklyn where he and Filthy joined forces with the camp of the Hebrews: B'nai Zaken Maccabees, and formed a small, tight-knit crew of hustlers including: Rebel, Drama, Tempa', Blanco, & Filthy, among other goons (Lox, Chief Daweed, & Face, to name a few). At first, business was lovely, but eventually, all five artists were apprehended and incarcerated, one at a time--some for drugs, some for guns, some copped-out, and another went on the run. Years were lost as the five goons traveled parallel, but separate roads, individually keeping their pens bleeding, and every mic' burning. After all was said and done, and all dues were paid to the System, the Force was re-united (circa summertime, 2003), and released the first T.S.F. mixtape: "DJ Ali Presents: Thug Slaughter Force - 'Unreleased' Volume I" on the streets of Brooklyn, New York, and southern California through a few local record shops in Crown Heights, Brownsville, Flatbush, East New York, Pasadena, Hollywood, and Long Beach. Soon after a self-paid promotional trip to California, the frustration of trying to please industry executives in New York and the many mirages of their hollow promises, the group decided to become a formal independent business entity. After two long years of perseverance including performances in Brooklyn Night-Clubs (The Rock, The Alley, The Ark, etc.), a few guest appearances on BCAT(Brooklyn Community Access Channel-68), and a number of deceptive meetings with record label executives/representatives, came the inevitable release of the second mixtape: "T.S.F. - Volume II: "Goons of The Sith." The misconception of pleasing A&R's, VP's, and promoters, just to get a record deal, was discovered the hard way, as the street-wise crew of hustlers soon began to recognize their many ulterior motives. At this point, the determined artists began to focus on an independently organized marketing scheme that would take more inside help than money to execute--both of which were more scarce than a mohawk in the hood...or so they thought. It almost seemed as though the movement had come to a halt, when suddenly, and mysteriously, inside connections and their links began to crawl out of the woodworks like clockwork. The impact of The Force drew favor in the eyes of all they worked with, causing mouths to open and beans to spill about the overflowing talent of this deadly, five-man army. As fortunate as they are to be in such a wide circle of professionals, T.S.F. has become more than just a ground-breaking hip-hop group of lyricists, but an organization of business men, artists, technicians, legal advisors, promoters...and then there are the goons. Among the technicians, is the Hollywood connect: Lance Pierre (Grammy Award winner 2000-Digital Sounds Mix: "Stan"-The Marshall Mathers LP-Eminem), who has made a name for himself as a Digital Sounds Engineer/Producer over the years working with rap legend 2-Pac Shakur (Digital Sounds Engineering, Mix, and Production Co-ordination-Makaveli,1996, Digital Sounds Engineering-All Eyez On Me,1995), Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Ice-Cube, Bone Thugs, Jon B, 702, SWV, Keisha Cole, Game, and Phaja, among many others. "I took some of the same beats I made for y'all [T.S.F.] and gave them to [a few well known artists in the industry] ...and while I'm workin', I'm saying to myself, '...This sh-- is trash, man. I mean, it would've been hot, if I never heard y'all [T.S.F.] on it...from now on, all my hot sh-- goes in the vault, for T.S.F. ONLY!'", exclaimed Lance, out of the frustration of working with professional artists lacking the trend-setting creativity of T.S.F. The other expert tech' among the T.S.F. organization, is the New York connect: Ysae Southwell, who worked with the late great legends Big L (Produced: "Games"-The Big Picture - Big L,2002) and Big Pun, aside numerous artists in the Hip-Hop and R&B genres, including: Mary J. Blige, Genuwine, Brand New Heavies, Des'ree, Mica Paris, and Soul II Soul. Lance was involved since the beginning (1999), while Ysae quickly became a major part of the movement in 2003; each among the elite, possessing the knowledge and expertise of the best, in their field. In addition to this combo is one of the most under-rated, unrecognized DJ's in the underground circuit, "the ear of perfection", DJ Ali (Produced most of the tracks on Don't Stop The Hustle - Half-A-Mill',2001) who has been down with T.S.F. before T.S.F. began, as he was the Producer of "Sex Soldier" for Rebelz Of Authority on the CLOCKERS movie soundtrack,1994. They say, "Those who work with the best are destined for greatness;" then it is only fitting, that those who work with the best work with T.S.F. They started out as "the Israelite brothers with the hammers," a bunch of locally known rappers, running around with hammers on them, making some of the hottest music the world never heard, but not a clue on what to do with it. Currently, several members of T.S.F. are governing the operations of three separate companies, including Chai-Mot Management, Inc., Rebel Rush Publishing, and TSF International: www.tsfworld.net. They've come a long way, but don't be surprised if you still see an occasional hammer, or two...or five. With a catalog of over 130 songs, this small platoon of Hebrews, locally known as "The Hammer Crew," a.k.a. T.S.F., Thug Slaughter Force--A FORCE SLAUGHTERING THUGS--finally released their first official album, titled: "T.S.F.- The Album," on May 10, 2006. Since then, volunteers continue to surface rapidly, as the T.S.F. Street Team begins to grow at a rate unstoppable. Click here for TSFStreetTeam/info. Thug Slaughter Force has, literally, emerged from the pit of hell, as assassination attempts were made on two of it's members--one was shot 11 times, the other died on the operating table--yet, both survived, while two were delivered from life sentences in prison; all by the will of the Most High God. Many rappers claim to have come from "the bottom" before making it to what they think is the top, but were actually pretty well paid coming into the game. T.S.F., on the other hand, has been sacrificing money for: bills, food for kids, and rent (not to mention days of sleep), in order to cover the essential costs of everything from studio time to lawyer's fees--on top of all the necessary leg-work and networking. All this, for the intent of taking the rap game to new heights, bringing back the essence of hip-hop; undoubtedly, raising the bar for up-and-coming rappers, and veterans alike. Without a reasonable doubt, Hip-Hop lost the realness of her true meaning and was almost ready to die, as it became an illmatic game of "get rich or die tryin'" in which her loyalty had been compromised by a low end theory to exploit, and abuse her--doggystyle--like a sex package, straight outta Compton. Radio changed her image when it gave her a license to ill, and before she could wake up and smell the Chronic, she sold her soul for a part in her first m&m show; or, so it was written. After becoming Amerikkka's most wanted, she was finally able to see the big picture and began thinking about life after death, seeing she was already living in hell on earth. Realizing she had been corrupted by her lust for money, power, & respect, she began to wander, singing the ol' ill street blues, hitch-hiking from city to city until a few country boys picked her up and showed her a lil' southern hospitality. She's been there ever since her dynasty fell, but the war report shows evidence of her return with the rise of T.S.F. "The Album"... And like Makaveli--POOF!--she's back, out of nowhere, screamin', "We can't be stopped!...It takes a nation of millions to hold us back!"