one of the first rap groups ever created, in the late 1970's. lead mc d-wig is credited with inventing the jheri curl. salvizzle and d swizz are also members. Biography-after a 10 year bid on rikers island for a drive by shooting, d wig returned to the streets to
perfect his skills on the mic. Selling everything from
crack to angel
dust, d wig made it out the hood and burst onto the rap
scene with his first single, "I Pack a Glock in the
Phat Farms". They appeared on classic albums such as 'Illmatic' , 'The
Chronic' and 'Liquid Swords'. Their debut album, 'The Salvizzle Show', received 5 mics from The Source.
D-Swizz and Salvizzle grew up on the same block in the Marcy projects. They met D-Wig at a Public Enemy concert. After their
talent was recognized by rap mogul
Russell Simmons, they signed a multimillion dollar 5-album deal.
Career Paths
D-Wig was an actor and model for the early part of his life. He appeared in "Juice", Menace II Society", "Boyz N The Hood", and "South Central".
The Hustlaz have recorded various tracks with Mario Rosario, a.k.a. Brockton's Finest.
Collabos/Singles
-"Packin Skoal, Cops on Patrol" - 2005
Beefs - Rival Tritown clik Playback recorded a diss track directed at Salvizzle in the
mid 90's. The Hustlaz responded with their own track, "T-Field
187", and the violence escalated. Over a 10 year period, over 30 members of both groups were
shot in an eruption of gang violence. It wasn't until Louis Farrakhan intervened that they were able to call off the war.
-An underground track by Mario Rosario appeared on a DJ Whoo Kid mixtape in 1998. It was said to contain shots at the Hustlaz, but they
never responded. A month later Mario was found
shot to
death in his Brockton studio.
The Aftermath
-D-Wig's career was destroyed in a battle with rap legends Dr. Knowledge and KRS-One. He converted to Islam and is now known as
Allah Wig.
-D-Swizz was gunned down while leaving a club in Brockton, MA. The 139/Lennox street corner in Harlem was renamed in his memory to D-Swizz Boulevard. The 2001 film "D-Swizz - Thug Angel" was created to remember the career of one of rap's greatest lyricists, poets, and street narrators.
-Salvizzle joined the Black Panthers in 1995. In 1996 he was killed in a drive-by shooting while riding with Suge Knight and Tupac Shakur. Their murders remain unsolved.
The Salvizzle Foundation was created in his memory to benefit inner-city youths.
