New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Fatal Da Cannon and OG Bang have known of each other since their youth. From a young age growing up in Cambridge, Maryland, the two have grown to love music and experience life through two different perspectives in the tough neighborhood on the eastern shore of Maryland. But despite that friendship and mutual love of hip-hop, the two had never worked together until a few months back when they decided to see what would happen if they freestyled together in the studio.
"When it came out and I was listening to it, I immediately had a vision that we could make something out of this," Fatal said of the collaboration. "We rep two different crews and parts of town from our respective neighborhoods, and this is an opportunity to showcase our talent and bring those two different sides of town together. It shows unity for our city."
The result is Top Capers, a collaborate project that combines Fatal's Caper City crew and OG Bang's Topside Boys into a mixtape of epic proportions. The theme of the mixtape, much like the theme of their collaboration, is unity. According to Bang, the mixtape has a definitive 90s hip-hop feel. Each of the artists has two solos on the tape, with five other songs that are 100 percent collaborations between the two.
"A lot of times the songs we do are premeditated," Fatal said. "I might hear a beat and throw it to Bang because I know he'll sound good on it. Or he'll throw one at me and say, 'We gotta touch this.' We never purposely say, 'I'm gonna do the hook and you're gonna do the verse.' It just happens how it happens. Working together on the lyrics and writing the song together is part of the beauty of it. We're from the same city and we know the struggles. Even though we've had different walks, we co-exist because we're from the same place and the same situation and the same reality."
Fatal said that though he is from Cambridge, he was back and forth between there and West Philadelphia all throughout his childhood and his adult life. He explains that going to college has contributed to his unique ability to bridge the gap between the hood and the scholar.
Bang, on the other hand, has lived his entire life in the struggle in Cambridge and said though he also has book smarts, he brings a street smart to the table.
"We're both highly intelligent," Bang said. "We had previously collaborated and had verses on a friend's track and the chemistry of working together was so crazy. He was easy to work with. And we can both talk about what happens around us and real life because we both know it. The difference between us and all other artists is the truth in every line. Any verse we spit you can pick apart and know that it's about the harsh reality out there, because we have lived it."
Top Capers' mixtape is slated to be hosted by DJ Shy of New York-based Hot 97. The duo have also put together a couple of music videos from the mixtape - one for their debut single, "Puzzled," and a second for the intro to the mixtape - which is currently available on their YouTube page.
To listen to their music or to follow them on social media, please check out the following links:
Twitter: @FatalDaCannon
IG: @FatalDaCannon
SnapChat: FatalDaCannon
Facebook: Fatal Da Cannon Music
Audiomack/SoundCloud: Fatal Da Cannon
IG: @og3_bang
Facebook: Bang Cooter (Bang O G)
