Outsidaz

The Outsidaz are a rap crew from Newark, New Jersey. It should be noted that Detroit, MI emcees Eminem and Bizarre were once members of the group. The group formed in 1991 after Young Zee and Pacewon met at a New Year's Eve party. At the time they met, Young Zee and Pacewon were rival MCs. Pacewon was a member of a crew named PNS, while Zee headed a crew named Skitzo. Skitzo was based in detroit, but the most influential member of the group, Dan Lowen, live in D.C. Dan Lowen was the MC who supervised the battle against PNS and Skitzo. Dan felt that neither group won the competition, and that it was a tie to show he wasn't biased. They decided to unite into one group, The Outsidaz. The Outsidaz consisted of Young Zee, Pacewon, Azz-Iz, Ax,BSkills ,D.U., Denz, Loon One, Nawshis, Rah Digga, Slang Ton, and Yah Yah. The Outz linked up with Detroit's D12, forming a larger crew that collaborated on projects (see 'take the whole world with me'). Eminem and the other members of D12 were adopted as members of the Outz, while maintaining their D12 affiliation. It is interesting to note that Eminem's rapping style was heavily influenced by the Outz--comparing his solo release prior to hooking up with the Outz (Infinite) with the material he recorded with them (i.e. 'Macosa' and 'Take the Whole World With Me') shows a rapper that is clearly influenced by Dirty Jersey. Dan Lowen, also another member of Skitzo, died before the Outsidaz were really recognized. He is noted as a memorial at the end of the song "Just Don't Give a Fuck" performed by Eminem. After Lowen's funeral gathering, the group continued to flourish, despite the rapper's death. Internal conflict began to arise after the murder of a more well known rapper by the name of Slang Ton. This led to a separation of sorts which was being kept quiet due to the members trying to work it out. Bootlegged pre-release versions of both the "The Bricks" album and Pacewon's "The Pacewon Effect" contained prodigious verses from Slang Ton, however the final versions of these albums removed his performances, leading many Outsidaz' fans to accuse the group of sacrificing his legacy in the name of royalty profits. While Young Zee appeared on Eminem's 8 Mile soundtrack, internal disputes kept Outz cornerstone off the album and lead to Pacewon's all-out battle rap 'Rap Music', which came hard at Eminem with a classic dis mentality. Eminem subliminally responded on the hook of "Doe Ray Me", a track from DJ Green Lantern's 2004 mixtape 'Conspiracy Theory: Invasion Part II' primarily aimed at former CEO of The Source magazine, Raymond "Benzino" Scott". Azz-Iz was interviewed in The Source and stated that the group were in fact broken up. This further complicated matters because group members were now upset at him for airing out their dirty laundry. However, this article is rather dated, and not only has Azz-Iz recorded the track 'Public Enemy Number 1' with Pacewon since then, nearly all of the Outz still remain in contact are close friends. The rumors of the Outsidaz demise are greatly exaggerated. While there is always some sort of drama involved with this groundbreaking group of Essex County battle MC's, they have held strong through over 15 years, before, during, and after fame and controversy. Recently, Pacewon stated through his MySpace page that The Outzidaz had new material coming soon. Also, Young Zee's MySpace page states that he is Young Zee of The Outsidaz.