The Firm

The East Coast gangsta rap supergroup The Firm never lived up to its excessive hype and instead became a brief footnote in the careers of its main participants. The foursome included four New York rappers -- Nas, Foxy Brown, Az, and Nature -- but was actually the pet project of its producers: Nas Escobar (as he referred to himself at the time), Steve "commissioner" Stoute, Dr. Dre, and The Trackmasters. On paper, the group seemed nothing short of spectacular: on the vocals Nas and Foxy Brown, two of New York's favorite rappers at the time; on the beats Dre and The Trackmasters, two of the industry's most accomplished producers of the time; and signing the checks Stoute, the man standing alongside Puff Daddy as New York's biggest career-booster. On paper this looked like an invincible team for sure; however, the overconfident, over-reaching attitudes of all involved ironically became the group's downfall.



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