U.N.L.V. (group)
U.N.L.V. is a hip-hop group from New Orleans, Louisiana. Their name is an acronym for "Uptown Niggas Living Violent". Music career. The original members of the group were Lil Ya (Yaphet Jones), Tec-9 (Jermaine Stines), and Yella Boy (Albert Thomas). Their debut album, "6th and Baronne", was released in 1993 on Cash Money. The album was not released outside of the local region, but it was successful there and established Cash Money as a prominent label in the city. Today it is often considered a classic of New Orleans rap. Their next two albums, "Straight Out Tha  Gutta" in 1994 and "Mac Melph Calio" in 1995, were similar to their debut. The raps were mostly about guns, violence, and sex overlaying New Orleans bounce beats provided by Mannie Fresh. The group released one more album on Cash Money in 1996, titled "Uptown 4 Life". This was the group's first album to have more than a local distribution, and it was their first and only album to chart nationally, peaking at #86 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. The album featured the song "Drag 'Em in the River", which was a diss song directed at  fellow New Orleans rapper Mystikal. According to Mannie Fresh in a 2008 interview, the song's beat was the major reason Cash Money was able to sign rapper Juvenile, and in 2001 the same beat was reused for Juvenile's single "Set It Off". The group's success was tempered, however, by the death of group member Yella Boy, who was murdered in 1997 in New Orleans. On March 6, 2002 Terrance ‘Gangsta’ Williams was sentenced to Life for the unsolved 1997 murder of Albert “Yella Boy” Thomas. Following this album, the group left Cash Money Records. Although the group  was no longer on the label, Cash Money began re-releasing the group's albums and giving them national distribution. This would later lead to a lawsuit from the group against the label, claiming they could not re-release their material without their permission when they were not on the label. The suit was settled in July 2007, with the settlement being confidential. After leaving Cash Money, the group went on a hiatus for some time, but in the 2000s they have released three more studio albums, "The Return of U.N.L.V.: Trendsetters" in 2001, "Keep It Gutta" in 2003, and  The Relaunch on May 20, 2014. Their latest album has a feature from former Cash Money member Turk. Following the settlement of their 2007 lawsuit with Cash Money, U.N.L.V. released "U.N.L.V. Greatest Hits Collection. Discography. Studio Albums