Camp Lo is an American Hip Hop duo, formed in 1995, which hails from The Bronx, New York. The duo consists of rappers Sonny Cheeba and Geechi Suede, who are most notable for their flair towards blaxploitation in their style of dress and in their lyrics. Camp Lo made their first appearance in 1996 on The Great White Hype soundtrack, with their single "Coolie High". The smooth party song was a minor hit, peaking at #25 on the Billboard Hot Rap Singles chart. Their first major exposure came with the release of their second single, the upbeat, horn driven "Luchini AKA This Is It".
Camp Lo made their first appearance in 1996 on The Great White Hype soundtrack, with their single "Coolie High". The smooth party song was a minor hit, peaking at #25 on the Billboard Hot Rap Singles chart. Their first major exposure came with the release of their second single, the upbeat, horn driven "Luchini AKA This Is It". The song became a crossover hit in 1997, breaking into the top 50 on the Billboard Hot 100, and reaching the top 5 on the Hot Rap Singles chart. The duo released their debut album Uptown Saturday Night in January 1997. The effort was widely acclaimed, praised for their light accessible content and their smooth, Funk and Jazz inspired production.
The majority of the album was produced by Ski, famous for his work with Jay-Z. Guest appearances were provided by De La Soul's Trugoy and Digable Planets' Butterfly. The album's 70's-style content was influential on a number of artists within the next few years after its release, like Will Smith, who enlisted Camp Lo for an appearance on his top-selling Big Willie Style album. Also in 1997, they appeared on Oran "Juice" Jones' single "Poppin' That Fly". They collaborated with Hip Hop legends De La Soul in 2000, on the song "So Good" from the Hip Hop 101 Compilation. They finally returned with another album in 2002, titled Let's Do It Again. This effort was not nearly as revered as their debut, and was met with mediocre reviews and sales. Shortly after the album's release, Aesop Rock enlisted them to appear on his album Bazooka Tooth, exposing them to fans of the underground Definitive Jux label. The duo has recently been in negotiations with Blacksmith Records, a label headed by rapper Talib Kweli. Kweli has expressed interest in signing Camp Lo to his label. In 2006, Camp Lo recorded the song "I Wanna Be" for Midway's NBA Ballers: Phenom Soundtrack. Also in 2006, "Bed Rock", the first single from the Fort Apache Mixtape was released exclusively through on-line sources.