Notice: Undefined variable: PHP_SELF in C:\www\mentalityrecords.com\killmusick2\artists\rate.php on line 11 Rating: 1110 Ratings ExcellentVery GoodGoodFineBad	The Dayton Family
Biography

The Dayton Family is widely considered to be one of the most influential gangsta rap groups of all time. The Dayton family writes harder lyrics and each of their songs is like a mini movie, truly representing the nightmare of urban gangsta life. Their last 2 albums, FBI and WHAT'S ON MY MIND sold 400,000 & 300,000 respectively. The Dayton Family hails from Flint, Michigan and virtually created the Michigan Rap Sound that spawned alot of Flint Groups like Jake the Flake. DOPE HOUSE is the Dayton Family's first new album in 6 years. The popularity remains sky high, witnessed by the continued great sales of FBI and WHATS ON MY MIND, not to mention the group was just on the cover of Murder Dog Magazine. DOPE HOUSE is a masterpiece consisting of 13 songs narrating the gangsta adventures of members Bootleg and Shoe String and BackStabber.. From Group to Solo's ... The Dayton Family is one of the greatest.

Their discography says it all....

by Jason Birchmeier

Though the Dayton Family never extended their reach to either the West or East Coast, the little-known rap group garnered a substantial cult following in the Midwest during the mid-'90s with their potent hardcore rap. Their unlikely home base of Flint, MI, immediately gave them an idiosyncratic identity; a relatively uneventful, far-from-glitzy post-industrial city an hour outside of Detroit, Flint hosts some of the most depressed ghettos in America. It was from these hopeless streets that the Dayton Family arose, naming themselves after one of the city's most infamous hustling streets, Dayton Avenue. Like Detroit's Esham and Memphis' Three 6 Mafia, the Dayton Family sincerely emulated their Midwestern mentality: a dark, grim mentality focused on modest survival rather than riches or fame. Unfortunately, the group's members all endured problems with the law throughout the late '90s; their numerous indictments prevented them from ever capitalizing on their modest success. As a result, years passed with only the occasional solo album to retain any interest in the cult group.
Back in the early '90s, Shoestring and Bootleg met via their younger brothers (one of them being future group member Ghetto E), and immediately began writing rhymes together, resulting in their first song "Dope Dayton Ave." It wasn't long before another aspiring rapper named Steve Hinkle joined the duo and then, after teaming up with a local producer named Steve Pitts, the Dayton Family officially became a group. Together they recorded a 12" and got signed by the small Atlanta indie label Po Broke, who then released the group's debut album, What's on My Mind?, in 1995. In addition to this debut album, the Dayton Family also managed to score a slot on No Limit's Down South Hustlers compilation, where they opened the double album with their "Stick N Move" track — a magnificent break, the Dayton Family now had recognition not only in Flint but also throughout the South.

After substantial touring and word-of-mouth promotion, the Dayton Family returned to the studio to record their follow-up album, F.B.I. As a testament to their quick ascension to the position of being one of the underground's most up-and-coming hardcore rap groups, F.B.I. ended up going gold and even managed to inch into the R&B Top Ten chart at one point in late 1996. Unfortunately, just as the Dayton Family were on their way to mass recognition in the hardcore rap underground, the law intervened. Between What's on My Mind? and F.B.I., group member Steve Hinkle had gone to jail, being replaced by Bootleg's younger brother, Ghetto E. But if that wasn't enough, Bootleg ended up being indicted after the release of F.B.I., soon followed by other group members over the course of the successive years. Throughout the late '90s, while the Dayton Family dealt with their legal problems, both Bootleg and Shoestring managed to record and release solo albums in 1999. Unfortunately, neither of the albums managed to sell many copies outside of Flint and suddenly the group was bordering on the brink of calling it quits. Yet in early 2001, Ghetto E and Shoestring both signed to Detroit rapper Esham's Overcore label, a testament of the group's continuing persistence in the face of constant adversity.

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