Souls of Mischief
Souls of Mischief biography and discography: East Oakland’s A-Plus, Opio, Phesto and Tajai, the Hieroglyphics crew, 93 ’til Infinity, No Man’s Land, Hiero Imperium, Prince Paul and Adrian Younge.
East Oakland
A-Plus, Opio, Phesto and Tajai started rhyming together as kids in East Oakland and were a group by high school, forming Souls of Mischief in 1991. They were part of Hieroglyphics, the crew built around Del the Funky Homosapien with Casual, Pep Love, Jaybiz and producer Domino, and they debuted on Del's records before Jive signed them.
93 'til Infinity
Their debut, 93 'til Infinity (1993), was produced inside the crew by Domino, Del, A-Plus, Casual and Jaybiz. The title track, built on Billy Cobham's “Heather,” reached No. 72 on the Hot 100 and No. 11 on the Hot Rap Singles chart, and has since been certified platinum. At a time when the Bay was known for mobb music, Souls stood out for dense, multi-syllable rhyming; AllMusic said the group “completely redefined the art of lyrical technique for the West Coast.”
Going independent
After No Man's Land (1995), the group and the rest of Hieroglyphics left the major-label system and in 1997 launched their own label, Hieroglyphics Imperium. Souls released Focus (1998) and Trilogy: Conflict, Climax, Resolution (2000) there, alongside the crew albums. Montezuma's Revenge (2009) was produced by Prince Paul, and There Is Only Now (2014), made with Adrian Younge, is a concept album built around a story from their Oakland youth.
Legacy
“93 'til Infinity” has been sampled or referenced by Kanye West and Consequence, J. Cole, Big K.R.I.T. and Joey Bada$$, and a 2013 documentary, 'Til Infinity: The Souls of Mischief, marked its 20th anniversary.
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