The Leaders of the New School were an American hip hop crew composed of Uniondale, New York natives Charlie Brown, Dinco D, Busta Rhymes and Cut Monitor Milo, Busta Rhymes' cousin. The four got their start touring with hip hop group Public Enemy, and in fact it was member Chuck D who gave Busta Rhymes and Charlie Brown their names. [1]
The group made their first appearance on an Elektra Records compilation titled Rubáiyát: Elektra's 40th Anniversary, with a song called "Mt. Airy Groove". LONS soon joined up with popular hip hop collective, the Native Tongues Posse, along with the Jungle Brothers, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest and Black Sheep. [1]
In 1991 Busta Rhymes made a guest appearance on A Tribe Called Quest's hit single "Scenario," and LONS joined ATCQ on the Arsenio Hall Show to perform the track with them. Their debut album also came in 1991, entitled A Future Without a Past, which included the hits "Case of the P.T.A.", "Sobb Story" and "The International Zone Coaster". The group was praised for their light-hearted content, and old-school call-and-response deliveries. Their second and last album was T.I.M.E., released in 1993, which stood for "The Inner Mind's Eye". The album was less acclaimed than their debut, but spawned rap hits "What's Next" and "Classic Material". [1]
As time passed, fans and critics began to focus less on LONS as a group, and more on rapper Busta Rhymes as an individual. During an infamous appearance on the TV show Yo! MTV Raps, the group was seen arguing, with member Charlie Brown becoming upset over Busta's show-stealing. The group soon split up, with Charlie Brown, Dinco D, and Milo garnering very limited success individually, while Busta Rhymes' popularity continued to increase. The group made an appearance on Busta's 1996 debut album The Coming, on the track "Keep It Movin'". However, in a recent interview, Busta Rhymes stated that he does not talk to Charlie Brown and Dinco D anymore, and even went as far to call Dinco D a "dickhead"[citation needed].
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