Poor Righteous Teachers are a Hip Hop group from Trenton, New Jersey, founded in 1989. Often referred to as PRT by their fans, Poor Righteous Teachers are known as pro-Black conscious hip hop artists, with musical content inspired by the teachings of the Nation of Gods and Earths. Wise Intelligent, as the lead MC, is the most visible and well known member of the group. Culture Freedom provides backing vocals and production and Father Shaheed serves as a DJ and producer. Its discography, for the most part on Profile Records, is out of print, and Profile Records is now controlled by Arista Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment.
Career
PRT debuted in 1989 with the release of the single "Time to Say Peace" b/w "Butt Naked Booty Bless". The trio released their first album, Holy Intellect, in 1990, amid a number of similarly pro-Black, albums such as Public Enemy's Fear of a Black Planet, X-Clan's To the East, Blackwards and Brand Nubian's One for All. [1] While not as commercially successful as these albums, Holy Intellect received critical acclaim, and spawned the group's only major radio hit, "Rock Dis Funky Joint". PRT returned in 1991 with their second album, Pure Poverty. The album was not as commercially successful than their debut, and was not as acclaimed. The lead single "Shakiyla (JRH)", became a minor rap hit that year. Their third, and possibly most successful release to date, Black Business, was released in 1993. Sales were once again limited, but the album was a critical success. The album's lead single, "Nobody Move", received little radio airplay. Wise Intelligent released his first solo album, Killin' U for Fun, in early 1996, and was met with mixed reviews and no significant amount of sales, failing to reach any Billboard album chart. After a three-year hiatus, PRT returned as a group in 1996 with their fourth album, The New World Order. Released in a new Hip Hop era, the album received little attention, failing to reach the Billboard 200 album chart. The album's lead single, "Word Iz Life", was barely able to reach the Hot Rap Singles chart, peaking at the chart's lowest position, #50. Despite the lack of significant attention, the album, like their past releases, received significant acclaim.
PRT had a short feud with rapper YZ over reels of tapes that YZ would not give back to its owner, PRT.[2]
Post-Career
Wise Intelligent has had the most success as a solo artist, releasing solo albums Killin' U... For Fun in 1996 and The Talented Timothy Taylor in 2007.[3] The group didn't return until 2001, when they dropped the rare underground release Declaration of Independence. In 2006, Cha-Ching Records released Rare & Unreleased, a compilation of rare Poor Righteous Teachers songs and remixes.[4] Wise Intelligent released a mixtape in 2006 titled Blessed Be the Poor? Wise Intelligent has also appeared as a featured artist, most notably on two songs in 2006: Jel's song "WMD" from Soft Money, and "Black" from Oh No's Exodus into Unheard Rhythms . His most recent appearance was on a collaboration for the Stop The Violence Movement, "Self Construction", headed by KRS-One.
Discography
| Album information |
Holy Intellect
- Released: March 16, 1990
- Billboard 200 chart position: #142
- R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: #17
- Singles: "Time to Say Peace"/"Butt Naked Booty Bless", "Rock Dis Funky Joint",
"Holy Intellect"/"Self-Styled Wisdom"
|
Pure Poverty
- Released: July 1, 1991
- Billboard 200 chart position: #155
- R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: #23
- Singles: "Shakiyla (JRH)"/"Stricly Mash'ion", "Easy Star"
|
Black Business
- Released: September 14, 1993
- Billboard 200 chart position: #167
- R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: #29
- Singles: "Nobody Move"/"Da Rill Shit"
|
The New World Order
- Released: October 1, 1996
- Billboard 200 chart position: -
- R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: #57
- Singles: "Word Iz Life"/"Dreadful Day", "Conscious Style"
|
References
External links
