Purple City

by Cyril CordorExemplified most by 50 Cent and his G-Unit entourage, the New York mixtape circuit has been an important breeding ground for developing rap artists. The Harlem-based Purple City crew, known for their collaborations with the Diplomats, released several underground mixtapes in the early 2000s, selling over 80,000 units without the support of any distribution label. Although they are more a set of artists based around the company Purple City Entertainment (also called Purple City Productions) than an actual rap group, the core members are Shiest Bub, Un Kasa, and longtime underground MC "Don Bishop" Agallah, who is also Purple City's main producer. Once Shiest Bub gained experience in promoting for Dipset leaders Cam'ron and Juelz Santana, he founded Purple City with Un Kasa's and "Don Bishop" Agallah's help and made himself CEO. At the end of 2004, they signed an opportune deal with Babygrande Records that led the label to release a best-of/hits compilation, three albums, and possible solo ventures. The 2005 Babygrande releases, Road to the Riches: The Best of the Purple City Mixtapes and The Purple Album, both held spots on the top independent and rap album charts. Despite the promising outlook, shaky relations drove Un Kasa, who cited reasons of bad business and communication, to leave the group in 2006.