Beanie Sigel and Black Thought are two of the most celebrated rappers to hail from the city of Philadelphia, with a combined legacy that spans over several decades. But did you know that these two lyrical titans were actually in the same rap group in high school?
That’s right, the Broad Street Bully and the legendary Roots MC went to the same elementary school in Philly, where they formed a group called The Crash Crew, along with another friend named Waleek.
In an interview with VLADTV, Beanie reminisced about his early days in music and revealed that Black Thought was his first rap partner. “We were running around writing graffiti, breakdancing, we just hung out together,” he said. “Playing hookey over school and listening to Sugar Hill Gang – major Scarface fan.”
In a separate interview with AllHipHop, Black Thought revealed that The Crash Crew had two breakdancers, his cousin doing graffiti on stage, and a human beatboxer – representing all the elements of Hip Hop culture except the DJ. And they even won a school talent show! While Beanie didn’t provide much more detail about their high school group, Black Thought shared more about it in a 2020 interview with AllHipHop.
Black Thought: We came and we had two break-dancers, my cousin’s doing graffiti on stage, and we had a human beatboxer, and just every element of Hip Hop culture, except the DJ. We didn’t have a DJ ’cause we performed to cassette, but all the elements were represented, and we wound up taking the title that year, and I sort of never looked back since then. Beanie Sigel is from the same neighborhood. He’s like a year younger than me. So I was in third grade. His older sister was my classmate. We are from the same part of South Philly, just a block or so apart. We’ve known each other since we were babies. So that was both of our first rap performances together.
Beanie Sigel Remembers His Elementary School Rap Group With Black Thought | HipHopDX
But as fate would have it, Beanie and Thought’s paths crossed again years later when they both found fame in the rap game. The two collaborated on deep cuts like “Adrenaline!” and “Philly Live,” with each MC showcasing their unique brand of rap potency. Since then, both Philly rappers have cemented themselves as two of the greatest lyricists to ever touch a mic.
