By Ismael AbduSalaam
After years of preparation, former Gang Starr Foundation and Group Home member Lil Dap has announced the August release of his eponymous debut album, I-A-DAP, on Babygrande Records.
After meeting Guru through mutual friends in 1988, Lil Dap helped establish the Gang Starr Foundation along with more celebrated members Jeru the Damaja and DJ Premier.
Lil Dap rose to prominence in 1995 as a member of the New York duo Group Home with Malachi the Nutcracker.
After appearances on Gang Starr’s “Speak Ya Clout” and “Words from the Nutcracker,” DJ Premier completely handled production for Group Home’s debut, Livin’ Proof.
The seminal album is widely hailed as a production classic, and housed the memorable singles “Supa Star,” “Livin’ Proof,” and “Suspended in Time.”
After a lukewarm reception to their Premier-less sophomore offering, Tear in the Ghetto, the group disbanded in 1999.
The group’s dissolution also marked Dap’s departure from the Gang Starr Foundation due to creative differences.
Lil Dap’s I-A-DAP boasts production from Large Professor and Alchemist, and rhyme contributions from Guru and Big Noyd.
The album has been in the works since 2000 and Babygrande Records has promised the project is a “reinvigoration of the classic ‘golden age’ sound that both defined and continues to influence an entire generation of emcees.”
I-A-DAP is set to hit stores on August 5, 2008.