A major change
in the landscape of Southern Hip-Hop has taken place, as Atlanta rap giants Michael
"Mr. Collipark" Crooms and Ying Yang Twins have parted ways and will
no longer work together. The
announcement comes days after the release of the Twins’ new album Chemically
Imbalanced, which hit stores November 28.Chemically
Imbalanced will be the final release the group will release for Mr. Collipark’s
Collipark Music record label."We’ve
done five albums together and I just think we have done all we can together,"
Mr. Collipark told AllHipHop.com. "It’s everybody wanting to do their own
thing. And sometimes there are disagreements involved. At the end of the day it’s
not bitter, it’s just people growing apart."Collipark
serves as executive producer of Chemically Imbalanced, along with rapper/producer
Wyclef Jean and Jerry "Wonder" Duplesis.The
production of Mr. Collipark helped take the Ying Yang Twins from a local Atlanta
act, to an internationally known Southern Hip-Hop group. He
was the group’s main producer and crafted hit singles for the group like "Whistle
While You Twurk," "Wait (The Whisper Song), Bubba Sparxxx’s "Ms.
New Booty" (which featured The Ying Yang Twins) " What’s Happnin!/Salt
Shaker ( Remix )" and others. Mr.
Collipark said that a disagreement over the groups creative direction was the
main reason his 7-year plus relationship with the group has come to an end."I
have to be creative and a boss at the same time," Mr. Collipark told AllHipHop.com.
"Artistically an artist wants to do what they want to do. So, its only so
long you can fight that. Rather than go out bad with what we started, just go
do you and I’ll go do me. And let the legacy be what the legacy is." The
Ying Yang Twins will remained signed to TVT Records, while Mr. Collipark’s label,
Collipark Music will no longer have a professional relationship with the chart-topping
group. Collipark
Music will focus on developing three new Atlanta-area acts in 2007, Kadillak Boyz,
P. Stone and female R&B trio Taurus. Kadillak
Boyz are signed to a deal with Asylum, while rapper P.Stone will release an album
via a deal with Interscope Records. "Kadillak
Boyz are like the muscle of the label," Mr. Collipark said. "I aint
never had no street n***as in my camp but the energy the bring to the table is
crazy. Then you have P. Stone, who is this young, crazy lyrical guy. He’s the
future. The whole vibe of music down here [in Atlanta] is going more street. Sonically,
I am looking to reinvent my sound. I want to build Collipark Music into something
that is going to be legendary, something that’s not just a bunch of hype, but
a label that puts up numbers."In
addition to concentrating on his new artists, Mr. Collipark will produce upcoming
records by Young Jeezy, Mario, Ciara, E-40, Daddy Yankee and others. Kadillak
Boyz are slated to drop in late 2007 on Asylum, while P. Stone is slated top drop
in 2007 on Interscope Records. Mr.
Collipark is currently in negotiations with several labels for female R&B
group Taurus.The
Ying Yang Twins were not available for comment as of press time.
