Frank N Dank

Dispensing rhymes obsessed with girls and late-night adventures, <a href="spotify:artist:4dvxhuBJRIbJtZVHGeKoDq">Frank Bush</a> and Derrick "Dank" Harvey, known collectively as Frank-n-Dank, were hustling on the streets of Detroit's east side before mentor and revered producer <a href="spotify:artist:16L1SS4OancaZUTu3qWqHb">Jay Dee</a> (aka Dilla) channeled their talents into music. Growing up together in Detroit's Conant Gardens area, the three were friends since the mid-'80s and even had a preliminary rap group where Dilla was the MC, <a href="spotify:artist:4dvxhuBJRIbJtZVHGeKoDq">Frank</a> the DJ, and Dank the breakdancer. However, the Frank-n-Dank tag team came to fruition in 1995 as they both began sharpening their rhyme skills. In the initial stages of the duo, Frank-n-Dank were entirely produced by <a href="spotify:artist:16L1SS4OancaZUTu3qWqHb">Jay Dee</a>, even while the producer was a full-time member of another Conant Gardens-bred group, <a href="spotify:artist:1020a42xVklY6c56imNcaa">Slum Village</a>. Their first 12" singles, "Everybody Get Up" b/w "Give It Up, Pt. 2" and "Love Is a Thing of the Past," appeared in 1999 via <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Fat+Beats+Records%22">Fat Beats Records</a> before the duo signed to major label <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22MCA%22">MCA</a> the following year. The duo continued to release Dilla-produced underground 12"s, selling relatively well overseas, through <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Up+Above%22">Up Above</a>, <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Groove+Attack%22">Groove Attack</a>, and <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22ABB%22">ABB</a>. However, all of the effort that went in to making their major-label debut, 48 Hours, was cast to the side as <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22MCA%22">MCA</a> refused to support and release the album. (A bootlegged version of the LP was eventually released in 2003.) Frank-n-Dank kept their name afloat by contributing verses to various <a href="spotify:artist:16L1SS4OancaZUTu3qWqHb">Jay Dee</a> projects, including Welcome 2 Detroit (2001) and the Dilla/<a href="spotify:artist:5LhTec3c7dcqBvpLRWbMcf">Madlib</a> collaboration Champion Sound (2003), and finally issued their official debut, Xtended Play, Version 3.13, in 2006. When <a href="spotify:artist:16L1SS4OancaZUTu3qWqHb">Jay Dee</a> passed away earlier that year, it left a big void in the group's musical direction, but they still attempted to keep his hip-hop soul blueprint intact on subsequent releases, offering both The EP and the CD/DVD combo European Vacation in 2007. The latter effort chronicled some of <a href="spotify:artist:16L1SS4OancaZUTu3qWqHb">Jay Dee</a>'s last days and also debuted the FDR Project, which consisted of Frank-n-Dank plus former <a href="spotify:artist:6YIllbHGkgifcCut5A6Nrl">B.R. Gunna</a> producer <a href="spotify:artist:5KBwAQ3DCGfHNdAcFr4eSh">Young RJ</a>. In 2013, an extended two-disc version of 48 Hours was officially released. ~ Cyril Cordor, Rovi