History ·
From a ninth-grade field trip to Dreamville: how EarthGang started
The origin story of EarthGang, from Benjamin E. Mays High School in Atlanta to signing with J. Cole's Dreamville Records.
Every long-running group has an origin story. EarthGang's starts on a ninth-grade field trip.
Meeting at Mays High
Olu (Johnny Venus) and WowGr8 (Doctur Dot) were students at Benjamin Elijah Mays High School in Atlanta when they met on a school field trip. Olu later asked WowGr8 about starting a group, and EarthGang was formed in 2008, while both were still in high school.
The do-it-yourself years
For the first several years, everything was self-released:
- The Better Party (EP), January 26, 2010
- Mad Men, April 30, 2011
- Hidden by the City, a joint project with JID, September 28, 2011
- Good News, December 26, 2011
Releasing three projects in one year is a lot, and it shows how hungry they were. They also played Atlanta's A3C Festival in 2010, a key stage for up-and-coming Southern rappers.
Building a crew
Instead of chasing a label right away, the duo built a community. They heard JID's first mixtape circulating around Hampton University in 2010 and brought him into the fold. Hollywood JB and Jurdan Bryant followed, and later Mereba and 6lack. The crew became Spillage Village. Read more about Spillage Village.
Albums and the road
Shallow Graves for Toys (2013) and Strays with Rabies (2015) earned the duo critical attention, and they spent years on the road opening for Ab-Soul, Mac Miller, and Bas. Read our guide to the early albums.
Dreamville
In August 2017, EarthGang signed with J. Cole's Dreamville Records. JID had signed to Dreamville earlier, so the crew was moving up together. The duo marked the deal with three EPs, Rags, Robots, and Royalty, then made the major-label debut album Mirrorland in 2019.
From a field trip to a Grammy nomination took about twelve years. Keep reading with our guide to the EP trilogy.