View source for Agallah

{{short description|American rapper}}
{{BLP sources|date=July 2013}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name            = Agallah
| image           =
| caption         =
| birth_name      = Angel Luis Aguilar<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ascap.com/repertory#/ace/search/workID/896029118 |title=ALCAPURRIAS |website=ASCAP |publisher=American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers |access-date=July 10, 2023}}</ref>
| alias           = {{hlist|8-Off|8-Off Agallah|Agallah Don Bishop|Swagallah}}
| birth_date      = {{birth date and age|1974|5|8}}
| birth_place     = <!--Brooklyn-->{{Nowrap|[[New York City]], U.S.}}
| genre           = [[Hip hop music|Hip hop]]
| years_active    = 1993–present
| label           = {{hlist|[[EastWest Records|EastWest]]|[[Babygrande Records|Babygrande]]|Propain|Ingrooves/Fontana|Universal}}
| past_member_of = [[Purple City Productions|Purple City]]
}}
'''Angel Luis Aguilar''' (born May 8, 1974), better known by his stage names '''Agallah''', '''8-Off''', '''8-Off the Assassin''', '''Brad Piff''', '''Swagallah''' and '''Agallah Don Bishop''', is an American [[rapper]] and [[Record producer|producer]]. He was a member of [[The Diplomats]]-affiliated group [[Purple City Productions|Purple City]] and he is the [[CEO]] of his label Propain Campain. He was formerly known as 8-Off Agallah.
He has ghostwritten songs for many well-known artists. In addition to producing his own music, he also produced tracks for [[Busta Rhymes]], [[Remy Ma]], [[The Diplomats]], [[Guru (rapper)|Guru]], [[Rockin' Squat]], [[Sean Price]], [[Saigon (rapper)|Saigon]], Game Theory, [[PMD (rapper)|PMD]], Das Efx, and [[Mobb Deep]]. In 1995, he finished his debut album, ''Wrap Your Lips Around This'', but it was never properly released because the album was shelved. In 2012, ''Wrap Your Lips Around This'' became available for [[music download|digital download]] from [[Amazon.com]]  and [[iTunes]] after being unreleased for many years.<ref>{{cite web|title=8-Off- Wrap Your Lips Around This|url=https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005CLTGUC/ref=cm_pdp_srp_img_1|work=MP3 Music|publisher=amazon.com|accessdate=2013-01-26}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/wrap-your-lips-around-this/id450039180 |title=iTunes - Music - Wrap Your Lips Around This by 8-Off |publisher=Itunes.apple.com |date=1995-10-24 |accessdate=2013-07-22}}</ref>
==History==
Agallah was born and raised in the [[Brownsville, Brooklyn|Brownsville]] area of the [[Brooklyn, New York|Brooklyn]] borough of [[New York City, New York]]. Agallah started out as a producer, then turned to rhyming and released a major-label single on East West America/[[Elektra Records]] in 1995. In 1997, he featured on  [[R.A. the Rugged Man]]'s track "Till My Heart Stops" on the [[Rawkus Records]] ''[[Soundbombing]]'' compilation an underground classic. A collaboration with [[Mr. Cheeks]] of the [[Lost Boyz]] followed, although the album the single was to appear on, ''Wrap Your Lips Around This'', was never released.  Additionally, there were production stints for the likes of [[EPMD]], [[Das EFX]], [[Onyx]], and [[Group Home]].<ref>[http://www.thaformula.com/agallah_purple_city.htm ] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060516212810/http://www.thaformula.com/agallah_purple_city.htm |date=May 16, 2006 }}</ref>  In 2000, Agallah recorded the ''[[Sesame Street]]''-themed single "Crookie Monster," which became an underground hit,{{Citation needed|date=November 2008}} and featured production by [[The Alchemist (musician)|The Alchemist]].
In early 1997, Agallah teamed up with [[EPMD]] member PMD and formed the hip hop group D.B.D. (Death B4 Dishonor). The other members of the group were Ike Eyes, 215 and Deke O'Malley. The group was short-lived but they recorded a demo album which featured artist [[Guru (rapper)|Guru]] of [[Gang Starr]], [[John Forté]], [[Special Ed]], and Lil Dap of [[Group Home]]. D.B.D. also released a single entitled "Feel This" which was produced by [[KRS-One]]'s brother Kenny Parker.
A friendship with [[Shiest Bub]] led to the formation of [[Purple City Productions|Purple City]] Entertainment (also known as Purple City Productions) with Un Kasa, which attracted the attention of [[The Diplomats|Dipset]] capo [[Jim Jones (rapper)|Jim Jones]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Purple City |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/purple-city-mn0000252086 |title=Purple City &#124; Music Biography, Credits and Discography |publisher=AllMusic |date= |accessdate=2013-07-22}}</ref>  Shiest had been doing promotional work for [[Cam'ron]] and [[Juelz Santana]].  For the new Purple City project, Agallah was christened "the Don Bishop", with Shiest as "the Emperor."  Jones' enthusiasm for Ag's track "Gangsta" garnered the producer/MC a slot on the ''Diplomats Volume 4'' [[mixtape]].
Purple City signed to [[Babygrande Records]] in late 2004.  The following year, the label released a "greatest hits" collection that culled tracks from their mixtapes.
Agallah's profile as a solo artist has also expanded in the wake of Purple City's rise, with the release of ''[[You Already Know (album)|You Already Know]]'' (featuring appearances by [[Dead Prez]] and [[Nappy Roots]], with production by [[DJ Premier]] and [[The Alchemist (musician)|Alchemist]]) on Babygrande coupled with the release of the mixtape ''Propane Piff'' on [[Koch Records]].
His song "Risin' to the Top" appeared in the [[Rockstar Games]]' ''[[Grand Theft Auto III]]'' video game, on the [[Grand Theft Auto III soundtrack|Game Radio FM]] radio station. Agallah later teamed up with Rockstar Games to record the soundtrack for [[Midnight Club 2]]. Agallah's beats are also in the [[EA Sports]] basketball game ''[[NBA Live 08]]'' and ''UFC Undisputed''.
In mid-2007, Agallah stated in a [[MySpace]] bulletin that he was no longer signed to Babygrande.
In 2012, Agallah featured on rapper/producer [[Danny!]]'s seventh studio album ''[[Payback (album)|Payback]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dannyswain.tumblr.com/post/31511835240/1-overture-feat-chell-2-myintrotoletuknow#notes |title=1. Overture (feat. Chell) 2. Myintrotoletuknow... • Gone Danny Gone |publisher=Dannyswain.tumblr.com |date=2012-09-14 |accessdate=2013-07-22}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.okayplayer.com/news/danny-swain-payback-best-danny-mixtape.html |title=Danny! "Payback" Out September 25th + Exclusive "Best Of" Mixtape « Okayplayer Okayplayer |publisher=Okayplayer.com |date=2012-09-10 |accessdate=2013-07-22}}</ref>  Agallah can be seen featured in a number of videos with fellow Propain Campaign member PopOff, including the "Make It Out" video.  One of a number of PopOff music videos produced by Vertex Media, a Hollywood-based film production company.
In 2023, Agallah album "Endangered Species Protocol" was given 4 out of 5 stars by music journalist Keith "Youngin" George II in the entertainment platform ProMediaBank.<ref>{{cite web |title=Promediabank official album review "Endangered species protocol" receives 4 stars |url=https://promediabank.com/promediabank-official-album-review-endangered-species-protocol-by-agallah-don-bishop-receives-4-stars-%e2%ad%90%e2%ad%90%e2%ad%90%e2%ad%90/ |website=promediabank |access-date=25 May 2023}}</ref> Agallah released "Endangered Species Protocol", on March 1, 2023 on his label Propain Campain distributed by [[Empire_Distribution]].
==Discography==
=== Solo albums ===
* ''Wrap Your Lips Around This'' (November 21, 1995, EastWest) (as 8-Off)
* ''You Already Know'' (2006, Babygrande)
* ''Agalito's Way'' (2015, Propain Campain)
* ''Bo: The Legend of the Water Dragon'' (2016, Propain Campain)
* ''Agnum Opus'' (2017, The Order Label)
* ''Ag Al Ghul - No Mercy For The Weak (2018, The Order Label)''
* ''Live At Your Own Risk (2019, Propain Compain)''
* ''Francisco Blanco'' (2021)
* ''Agstalgia'' (2021)
* ''2021 (2021, Propain Campain)''
* ''High Level Art'' (2021)
* ''High Level Art 2 - Blakeside Galleria (2021, Propain Campain)''
* ''The Year Of The Tiger (2022, Propain Campain)''
=== EPs and mixtapes ===
* ''Da Mixtape Iz da Album'' (2001)
* ''Show Up'' (2002) (as 8-Off Agallah)
* ''Doomsday'' (2004)
* ''Propane Piff'' (2006, Babygrande/Koch)
* ''Cakemix'' (2006, Propain Campain)
* ''Fuck a Purple Chain'' (2007)
* ''F.A.M.E.'' (2008, Propain Campain)
* ''Agobama The President'' (2008)
* '''09 Is Mines'' (2009, Propain Campain)
* ''Forever Fire The EP'' (2012, Propain Campain)
* ''Agallah Presents Propain Campain Mixtape'' (2012, Propain Campain)
* ''The Red V'' (2013, Propain Campain)
* ''Propain Campain Presents Agallah The Instrumentals Vol.1'' (2014, Propain Campain)
* ''The Life of Don Francis (Prelude To Agalito's Way)'' (2014, Propain Campain)
* ''Past and Present'' (2014, Propain Campain) (with [[The Alchemist (musician)|The Alchemist]])
* ''Don Status'' (2015, Propain Campain)
* ''Flight of the Cranes'' (2015, self-released) (with DirtyDiggs)
* ''3-Day Theory'' (2017, The Order Label) (with Duke WestLake)
* ''Aggravated'' (2020, self-released)
* ''Black Anarchy Music'' (2020, Propain Campain)
* ''Darona'' (2020, Propain Campain)
* ''Darona 2'' (2020, Propain Campain)
* ''2021'' (2021, self-released)
=== Singles ===
* "Ghetto Girl" (1995, EastWest) (as 8-Off)
* "Alize for Dolo" (1996, EastWest) (as 8-Off)
* "Crookie Monster" (1999, Game)
* "Rising to the Top" (featuring [[Sean Price]]) (2002, Game) (as 8-Off Agallah)
* "Imagine Your Life" (featuring [[Monie Love]]) (2002, Street Level) (as 8-Off Agallah)
* "New York Ryder Music" (2006, Babygrande)
* "Club Hoppin'" (2006, Babygrande)
* "Coat of Arms" (featuring [[Planet Asia]], [[Rasco]] & Tristate) (2013, Propain Campain)
*"Slavery" (2016, Propain Campain)
Blood sweat and Tears By Knowledge Born featuring Agallah
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
* {{Twitter}}
{{The Diplomats}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:American hip hop record producers]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Rappers from Brooklyn]]
[[Category:Underground rappers]]
[[Category:1974 births]]
[[Category:21st-century American rappers]]
[[Category:Five percenters]]
[[Category:Record producers from New York (state)]]
[[Category:People from Brownsville, Brooklyn]]
[[Category:East West Records artists]]