View source for Down Low (rap group)

{{BLP sources|date=December 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2021}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name            = Down Low
| image           = Down_Low_1999.jpg
| caption         = Down Low on 16 July 1999, shortly before their concert in [[Dresden]], [[Germany]]
| alt             =
| image_size      = 200px
| origin          = [[Kaiserslautern]], [[Germany]]
| genre           = [[Hip hop music|Hip hop]]<br /> [[Rap]]<ref name="Down Low">{{cite web |url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p290101|pure_url=yes}}|title=Down Low|publisher=Musicline.de|accessdate= 9 March 2010}}</ref>
| years_active    = 1995–present
| label           = K-Town
| current_members = Joe Thompson<br />Mike Dalien
| past_members    = Darren Tucker<br />Eric Lamont Smith
}}
'''Down Low''' is a [[rap group]] formed in [[Kaiserslautern]], [[Germany]], in 1995 fronted by Americans Joe Thompson and Darren Tucker.<ref name="swr3.de: Biografie Down Low ">{{cite web|url=http://www.swr3.de/musik/poplexikon/-/id=927882/did=67754/jw9a7d/index.html|title=swr3.de: Biografie Down Low|publisher=swr3.de|accessdate=2017-02-14|archive-date=15 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170215213010/http://www.swr3.de/musik/poplexikon/-/id=927882/did=67754/jw9a7d/index.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Mike Dalien joined the group in 1996 since Joe and Darren had decided to go separate ways. The group is known for hits like "[[Johnny B. (song)|Johnny B.]]"  Down Low are considered as one of the first groups to bring hip-hop music in a European style in the middle of the 1990s together with artists such as [[C-Block]], [[Nana (rapper)|Nana]] and A.K.{{spaced ndash}} S.W.I.F.T.
== History ==
The group was formed in December 1995 in the K-Town studios in Kaiserslautern. The members were American rapper Joe Thompson, who served in the [[United States Army|U.S. Army]] during [[Gulf War|Operation Desert Storm]] and had a friendship with Rod. D from [[Fun Factory (band)|Fun Factory]], as well as singer and fellow American Darren Tucker. The first single "Don't Look Any Further", a hip-hop version of the song of the same name of the [[M People]] received no attention; the second song "Vision of Life", however, became a hit in several European countries in the middle of 1996.
Shortly after the publication of "Vision of Life", Tucker had to leave the group due to disputes with his manager. He was replaced by Mike Dalien. The album ''Visions'' and the singles "Murder" over the case of [[O. J. Simpson]], "Potion" and "Lovething/We Do It Like That" followed soon. Together with [[Flip Da Scrip]], the group produced the song "Nothing Like Viva" as a hymn on the German music-television channel [[VIVA (TV station)|VIVA]] under the project name ''Hip Hop Alliance''.
A second album, ''It Ain't Over'', followed at the end of 1997. The song "[[Johnny B. (song)|Johnny B.]]", a cover version of [[The Hooters]], became the group's largest hit and climbed to number four in the German single charts. Radio NRJ distinguished Down Low as the best rap act in 1997.
In the spring of 1998, the group created ''Rapper Against Racism'' in order to promote talented new singers and rappers (La Mazz, Trooper Da Don, [[Jay Supreme]] and others) and point a spot on racism still present in Germany at that time.
In the autumn of 1998 the group released the album ''Third Dimension''. The single "Once Upon A Time" could tie to past successes; the probably saddest song of the group contained elements from the music by [[Ennio Morricone]] for the [[epic Western|epic]] [[spaghetti Western|spaghetti-Western]] film ''[[Once Upon a Time in the West]]'' (1968).  With the song "H.I.V.", one drew the attention of the dangers of the [[AIDS]] virus.
After the publication of a greatest-hits album, the group took a break for {{frac|1|1|2}} years. In 2001, the fourth album, ''The 4th Level'', which was clearly an R&B-album, was released. Dalien left the group because of musical differences in 2001 at the beginning of the work on ''The 4th Level''. His successor became Erick "Rick" Lamont Smith, who had already co-operated in the past with the group and had published some singles under the name La Mazz and Dressman. Since the German public had lost the interest in European rap in the meantime, the group could celebrate no further success in Germany. In 2002, the record company published a remix of ''Murder'' with samples of the rapper [[Warren G]].
In 2003, the group released a DVD, ''Visions – The Singles 1997–2003''. Shortly thereafter, Mike Dalien left the group and was replaced by Eric Lamont Smith. In the autumn of 2003, the single "Living in the Ghetto" appeared. The publication was, however, a single-handed attempt of the record company; the artists experienced only later of it, and for the lack of promotion the song found no commercial attention, but nevertheless became a club hit. Thompson accused SHIFT Music later of cannibalizing the group from money scarcities.
For 2004, an album, ''Down Low V / Adrenaline'', was announced. But since the new style of the group did not please the record company, the album was not published. For a while it looked like as if the artists would possibly close a contract with a new label in the United States, for legal reasons probably under a new project name. However, in April 2005 Thompson announced that the group had settled the controversy with SHIFT and would work on new material again. The first song "Every Day (MMMM)" of the album ''Return of The Trendsetter'' was released 27 October 2006.
In June 2010, Dalien rejoined the group and Eric Smith left.
On 23 May 2014, Down Low released their comeback single "Friday Night".<ref name="Amazon.com">{{cite web |url=https://www.amazon.com/Friday-Night-Down-Low/dp/B00KGBF9EK|title=Amazon.com: Down Low (Friday Night)|website=Amazon |accessdate=2014-06-18}}</ref>
== Discography ==
===Studio albums===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:12em;" | Title
! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:16em;" | Album details
! scope="col" colspan="10" | Peak chart positions
|-
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;" | [[GfK Entertainment charts|GER]]<br /><ref name="German peaks">{{cite web |url=http://www.officialcharts.de/artist.asp?name=Down+Low&country=de|title=Charts.de: Down Low (Discography)|publisher=Charts.de|work=[[GfK Entertainment charts|Media Control]]|accessdate=2014-06-18|language=German}}{{dead link|date=December 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;" |[[International Federation of the Phonographic Industry|AUT]]<br /><ref name="Austrian Positions: Down Low Discography"/>
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;" |[[Finland's Official List|FIN]]<br /><ref name="Finnish Positions: Down Low Discography"/>
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;" |[[Federation of the Italian Music Industry|ITA]]<br /><ref name="Italian Positions: Down Low Discography"/>
|-
! scope="row" |''Visions''
|
* Released: 14 October 1996
* Label: Shift, ([[ZYX Music|ZYX]])
* Formats: [[Compact disc|CD]], [[Cassette tape|Cassette]]
| 77 || — || — || —
|-
! scope="row" |''It Ain't Over''
|
* Released: 24 November 1997
* Label: Shift, (ZYX)
* Formats: CD, Cassette
| 37 || 47 || 9 || —
|-
! scope="row" |''Third Dimension''
|
* Released: 16 November 1998
* Label: Shift, (ZYX)
* Formats: CD, Cassette
| 84 || — || — || —
|-
! scope="row" |''Moonlight''<br /><span style="font-size:85%;">(released in Italy only)</span>
|
* Released: March, 1999<ref name="Hits of the World: Italy (Issue: 27 March 1999)"/>
* Label: Baby/RTI
* Formats: CD, Cassette
| — || — || — ||5<ref name="Hits of the World: Italy (Issue: 27 March 1999)">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XQ0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA70|title=Hits of the World: Italy (Issue: March 27, 1999)|date=27 March 1999|accessdate= 9 March 2010}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" |''The 4th Level''
|
* Released: 2 April 2001
* Label: Shift, (ZYX)
* Formats: CD, Cassette
| — || — || — || —
|-
! scope="row" |''Return of the Trendsetter''
|
* Released: 27 October 2006
* Label: Shift, (ZYX)
* Formats: CD
| — || — || — || —
|-
|colspan="15" style="font-size:90%;"|"—" denotes items which were not released in that country or failed to chart.
|}
===Compilation albums===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:12em;" | Title
! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:16em;" | Album details
! scope="col" colspan="10" | Peak chart positions
|-
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;" |[[GfK Entertainment charts|GER]]<br /><ref name="German peaks"/>
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;" |[[International Federation of the Phonographic Industry|AUT]]<br /><ref name="Austrian Positions: Down Low Discography"/>
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;" |[[Finland's Official List|FIN]]<br /><ref name="Finnish Positions: Down Low Discography"/>
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;" |[[Federation of the Italian Music Industry|ITA]]<br /><ref name="Italian Positions: Down Low Discography"/>
|-
! scope="row" |''Best Of''
|
* Released: 26 July 1999
* Label: Shift, (ZYX)
* Formats: CD
| — || — || — || —
|-
! scope="row" |''Visions: Best of the Singles 1997-2003''
|
* Released: 3 March 2003
* Label: ZYX
* Formats: CD
| — || — || — || —
|-
|colspan="15" style="font-size:90%;"|"—" denotes items which were not released in that country or failed to chart.
|}
===Singles===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:16em;" | Title
! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Year
! scope="col" colspan="7" | Peak chart positions
! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Album
|-
!style="width:3em;font-size:90%"|[[GfK Entertainment charts|GER]]<br /><ref name="German peaks"/>
!style="width:3em;font-size:90%" |[[Ö3 Austria Top 40|AUT]]<br /><ref name="Austrian Positions: Down Low Discography">{{cite web |url=http://www.austriancharts.at/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Down+Low|title=Austrian Positions: Down Low Discography|publisher= austriancharts.at (Hung Medien)|accessdate= 9 March 2010}}</ref>
!style="width:3em;font-size:90%"  |[[Finland's Official List|FIN]]<br /><ref name="Finnish Positions: Down Low Discography">{{cite web |url=http://www.finnishcharts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Down+Low|title=Finnish Positions: Down Low Discography|publisher=finnishcharts.com (Hung Medien) |accessdate= 9 March 2010}}</ref>
!style="width:3em;font-size:90%"  |[[Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique|FRA]]<br /><ref name="French Positions: Down Low Discography">{{cite web |url=http://lescharts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Down+Low|title=French Positions: Down Low Discography|publisher=lescharts.com (Hung Medien)|accessdate= 9 March 2010}}</ref>
!style="width:3em;font-size:90%"  |[[Federation of the Italian Music Industry|ITA]]<br /><ref name="Italian Positions: Down Low Discography">{{cite web |url=http://www.italiancharts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Down+Low|title=Italian Positions: Down Low Discography|publisher=italiancharts.com (Hung Medien)|accessdate= 9 March 2010}}</ref>
!style="width:3em;font-size:90%"  |[[Sverigetopplistan|SWE]]<br /><ref name="Swedish Positions: Down Low Discography">{{cite web |url=http://www.swedishcharts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Down+Low|title=Swedish Positions: Down Low Discography|publisher=swedishcharts.com (Hung Medien)|accessdate= 9 March 2010}}</ref>
!style="width:3em;font-size:90%"  |[[Swiss Music Charts|SWI]]<br /><ref name="Swiss Positions: Down Low Discography">{{cite web |url=http://www.swisscharts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Down+Low|title=Swiss Positions: Down Low Discography|publisher= swisscharts.com (Hung Medien) |accessdate= 9 March 2010}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" |"Vision of Life"
| rowspan="3"|1996
| 19 || — || — || 10 || — || — || —
|rowspan="4"|''Visions''
|-
! scope="row" |"Murder"
| 25 || — || — || — || — || — || 38
|-
! scope="row" |"Nothing Like Viva"<br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Hip Hop Alliance (featuring Down Low and Flip Da Scrip)</span>
| 91 || — || — || — || — || — || 46
|-
! scope="row" |"Potion"
| rowspan="4"|1997
| 37 || — || — || — || — || — || —
|-
! scope="row"|"Lovething"
| 82 || — || — || — || — || — || —
|rowspan="4"|''It Ain't Over''
|-
! scope="row"|"Moonlight"
| 35 || — || — || — || — || — || —
|-
! scope="row"|"[[Johnny B (song)|Johnny B.]]"
| 4 || 13 || 7 || 33 || — || 14 || 8
|-
! scope="row"|"Hit Me Right"
| rowspan="2"|1998
| 95 || — || — || — || — || — || —
|-
! scope="row"|"Once Upon a Time"
| 4 || 7 || — || 26 ||6<ref name="Hits of the World: Italy (Issue: 20 February 1999)">{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_Zg4EAAAAMBAJ|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_Zg4EAAAAMBAJ/page/n55 42]|title=Hits of the World: Italy (Issue: February 20, 1999)|date=1999-02-20|publisher=Nielsen Business Media |accessdate= 9 March 2010}}</ref> || — || 6
|rowspan="3"|''Third Dimension''
|-
! scope="row"|"H.I.V."
| rowspan="2"|1999
| 53 || — || — || — || — || — || —
|-
! scope="row"|"So Long Goodbye"
| 64 || — || — || — || — || — || 49
|-
! scope="row"|"Don't You"
| rowspan="1"|2001
| 99 || — || — || — || — || — || —
| rowspan="1"|''The 4th Level''
|-
! scope="row"|"Murder 2002"<br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Down Low (featuring Warren G.)</span>
|rowspan="1"|2002
| — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|Non-album single
|-
! scope="row"|"Africa"
|rowspan="1"|2007
| — || — || — || — || — || — || —
| rowspan="1"|''Return of the Trendsetter''
|-
! scope="row"|"Friday Night"<ref name="Amazon.com"/>
|rowspan="2"|2014
| — || — || — || — || — || — || —
| rowspan="3"|Non-album single
|-
! scope="row"|"Party Like a Freak"<br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Cassey Doreen (featuring Down Low)</span><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B00LEPTSTO/ref=dm_ws_tlw_trk1?ie=UTF8&qid=1406763593&sr=1-1|title=Amazon.com: Cassey Doreen (Party Like a Freak)|publisher=Amazon.com|accessdate=2014-07-30}}</ref>
| — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|-
! scope="row"|"Fields of Gold"
|2017
| — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|-
|colspan="15" style="font-size:90%;"|"—" denotes items which were not released in that country or failed to chart.
|}
===Other singles===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:16em;" | Title
! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Year
! scope="col" colspan="2" | Peak chart positions
! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Album
|-
!style="width:3em;font-size:90%" |[[GfK Entertainment charts|GER]]<br /><ref name="German peaks"/>
!style="width:3em;font-size:90%"  | [[Ö3 Austria Top 40|AUT]]<br /><ref name="Austrian Positions: Down Low Discography"/>
|-
! scope="row"|"I Want to Know What Love Is"<br /><span style="font-size:85%;">(Rappers Against Racism, featuring Down Low, La Mazz and Scream Factory)</span>{{ref label|Notes|Notes}}
| rowspan="1"|1998
| 36 || 20
| rowspan="1"|''The Message''
|-
|}
'''Notes{{Note|Notes}}'''
<small>The track is from the album ''The Message'' by Rappers Against Racism.</small>
===DVDs===
'''2003'''
* ''Visions – The Singles 1997–2003''
==See also==
* [[List of German musicians]]
* [[List of hip hop musicians|List of hip-hop musicians]]
{{clear}}
==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20040715111018/http://t-music.web.surftown.se/artists/downlow/downlow.htm Fan site] with biography and discography at T-Music
* [http://euro-rap.eu/artists/downlow/ Fan site] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160331134711/http://euro-rap.eu/artists/downlow/ |date=31 March 2016 }}
==Notes==
{{reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Down Low (Rap Group)}}
[[Category:1995 establishments in Germany]]
[[Category:German hip hop groups]]
[[Category:Kaiserslautern]]
[[Category:Musical groups established in 1995]]
[[Category:ZYX Music artists]]