Album Notes

ANTONIO MONTANA & NITRO


Antonio Montana & Nitro, the first two artists to lay it down for the Beat Department, bring a new twist to the flavor we all know in the hip-hop industry. Raucous rhymes, riveted to explosive beats mixed with club banging crunk is their formula, straight from New Orleans. "Threatening Behavior" is the first release on Beat Department with these two solo artists collaborating to give people something different to vibe to.

In 1994, Antonio Montana started his rap career in a group called RYP. This New Orleans group had an EP release under a local record label called TTH Marketing. RYP traveled all throughout Louisiana and Mississippi to perform and open for major acts. The group also had many local reviews and a major feature in Fly Magazine. Eventually the group disbanded and from that point on, Antonio Montana invested in his own music equipment and started recording and selling mix tapes called "Foul Play".

Nitro, who had been performing in local clubs as well as in the "Roc the Mic" tour contest, was selling mix tapes called "The Legacy" and was introduced to Antonio Montana by Montana's cousin. The style and lyrics that Nitro brought to the table were so unique, they just had to record together. The song that they recorded was so hot, they decided to release it commercially.

After recording several more tracks together they were ready to release their first LP. But with the disaster of hurricane Katrina, they lost everything they had worked so hard to create. Tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment was destroyed along with most of their recorded work. Both Antonio and Nitro had lived in New Orleans all their lives, and through the midst of all of this, they stayed strong. And you know what? As luck would have it, a forgotten copy of the master recording was found in the car of Antonio's brother after the disaster. Now, if Lady Luck continues to bless Antonio Montana & Nitro's "Threatening Behavior", the rest will be history!