Looptroop Rockers
is a hip hop group from Västerås, Sweden. The members are rappers Promoe (Mårten Edh), Supreme (Mattias Lundh-Isen) and DJ/Producer Embee (Magnus Bergkvist). In February 2007 rapper Cos.M.I.C (Tommy Isacsson), who had been a member of the group since 1993, decided to focus on designing and maintaining looptrooprockers.com and not to be an active member of the group. On their latest CD the group changed its name from Looptroop
to Looptroop Rockers, a name they've used unofficially for some years prior to the change.
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Biography
Looptroop was formed in 1991 by
Promoe and
Embee. The two had met while attending school in
Västerås and were still in their teens at the time of the group's inception.
Cos.M.I.C joined shortly thereafter and in 1993 the group independently released their
cassette-only debut
EP Superstars
, which was followed in 1995 by
Threesicksteez
. By the time they released their third cassette,
From The Wax Cabinet
(1996), long-time associate and frequent collaborator
Supreme had become a permanent member of the group. It was in the pre-DVSG time when Promoe and Cos.M.I.C were also part of a group of graffiti writers called the "BIF" (Babylon Is Falling) crew in
Västerås.
In 1998, Looptroop started their own
record label, David Vs. Goliath (commonly referred to as DVSG), and with distribution handled by the
Swedish punkrock label
Burning Heart Records they released their full-length debut
album Modern Day City Symphony
in 2000. The album managed to sell reasonably well despite limited
media exposure and spawned the underground hit single "Long Arm of the Law," which took a critical stance towards the Swedish
police force and has since become one of Looptroop's
signature songs.
In 2001, Promoe became the first member of the group to launch a solo career, with his debut
solo album,
Government Music
. In 2002 Looptroop released their second album
The Struggle Continues
.
Embee's solo album
Tellings From Solitaria
was released in 2004 and featured contributions from several notable Swedish artists, including
José González,
Timbuktu and
Daniel Lemma. The album was critically acclaimed and won a
Swedish grammy award for best hiphop/soul in 2004.
Their third full-length studio album,
Fort Europa
, was released in 2005. On the track "Fort Europa," the group takes a particularly critical tone towards their country's immigration policy. In the video, an image of a TV screen reading "Welcome SWE" is smashed by a golf club as the beat drops. In the first verse, Promoe compares immigration policy to the Berlin Wall
[1] .
On
February 9,
2007 Cos.M.I.C announced that he was leaving the group indefinitely. He stated that there had been no falling-out between him and the rest of the group and mentioned that the group's busy schedule, which prevented him from spending time with his family, prompted this decision. Cos.M.I.C then contributed to two songs on the group's 2008 album "Good Things". After Cos.M.I.C left the group, they have also officially changed the group name from
Looptroop to Looptroop Rockers.
They recently finished their new album in English entitled
“Good Things”. Cosmic is set to feature on two of the tracks on the album. The album was released 23 April 2008, also the same year that DVSG is celebrating their 10th anniversary. Looptroop have worked with artists like Rakaa Iriscience of the
Dilated Peoples,
Cunninglynguists,
Timbuktu and
Adam Tensta for this album.
Over the years, Looptroop Rockers have collaborated with music producers Jimmy Ledrac and Vladi Vargas of
Soundism [2], and
DJ Large for their albums, in addition to group member Embee's tracks.
Discography
Looptroop
Main Albums
- Modern Day City Symphony
(2000)
- The Struggle Continues
(2002)
- Fort Europa
(2005)
- Good Things
(2008)
Singles
- Ambush in the Night b/w Heed This Warning (f/ Freestyle of the Arsonists)
(1999)
- Long Arm Of The Law b/w Do My Do
(2000)
- Looptroopland b/w Heads Day Off
(2001)
- The Building
(2008)
Tapes
- Superstars
(1993)
- Threesicksteez
(1995)
- From the Waxcabinet
(1996)
- Punx Not Dead
(1998)
12" vinyl
- Ambush in the night
(1999)
- Fly Away
(2002)
- Looptroopland
(2002)
- Don't Hate The Player
(2003)
- Fort Europa
(2005)
EP's
- From the Wax Cabinet
(1996)
- Fuck A Record Deal
(1996)
- Unsigned Hype
(1997)
- Heads or Tails
(1998)
- Schlook From Birth
(1998)
Solo Albums and Side Projects
Promoe
- Off the Record (single) b/w It's Promoe/Poor Lonesome Homeboy
(1999)
- Government Music
(2001)
- The Long Distance Runner
(2004)
- White Man's Burden
(2006)
- Standard Bearer
(2007)
- Kråksången
(2009)
Embee
- Embeetious Art EP
(2000)
- Tellings From Solitaria
(2004)
- Mash Hits
(2006)
The Casual Brothers
(Embee and Cos.M.I.C)
- The Casual Brothers
(2001)
- Customer's Choice
(2003)
See also
- Swedish hip hop
- Hip hop music
References
- YouTube - looptroop - fort europa
- Soundism