Origin Bronx, New York Years active 2009 (2009)–present Website www.parcitizens.com | Genres Hip hop, Rap, New-age Labels soundbyte Management | |
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Associated acts Anti, YOung WIT, Mr. Ivory Snow, Esso | ||
Par-City is an American hip hop group, formed in 2009, native to the Bronx, New York. The group consists of Willy Dope and GiF the Great who have been rapping together since 2003. Although they started earlier, they officially established themselves as a group in 2009. The group originally consisted of three members, the third member, Anti, left in late 2011.
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Map of Park City, UT, USA
Early life
The Hip-Hop group Par-City originally consisted of Anti, GiF The Great, & Willy Dope. Anti (Anthony Walcott) is the first cousin of GiF the Great (Brian Walcott), who attended high school with Willy Dope (Eric Marquis Pettaway). They all started rapping together as a pastime while in high school (Mount Saint Michael High School in the Bronx, NY (a Catholic School)), but soon were urged by friends to make their craft legitimate. In late 2011, Anti left the group for personal reasons, the group mentioned that he will be missed as their third, but they all remain friends.
The group's name, "Par-City", is derived from "Rap", backwards, and City; explain it to be "Flipping the Rap Game", Par, and being in their own world, "City". At the time of their inception, they used tracks where the beat was flipped backwards, because they could not afford to buy beats from producers; which also became an anecdote of where the word "Par" came from. In 2003, when they began, they had no intentions of being popular, but people started to like their music, which caused them all to take music more seriously. GiF The Great & Willy Dope attended college at Long Island University (CW Post Campus) and graduated with BA's in Broadcasting.
Style
Their style is formed from their different personalities, which all come together to create a unique sound. By using their individual strengths to write their own lyrics, engineer the music, as well as self-promote their own work over the years, they have constantly been on the forefront of the New York Hip-Hop scene. Their blend of different personalities, styles, and flow are comparable to D-Block (The Lox), Dipset, and A Tribe Called Quest.
Career
Par-City has opened for many famous rap acts such as Slick Rick and Ice-T, (at the Knitting Factory), as well as artists like Mickey Factz and Big Sean. They have headlined their own tours including shows at major universities such as New York University and SUNY Albany. The group has also received major press from The Source Magazine, VIBE, and many more. One of their music videos, "Get it Hot (Remix)" was on VideoCity and held No. 1 for five consecutive weeks. It was also premiered on MTV's Sucker Free Sundays. They also maintained a Top 10 spot with their song "Motivation" on a National College Radio Campaign in early 2011 for 2 months, with Rap Attack Lives.
Their first studio album, Fueled By Revenge EP, was released in March 2011, which contains some of their first single hits including, "Love this Way," as well as "Motivation." Their first album included videos from both "Love This Way" & "Motivation," Directed By Liam Dirlam, and Ian "Mills" Miller respectively.
Par-City moved onto a new project in April 2011 called "#FeatureFridays," in which they released an original track on a weekly basis, with a featured another artist on it. They received internet-wide hype for their promotion which amassed them over 150,000 downloads total amongst 10 songs. With the spotlight directed at them, this promotion morphed into Par-City 's next project, Civilized Sessions Vol. 1. The mixtape showcases the growth of Par-City over the year of 2011. Civilized Sessions Vol. 1 features Shady Records Artist & Slaughterhouse member Joe Budden, Sony Records Artist Mickey Factz, Esso, Panama, along with Platinum Producer, Versatile, and super producer, Steesh Haggie. Upon its release in December 2011, the mixtape received over 100,000 downloads within a one-month period. Singles from the project include "Money on My Head" featuring Joe Budden, and "Mass Destruction" featuring Mickey Factz, both produced by Steesh Haggie.
In the fall of 2011, Par-City toured the country with the Blitz & Beatz Tour, presented by TheCampusSocialite.com. The tour hit major Universities around the country during their homecoming and opening weekend football games. Par-City opened for NaPalm & Afrobeta while at University of Maryland, Pennsylvania State University, & University of Pittsburgh.
On March 29, 2012, Par-City opened for Slaughterhouse at the Best Buy Theater to a sold out crowd of 3,000. Contributors at Vibe said, "Slaughterhouse tore through the sold-out Best Buy Theatre Thursday night in preparation for the spring release of their highly anticipated album "Welcome To Our House." Hip-Hop duo Par-City and Da Union's DJ O. Minaya opened the show and rocked it with a dope performance that got the crowd riled up." The event received tons of press due to Joe Budden's arrest prior to the event at the venue.