Too Phat

Too Phat
OriginKuala Lumpur, Malaysia
GenresRap, Hip-Hop
Years active1998–2007, 2010
Labels
Past membersMalique Ibrahim (Malique)
Johan Ishak (Joe Flizzow) & Hazim Faiz (Noh Hazim)
Websitewww.toophat.com.my

Too Phat was a Malaysian hip-hop duo,[1] composed of rappers Joe Flizzow (born Johan Ishak in Kuala Lumpur; 16 October 1979) and Malique (born Malique Ibrahim in Johor Bahru; 21 August 1977).

Career

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Joe Flizzow and Malique first knew each other in a hip-hop chat group in 1998.[2] In the late of same decade, both them and Kevin Felix @ Doctah'K[who?] formed a musical trio who later became a duo under the Positive Tone label. Their first big break came in 1999 when their first singles, Li'l Fingaz and Too Phat Baby entered normal rotation on local English-language radio.[citation needed]

On the back of the success of these first singles, work soon began on an album entitled whuttadilly?. So far, Plan B has sold over 4,500,000 copies, earning double platinum status in Malaysia.[citation needed]

The music video for a track from Plan B, "Just a Friend", was produced in collaboration with Maxis Hotlink and debuted on Malaysian television channel NTV7. The video features cameo appearances from local artistes M. Nasir, Fauziah Latiff and Ferhad, and Malaysian track and field athlete Watson Nyambek. Most of the scenes were shot locally, in the city of Kuala Lumpur. The group controversially used their video to confront issues regarding homosexuality, addressing a topic which is usually avoided in conservative Malaysia.[citation needed] Too Phat have also collaborated with American hip hop artist Warren G.

In 2005, they produced their fourth and last studio album Rebirth into Reality featuring various hip-hop artists from East Asia. The album's first single Dua Dunia features award-winning Malaysian singer Siti Nurhaliza. The duo went on indefinite hiatus with Malique and Joe Flizzow pursue their solo careers.[citation needed]

In 2010, Too Phat reunited for a short period to promote their single, "Masih Hip Hop".[3]

Solo career

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Joe Flizzow of Too Phat onstage.

The respective Phat boys started to venture off into their solo career after their last public performance for Kanye West in 2007. Malique did so with his solo album OK (2008), K.O The Mixtape ( a collaboration with DJ Fuzz -2009) and TKO: Pejamkan Mata under his own label[4] named Qarma Musiq. Rumours grew among rappers and fans that Malique would release a new English album in 2017, but this never came to pass.

Joe Flizzow released his first solo album President on 31 December 2008 under Warner Music Malaysia as the distributor and Havoc[5] on 7 November 2013.

Aku Tanya Apa Khabar

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During 2015 Anugerah Juara Lagu Award (AJL) the song Apa Khabar by Joe Flizzow (feat. SonaOne) won the top prize[6] on that night. The song lyrics dealt with Joe reminiscing over the good memories that he had with Malique and Joe's saying hello to him. The song received mixed response at the ceremony with one side booing because the top prize was awarded to a hip hop/R&B song, which is an unpopular genre among many Malaysians. At the same time that night, long time fan of Too Phat praised Joe for inspiring nostalgic memories for them.

Recent developments

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As of 2016 Joe Flizzow's projects mostly involved Kartel Records, a record label that he had founded in 2005. Numerous local and R&B artist had signed under his label with notable names like Altimet and SonaOne.

As for Malique, he has become more reclusive and prefers to keep his personal life private after the Too Phat days. Despite releasing numerous top hit collaboration tracks with other local artists such as Mantera Beradu (feat. M Nasir -2008), Senyum (feat. Najwa -2010) Aku Maafkan Kamu ( feat. Jamal Abdilah -2011), Teman Pengganti (feat. Black -2012) Malique seems to shy away from the public and declines to appear on any shows or interviews. In an interview in 2011, Malique was quoted saying him being able to sell his music without making public appearances made him feel more comfortable and he has no intentions to change that.[citation needed]

As of December 2016, it is announced that his new solo album may be out with the title TKO[7] in 2016 under his own label Qarma Music.[8] Malique intends to release an English album in 2017.

Discography

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Albums

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Studio albums

Singles

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  1. Li'l Fingaz
  2. Too Phat Baby
  3. Jezzebelle
  4. Anak Ayam
  5. Tell Shorty (feat. Ruffedge & V.E.)
  6. Just A Friend (feat. V.E.)
  7. You (feat. Sharifah Aini)
  8. Ala Canggung (feat. Lil' Marissa)
  9. Where My Love At
  10. Just A Li'l Bit (feat. Warren G)
  11. Alhamdulilah (feat. Yasin, Ahli Fiqir & Dian Sastrowardoyo)
  12. Dua Dunia (feat. Siti Nurhaliza)
  13. Snap
  14. KL
  15. Showtime
  16. How Me Seksi (feat. Inul Daratista)
  17. To The World Cup - 2006
  18. Feels So Good (Emcee David ft. Joe Flizzow) - 2006
  19. Jari Jemari (Camillia ft. Joe Flizzow) - 2007
  20. Get It Done (Air Force Ones featuring Yg Ariff) - 2007
  21. 1000 Verses (ALI ft. Joe Flizzow)
  22. One Night Lover (Rossa ft. Joe Flizzow) - 2012

Awards and achievements

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  • 2002 Best Engineered Album
  • Best Local English Album - Plan B
  • 2003 Anugerah Kembara Prestigious Award
  • 2004 Best Group in a Vocal Performance in an album - 360°
  • Best Local English Album
  • 2006 Best Local English Album - Rebirth into Reality
  • Best Album Cover -Rebirth into Reality
  • ERA Radio Awards Anugerah ERA
  • 2001 Choice Local English Artiste
  • 2002 Choice Local English Artiste
  • 2003 Choice Local English Artiste
  • 2004 Choice Local English Artiste
  • Nominee MTV Asia Awards 2002, 2004 and 2005
  • HP Inter-Action (five countries, five club realtime podcast concert) 2006 – Singapore, Taiwan, Korea, Malaysia, Hong Kong.
  • Owner of State of Mine Caps (KL caps)
  • Kanye West -Touch The Sky Tour, Malaysia, 2006 (Opening act)
  • Recharge Revelation - Global Gathering, A Famosa, 2007
  • Quiksilver 2.0 Revolution Tour, Kuala Lumpur & Bali, 2007
  • Bacardi Mix and Match Tour, China, 2008
  • Sunburst KL, 2008

References

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  1. ^ Terrina Hussein (18 June 2002). "Too Phat for Indonesia". New Straits Times. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015.[page needed]
  2. ^ "From Korean Hip-Hop to Hong Kong Canto-Pop, Its All On The Net". Asia Pacific Quarterly. Billboard. 3 June 2000. p. 78.
  3. ^ Muhammad Azrul Mohd Radi (10 February 2015). "Hip hop yang berliku". Utusan Malaysia (in Malay). Archived from the original on 5 May 2016. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  4. ^ "Malique Discog". Malique Discog. discog. Retrieved 25 December 2016.
  5. ^ Budiey (10 December 2013). "Pelancaran Album HAVOC Joe Flizzow Memang Havoc". .budiey.com. Retrieved 25 December 2016.
  6. ^ Abang, Nara (18 January 2015). "Lagu Apa Khabar Joe Flizzow & Sonaone Juara AJL29". BeautifulNara. Retrieved 25 December 2016.
  7. ^ "TKO: Pejamkan Mata". TKO. Retrieved 25 December 2016.
  8. ^ "Qarma Music Homepages". Qarma Music Homepages. Retrieved 25 December 2016.
  9. ^ Mahidin, Wahti (16 August 2002). "Too Phat set to conquer Europe". New Straits Times. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015.
  10. ^ Farinordin, Faridul Anwar (3 April 2003). "Too Phat taps into Malay rap". New Straits Times. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015.
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