The Firm was an American hip hop supergroup formed in New York City in 1996 by rapper Nas, his manager Steve Stoute, producer Dr. Dre and production team Trackmasters. The group is composed of East Coast-based rappers Nas, Foxy Brown, AZ and Cormega. Rapper Nature is a former member: he served as a replacement for Cormega after he was ousted from the group.
Although the group received initial hype and high expectations from fans upon their formation after collectively signing to Dr. Dre's Aftermath label, The Firm's debut album, The Album (1997), generated disappointing sales and generally negative criticism. The album, which featured predominant mafioso rap-themes and production from Dr. Dre and the Trackmasters, was criticized for its pop-orientation. Their debut album was the group's only release and they disbanded in 1999 with each member continuing their solo careers.
The members (including Cormega, who had made up with Nas after their falling-out, and excluding Nature) reunited on Nas' 2020 album King's Disease on the track "Full Circle". Dr. Dre has outro vocals on the song.
Background
The Firm's origins lie in the recording of Nas' studio album It Was Written (1996), which included a collaboration on the song "Affirmative Action" with East Coast-based rappers AZ, Cormega, and Foxy Brown. The supergroup was a project created by rapper Nas, his manager Steve Stoute, West Coast-based rapper and producer Dr. Dre, and production team the Trackmasters. The resulting lineup included Nas, Brown, AZ and rapper Nature. Cormega had been ousted from the group and was replaced by Nature prior to recording The Firm's debut, due to artistic differences between him and Nas, as well as contract disagreements with Nas's manager Steve Stoute.
Prior to their formation, the members were at transitional stages of their careers, as Nas had commercialized his musical style with his second album, AZ had gained critical acclaim for his 1995 debut album Doe or Die (1995), and Cormega had chosen to continue his rapping career after his release from prison in 1995. After the announcement of the group's formation by Dr. Dre, Nas appeared to be seeking pop stardom. Nas' and Dr. Dre's participation in the group furthered speculation by fans and critics that the two artists were losing their creativity and appeal. Their work during this period has since been considered the weakest and least successful of their careers. After a short-lived truce, Nas attacked Cormega on the diss track "Destroy & Rebuild" from his fifth studio album Stillmatic (2001).
In December 2006, Cormega, Foxy Brown and Nas reunited to perform "Affirmative Action" live on-stage, ending the beef between Cormega and Nas. A reunion was unconfirmed. In an August 2010 interview with MTV, Foxy Brown explained there have been recent discussions on a Firm reformation, dependent on the remaining four agreeing to it.
Reunion
In August 2020, the group (including Cormega but excluding Nature) reunited for the song "Full Circle" from Nas' album King's Disease.
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="3"| Peak chart positions
! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:12em;"| Certifications
|-
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;" | US
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;" | US R&B
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;" | CAN
|-
! scope="row" | The Album
|
- Released: October 21, 1997
- Label:
- Format: CD, LP, cassette, MD
| 1 || 1 || 8
|
|-
|}