La Coka Nostra

La Coka Nostra is an American hip-hop supergroup whose genesis started in 2004. That year, hip-hop artist Daniel O'Connor (Danny Boy O'Connor) was mentoring two young artists George Carroll (Slaine) and John Faster (Big Left). He brought them to meet Leor Diamant (Dj Lethal) his DJ from his former group House of Pain. They decided to make a group, whose name came about when O'Connor teased the other members with that nickname after they had a night out. They started releasing music on MySpace, and went viral. Eventually, it was felt that there was a void and experienced rapper William Braunstein (Ill Bill) was asked to join. Eventually, former House of Pain colleague Erik Schrody (Everlast), showed interest to join. By 2008, the group consisted of O'Connor, Carroll, Diamant, Braunstein, and Schrody (who left sometime after the first album was released). Their debut album A Brand You Can Trust was released on July 14, 2009, and it was appreciated by many for its raw sound that some felt missing from hip-hop at the time. In 2012, came their second album, Masters of the Dark Arts, which reached 176 on Billboard Top Current Albums, 40 on Independent Albums, and 31 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. Their third album To Thine Own Self Be True was released in 2016. The album reached 38 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.