Freestyle 101 : Freestyle 101: Smooth Tha Hustler, Trigger Tha Gambler, D.V. a.k.a Khryst..

Back in 1996 a rapper out of Brooklyn named Smooth da Hustler released his critically acclaimed debut album Once Upon a Time in America. It featured his brother Trigger tha Gambler on many of the tracks, and a cat named D.V. Alias Khryst singing the hooks. The street single was a banger called “Broken Language” that found Smooth and Trigger (a.k.a. The Smith Bros.) tag-teaming over a monster beat, finishing each other rhymes with ease and bouncing off each other like only brothers from the same mother could. The track was a classic (recently covered by Method Man and Redman even), though the album was sadly slept on.

The crew continued on to record a slew of Smith Bros. singles, released a Nexx Level Click posse album, and even formed a group with Freestyle 101 vet Ice-T called SMG (Sex Money & Gunz).

So when Freestyle 101 traveled to New York to shoot the best the city had to offer, we made it a top priority to track down these three underground legends and reunite them for a “Broken Language”-style freestyle session. Smooth was quite receptive and rolled up to Play Studio with his brother and DV in tow, ready to flow hard over a dope R.N.S. beat. And flow they did! The guys managed to recreate the feel of their original hit and bring some new ’08 flava to the mix, including references to videogames, tech, and a hook that salutes G4tv. Thanks guys!

So make sure to pick up Smooth’s Violentimes Day Massacre CD (out now), D.V.’s Get Right Or Get Left Vol. 2 mixtape, and look out for Trigger’s upcoming album The Message.