Nowadays the rap business is full of famous names and faces that are constantly being splashed across headlines. However, there are many artists outside of the limelight who are also making a name for themselves through hard work and determination. One of these is Rack Lo of the infamous Lo Lifes crew who recently released his second LP Rack Lauren. Over the last few years a number of the Lo Lifes and their affiliates, most notably Rack Lo, Thirsten Howl III, and Master Fuol have built a steady buzz for themselves in rap’s underground circuit. To their credit the three previously mentioned emcees have even had singles distributed by such reputable labels as Fat Beats, Game Recordings, Yosumi Records, and Rawkus, not to mention Thirsten’s esteemed Unsigned Hype designation by The Source magazine. Although his future in rap music may be very promising Rack Lo’s beginnings in hip hop culture were far less auspicious.
For those out of the loop, the Lo Lifes are perhaps the most notorious shoplifting crew to ever exist. When asked about the formation of the crew in the New York City area Rack Lo summarized, “the Lo Lifes name came about in ’91-’92. The group came about as the result of shoplifting. [We] came from Brownsville, Marcus Garvey projects [in Brooklyn], and St. John’s and Utica, which is in Crown Heights. We grew up together shoplifting, stealing Polo and Ralph Lauren. We were surviving, doing what we had to do to put food on the table. That’s how the Lo Lifes got started, that’s the whole foundation of it.”
Needless to say it didn’t take long for the crews’ exploits to receive attention from the blossoming hip hop atmosphere that was present at that time and place. In Rack Lo’s own words, “the Lo Lifes [were] one of the main clicks that really put fashion in the forefront. Way back in like ’86-’87 up to the
