Cella Dwellas are an underground hip hop

Underground hip hop

Underground hip hop is an umbrella term for hip hop music outside the general commercial canon. It is typically associated with independent artists, signed toindependent labels or no label at all....

 duo from Flatbush, Brooklyn

Flatbush, Brooklyn

Flatbush is a community of the Borough of Brooklyn, a part of New York City, consisting of several neighborhoods.The name Flatbush is an Anglicization of the Dutch language Vlacke bos ....

, consisting of emcees UG and Phantasm. The group is largely known for their dark beats and excellent lyricism. In 2000, the duo shortened their name simply to The Dwellas.

Recording history

In 1994, the Cella Dwellas signed to prominent hip hop label Loud Records

Loud Records

Loud Records is a subsidiary of SRC Records founded by Steve Rifkind in 1992.Loud was a hip hop label which has released material by acts such as Wu-Tang Clan, Big Punisher, Mobb Deep, Krayzie Bone, The Beatnuts, M.O.P., Tha Alkaholiks, Pete Rock, Lil' Flip, Three 6 Mafia, Project Pat, Xzibit,...

, and released their debut single, "Land of the Lost" which showcased Ug's lyrical skills, as he laid down a verse that is still regarded as classic. The following year, the duo made one of their earliest appearances on the Masta Ace Incorporated

Masta Ace Incorporated

Masta Ace Incorporated was a Hip Hop crew formed by rapper Masta Ace. The group, also known as The I.N.C., included Eyceurokk , Lord Digga, Paula Perry and R&B vocalist Leschea...

 album Sittin' on Chrome

Sittin' on Chrome

Sittin' on Chrome is the second album from Hip Hop group Masta Ace Incorporated, which includes Ace, Lord Digga, Paula Perry and Leschea. Ace followed the success of his 1994 hits "Jeep Ass Niguh" and "Crooklyn" with his most commercially successful album, which concentrated more on the West...

, featured on the track "4 Da Mind" which featured Phantasm's version of a stellar verse. Also in 1995, the Dwellas released a pair of singles, "Good Dwellas" and "Perfect Match", which were the duo's only charting singles. "Land of the Lost", a sequel to "Good Dwellas" and "Perfect Match" were included on the duo's 1996 debut Realms 'N Reality. The album was a moderate underground success, debuting at #160 on the Billboard 200

Billboard 200

The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...

 album chart, #21 on the R&B/Hip-Hop chart, and #10 on the Heatseekers chart. The majority of the album was produced by Nick Wiz, and also featured beats from DJ Megahurtz, The Bluez Brothers and the duo themselves. The album received considerable acclaim from both critics and underground fans, due to its unique lyrical style and dark, atmospheric production. Allmusic writer Michael Di Bella describes the album's style as a combination of "Dungeons and Dragons-style role-playing games, horror flicks, slick, rugged beats, and imaginative, often humorous lyrics", and called the album "an exciting and bizarre ride through two warped intellects."

UG and Phantasm returned in 2000 with their simplified title, The Dwellas, and released their second album, The Last Shall Be First through Loud Records. The album again featured production from Nick Wiz, as well as star beat-makers like Large Professor

Large Professor

Large Professor , also known as Large Pro and Xtra P, is a New York City-based hip hop record producer and emcee. He is also best known as a founding member of the influential underground hip hop group Main Source, and as a frequent collaborator with Nas...

, Ayatollah

Ayatollah (producer)

Lamont Dorrell, better known as Ayatollah is a Hip-Hop producer from Queens, New York who has produced for predominantly New York-based rappers including Mos Def, R.A. The Rugged Man, Tragedy Khadafi, Wordsworth, Vast Aire, Afu-Ra, Guru, M.O.P., Inspectah Deck, Cormega, Ghostface Killah as well as...

 and Rockwilder

Rockwilder

Rockwilder is an American hip hop and R&B record producer, rapper, and R&B Singer. A long term friend of Def Jam rapper Redman, Rockwilder got his start producing for East Coast Hip Hop artists in the mid 1990s. In 1999 Rockwilder produced Method Man & Redman's hit single "Da Rockwilder"...

. Guests on the album included Large Professor, Inspectah Deck

Inspectah Deck

Jason Hunter, better known by his stage name Inspectah Deck, is an American rapper, producer, and member of the Wu-Tang Clan...

, Cocoa Brovaz

Smif-N-Wessun

Smif-n-Wessun is a hip hop duo consisting of members Tek and Steele . Smif-n-Wessun comprise two-fifths of the Brownsville, Brooklyn supergroup Boot Camp Clik, with Buckshot, Heltah Skeltah and O.G.C...

 and Organized Konfusion

Organized Konfusion

Organized Konfusion is an alternative hip hop duo from Queens, New York. Though not commercially popular, the duo was one of the most respected and acclaimed underground hip hop acts of the 1990s, largely due to the groundbreaking lyrics of Pharoahe Monch and Prince Poetry.-Recording career:Group...

. The album received moderate reviews, but received little attention, failing to reach any Billboard chart. The album's singles, "Stand Up", "Leakage" and "Game of Death", all failed to reach any Billboard singles chart. Allmusic once again praised the album. Writer Jon Azpiri stated that the duo could "more than hold their own among hip-hop heavyweights" and "after listening to The Last Shall Be First, it's clear that the Dwellas have risen to another level." The duo's only release since The Last Shall Be First was a single titled "Who Killed the Hip Hop", released in 2003. As of 2011, the Cella Dwellas are back in action with the release of their new song "I PUT IT DOWN", produced by Nick Wiz.

Albums

Year	Title	Chart positions
		U.S. Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...	U.S. R&B Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999...
1996	Realms 'n Reality Realms 'n Reality Realms 'n Reality is the debut album by rap group, Cella Dwellas. It was released on March 26, 1996 through Loud Records and was mostly produced by Nick Wiz... Released: March 26, 1996 Label: Loud Loud Records Loud Records is a subsidiary of SRC Records founded by Steve Rifkind in 1992.Loud was a hip hop label which has released material by acts such as Wu-Tang Clan, Big Punisher, Mobb Deep, Krayzie Bone, The Beatnuts, M.O.P., Tha Alkaholiks, Pete Rock, Lil' Flip, Three 6 Mafia, Project Pat, Xzibit,...	160	21
2000	The Last Shall Be First The Last Shall Be First (Dwellas album) The Last Shall Be First is the second and final album released by rap group, The Dwellas . It was released on September 26, 2000, and like the group's previous album was released through Loud Records and mostly produced by Nick Wiz, with additional production by Rockwilder, Large Professor and... Released: September 26, 2000 Label: Loud	–	–

Guest appearances

• "Lyricist Lounge" and "Cypha Session III - Has Words" (from the Underground Airplay #3 compilation, 1994)
• "4 Da Mind" (from the Masta Ace Incorporated
  Masta Ace Incorporated
  Masta Ace Incorporated was a Hip Hop crew formed by rapper Masta Ace. The group, also known as The I.N.C., included Eyceurokk , Lord Digga, Paula Perry and R&B vocalist Leschea...
  
   album Sittin' on Chrome
  Sittin' on Chrome
  Sittin' on Chrome is the second album from Hip Hop group Masta Ace Incorporated, which includes Ace, Lord Digga, Paula Perry and Leschea. Ace followed the success of his 1994 hits "Jeep Ass Niguh" and "Crooklyn" with his most commercially successful album, which concentrated more on the West...
  
  , 1995)
• "Mad Hardcore" (from the Kaotic Styles single "Mad Hardcore", 1997)
• "Cranium (Remix)" (from the Gauge single "Cranium", 1998)
• "Menage a Trois" (from the Brixx album Everything Happens for a Reason, 1999)
• "The Main Event" (from the Main One single "The Main Event", 1999)
• "The Introduction" (from the Ran Reed single "The Introduction", 1999)
• "Bring it to Me" (from the Gauge single "Bring it to Me", 2000)
• "Verbal Confrontation" (from the Main One single "Verbal Confrontation", 2001)
• "Lyrical Fight" (from the Saïan Supa Crew
  Saïan Supa Crew
  Saïan Supa Crew is a French rap collective composed of three groups: Explicit Samouraï, OFX and Simple Spirit. The name 'Saïan Supa' is a reference to the Super Saiyan from the manga and anime Dragon Ball Z/GT....
  
  album X-Raisons, 2002)
• "Paris New York" (from the Rost album La Voix Du Peuple, 2004)
• "What Happenz" featuring U.G. (From IDEs album Force Fed", 2007)
• "Connect 4" featuring U.G. (from the Shabaam Sahdeeq album "Relentless", 2008)
• "We Not Playing" featuring U.G. (from the Ill Bill album "Howie Made Me Do It 2", 2011)