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3 the Hard Way | |
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Origin | New Zealand |
Genres | hip hop |
Years active | 1994–present |
Past members |
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3 The Hard Way are a New Zealand hip hop group formed in 1994. They are best known for their two New Zealand number one singles, " Hip Hop Holiday" from 1994, and " It's On (Move to This)" from 2003. [1]
3 The Hard Way's first release was "Hip Hop Holiday", released on Deepgrooves Entertainment in 1994. The song spent three weeks at the top of the New Zealand singles chart, [2] selling in excess of 7,500 copies.[ citation needed] Following the success of the record and the top-ten status of its follow-up, "Many Rivers", [1] the group released their debut album later that year, Old School Prankstas.
"Hip Hop Holiday" also charted in Australia, peaking at No. 17 on the ARIA singles chart, [3] and becoming the 93rd highest-selling single of 1994 in Australia. [4] The song featured an element of " Dreadlock Holiday" by 10cc. Due to a mix up with the clearance rights, all of this song's royalties now go to 10cc members Graham Gouldman and Eric Stewart.[ citation needed]
At the end of 1995, after a dispute with Deepgrooves, the group decided to take a break. That break became a lengthy hiatus, and, despite recording a number of demos, it was not until a chance meeting with producer Alan Jansson in 2001 that the group signed a deal with Jansson and Simon Grigg's Joy label through Sony Music.
3 The Hard Way released their second album Eyes on the Prize in November 2003. It peaked at number 14 in New Zealand. [1] The first single released from this album, " It's On (Move to This)", which featured R&B singer Clement Karauti, went to No. 1 after 4 weeks on the New Zealand charts, [5] and made further New Zealand music history when 3 The Hard Way became the only NZ artist/s to take the No. 1 spot from another NZ artist twice.[ citation needed] This time, their single replaced Scribe's " Stand Up", which went on to spend a total of 12 weeks at the top of the NZ charts. [6]
Former member Lance 'DJ Damage' Manuel did not rejoin the band when they reformed.[ citation needed] The band have been quiet since.
Old School Prankstas was reissued by Joy Records in 2012.
Date | Title | Label | Chart position | Certification | Catalog number |
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NZ [1] | |||||
1994 | Old School Prankstas | Deepgrooves Entertainment | 50 |
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DG037 |
2003 | Eyes on the Prize | Joy Records | 14 |
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JOY 105 |
Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Certification | Album | |
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NZ [1] |
AUS [3] | ||||
1994 | " Hip Hop Holiday" | 1 | 17 |
|
Old School Prankstas |
"Many Rivers" | 10 | 88 | |||
"All Around" | 22 | — | |||
2003 | " It's On (Move to This)" | 1 | — |
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Eyes on the Prize |