Spillage Village

Lore & Background

The group was originally founded by Olu (aka Johnny Venus) and WowGr8 (aka Doctur Dot) of EarthGang, who recruited rapper JID to the group during their time at Hampton University. Brothers Hollywood JB and Jurdan Bryant joined the Spillage Village soon after. Doctur Dot and Johnny Venus approached JID after hearing his first mixtape around campus in 2010. The rest of the group also came into Spillage Village through connections including producer Hollywood JB, who met Doctur Dot at a block party and joined soon afterward. Their first mixtape as a collective, Bears Like This, was released independently on February 2, 2014. The mixtape was an exclusive project between the initial five members of Spillage Village, with no features by outside artists. Later in 2014, they announced that singer Mereba had joined the collective, along with 6lack who used to live at EarthGang’s house. A year later, Spillage Village followed up with their second mixtape, Bears Like This Too on July 6, 2015, including 6LACK and OG Maco.

Reader's Guide

Spillage Village incorporates many genres in their music such as neo soul and elements of southern hip hop. The collective has drawn comparisons to groups such as Dungeon Family, Soulquarians, Native Tongues, and Fugees with "combinations of diverse flows, trap rap, disembodied folk, jazz and ethereal vocals" that developed a sound of their own.

Did You Know?

• JID was recruited to the group after EarthGang heard his first mixtape around Hampton University in 2010.
• The 2016 track "Jermaine's Interlude" on DJ Khaled's Major Key was produced by Hollywood JB and featured J. Cole and EarthGang.
• Spilligion (2020) included guest appearances from Chance the Rapper, Ari Lennox, and Masego.