Hip-hop duo Johnny "Olu O. Fann" Venus and Doctur "Eian Undrai Parker" Dot formed in 2009 in Atlanta, Georgia and became known as EarthGang. They grew up on the city's Southside, which was also home to Outkast and Future. After meeting in high school, they continued to make music together, influenced by a diverse range of artists like Curtis Mayfield, T-Pain, Lauryn Hill, and Gil Scott-Heron. They began working on their first EP while at Hampton University in Virginia, and The Better Party was released in 2010. The following year they self-released two full-length albums, Mad Men and Good News. EarthGang began to tour, and in early 2013 they performed at the A3C Festival in Atlanta. Later that same year they made their Spillage Village label debut with Shallow Graves for Toys, and the record reached number 11 on Billboard's Emerging Artists chart. The duo continued to raise their profile touring North America, including sets at SXSW. 2015 saw the release of Strays with Rabies, which included guest spots from J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League and DJ Khalil. In 2017, Earthgang signed to J.Cole's Dreamville Records and released the EP Rags, followed two months later by another EP, Robots. A third EP, Royalty, appeared in February 2018, followed one year later by the full-length Mirrorland. ~ Bekki Bemrose