Although he found himself in prison in 2003, US rap guru Beanie Sigel still managed to guide the careers of several up-and-coming acts, such as the Young Gunz. Like their mentor, Young Chris (b. Chris Ries) and Neef (b. Hanif Muhammad) come from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Friends since middle school, Young Gunz began playing impromptu sets at their school and they soon came to the attention of Sigel, who enlisted them to be part of his State Property collective alongside several other burgeoning MCs, including Freeway, Rell, Oschino, and Omillio Sparks. The duo’s debut with the collective, 2001’s State Property, also served as a soundtrack for the Sigel and Jay-Z motion picture of the same name (both Neef and Ries had small appearances in the movie, as well). The summer of 2003 saw a follow-up release by State Property, The Chain Gang Vol. 2, which quickly entered the US Top 10 and spawned the Young Gunz hit single, ‘Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop’. Later the same year, the duo found themselves involved in another Sigel/Jay-Z venture, as they toured as part of the highly successful Rock The Mic tour. Their debut album, the overly slick Tough Luv, entered the US album charts at number 3 in March 2004. The rough-edged off-label mixtape Get In Where You Fit In followed at the end of the year, setting the tone for the duo’s much-improved major label follow-up, Brothers From Another.
