Stuck Mojo

Biography

Stuck Mojo is an American rap metal band from Atlanta, formed in 1989 by bassist Dwayne Fowler. The band is considered to be one of the pioneers of rap metal. They have toured alongside bands such as Machine Head and Slapshot. Stuck Mojo's most successful album, Rising×Rising3 March 1998 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 15 tracks1[intro]0:302Crooked Figurehead2:293Trick4:064Assassination of a Pop Star3:305Rising3:536Southern Pride3:297Enemy Territory3:398Back in the Saddle4:439Dry3:1610Throw the Switch3:2611Hang ’em High (Loser’s Theme)3:0712Tears3:1413Pipebomb3:4914Suburban Ranger3:2715Rising, peaked at No. 48 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart. The band disbanded in 2000, reforming five years later. In 2006, their original vocalist, Bonz, was replaced by rapper Lord Nelson. Stuck Mojo released their seventh studio album, Here Come the Infidels×Here Come the Infidels24 June 2016 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Here Come the Infidels3:452Rape Whistle2:573Charles Bronson3:444The Business of Hate3:185Verbal Combat4:336Destroyer4:147Worst Person on Earth4:208Fire Me3:049I Am Legion3:4110Tamborine3:2311Blasphemy4:17, via Pledge Music in 2016. In the press release, the band also announced the addition of two new members, Robby J. Fonts (vocals) and Len Sonnier (bassist). To date, they have released seven studio albums and one live album.

History

In their early days, Stuck Mojo was criticized for their hip-hop influences, while some audiences directed bigotry towards Bonz, their African American lead vocalist/rapper. In 1994, Stuck Mojo signed a deal with Century Media Records, releasing their debut album, Snappin' Necks in 1995. AllMusic's Bret Love wrote that "The group's high testosterone and volume levels, and virtual lack of funkiness, ensure a somewhat limited appeal, but for angry young men with too much pent-up energy, the powerful aggression of Snappin' Necks must be close to heaven." In October 1995, the band joined Machine Head and Slapshot on a ten-week tour while living in a rented van. Stuck Mojo's first European tour followed, and they were named the best live band by MTV Europe.
Their second studio album, Pigwalk×Pigwalk8 October 1996 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Pigwalk3:492Mental Melt Down4:413(Here Comes) The Monster3:404Twisted3:405The Sermon1:436Despise3:127Animal3:488Only the Strong Survive4:559Violated3:2410Inside My Head4:1311Down Breeding3:57, was released on October 8, 1996. Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote that Pigwalk "captures the pummelling power of the band's intense live shows, yet the group doesn't yet have the ability to construct a memorable riff or hook, leaving Pigwalk as an entertaining, but uncompelling, cross of Rage Against the Machine and Pantera." On March 3, 1998, Stuck Mojo released their third studio album, Rising×Rising3 March 1998 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 15 tracks1[intro]0:302Crooked Figurehead2:293Trick4:064Assassination of a Pop Star3:305Rising3:536Southern Pride3:297Enemy Territory3:398Back in the Saddle4:439Dry3:1610Throw the Switch3:2611Hang ’em High (Loser’s Theme)3:0712Tears3:1413Pipebomb3:4914Suburban Ranger3:2715Rising. It peaked at No. 48 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart. AllMusic reviewer Steve Huey wrote that "Rising shows some musical growth from Pigwalk, although Stuck Mojo still lose their musical focus on several occasions over the course of the album."
Stuck Mojo disbanded following the release of a live album, HVY1, and their fourth studio album, Declaration of a Headhunter×Declaration of a Headhunter13 June 2000 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1A Lesson in Insensitivity0:552Hatebreed3:163Set the Tone3:294April 29th0:455Raise the Deadman3:526Drawing Blood3:577An Open Letter2:018Give War a Chance4:229Feel It Comin' Down5:0310The One3:2311Evilution3:1912Declaration1:5913The Ward Is My Shepherd3:0714Walk the Line3:43, reforming in 2005. During the band's period of inactivity, Ward worked on side projects such as Fozzy and Sick Speed. In 2006, Stuck Mojo began recording material for a new album with original vocalist Bonz. Rapper Lord Nelson was asked to contribute guest vocals to the album. When it was decided that Bonz would not continue as the band's vocalist, Lord Nelson stepped into Bonz' position. The band's fifth studio album, Southern Born Killers×Southern Born Killers12 December 2006 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1I'm American3:012Southern Born Killers4:113The Sky Is Falling5:524Metal Is Dead4:145For the Cause of Allah4:356Open Season7:207Prelude to Anger1:038That's When I Burn4:029Yoko7:4810Home4:46, was released directly through the band's website without a label. The album was released as a free download, while the CD edition contained a bonus DVD. After signing with Napalm Records, Southern Born Killers was released nationally, with three bonus tracks. On November 28, 2008, Stuck Mojo released their sixth studio album, The Great Revival×The Great Revival28 November 2008 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Worshipping a False God0:25215 Minutes of Fame4:243Friends5:314The Flood5:435Now That You’re All Alone4:006There’s a Doctor in Town0:587The Fear1:558There’s a Miracle Comin’2:009Country Road4:4010Invincible4:1511Superstar, Part 1 (The Journey Begins)4:2212Superstar, Part 2 (The World of Egos and Thieves)3:50. It featured what has been described as some of the band's heaviest work, as well as some of the band's most "commercially-tinged songs".

Reunion (2014)

In October 2014, it was announced that the band would be playing a reunion show December 26, 2014, at The Masquerade in Atlanta, the venue they recorded their HVY1 live album. This was to be the first time Ward, Bonz, Lowery and Fontsere shared the stage together since 1998. The band scheduled two other live reunion shows (Charlotte, North Carolina and Woodstock, Virginia) in early 2015. Although the reunion shows were filled with energy and fans relished the reunited lineup, it was reported on Blabbermouth.net that the old lineup was not working out and that Ward and Fontsere would continue on and replace Bonz and Lowery at a later time.

Here Come the Infidels and lineup (2016)

In March 2016, Stuck Mojo announced they would be releasing their seventh studio album, Here Come the Infidels×Here Come the Infidels24 June 2016 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Here Come the Infidels3:452Rape Whistle2:573Charles Bronson3:444The Business of Hate3:185Verbal Combat4:336Destroyer4:147Worst Person on Earth4:208Fire Me3:049I Am Legion3:4110Tamborine3:2311Blasphemy4:17, via Pledge Music. In addition to the new album, Stuck Mojo announced the addition of two new members—vocalist Robby J. Fonts and Bassist Len Sonnier. Fonts is a Canadian-born musician while Sonnier hails from Vinton, Louisiana.
During the summer of 2016, Stuck Mojo released a series of lyric videos leading up to the release of Here Come the Infidels.

Musical style

Stuck Mojo fuses Southern-based heavy metal with hip-hop influences, and is considered to be one of the pioneers of rap metal. Mark Jenkins of The Washington Post noted that one of the band's songs may indicate conservative views, while other songs may indicate more uniformly distributed hostility. Jenkins writes that "the [song] "Crooked Figurehead" does begin with an anti-Clinton rant, which suggests that this Atlanta quartet is the mirror image of leftist agit-metal band Rage Against the Machine. Maybe it's not just the president the Mojos hate, though—maybe it's everyone." The band cites Red Hot Chili Peppers, Run-DMC, Faith No More, Pantera and Black Sabbath as influences.

Current

Rich Ward – guitar, vocals, lyrics (1989–present)
Frank Fontsere – drums (1996–2004, 2009–present)
Robby J. Fonts – vocals, lyrics (2015–present)

Former

Andrew Freund – vocals (1989)
Richard Farmer – drums (1989–1990)
Brad Hasty - drums (1991-1992)
Dwayne Fowler – bass (1989–1995)
Theron "Bonz" Archie – vocals, lyrics (1989–2006, 2014–2015)
Benjamin Reed – drums (1990–1993)
Brent Payne – drums (1993–1995)
Corey Lowery – bass, vocals (1996–1998, 2014–2015)
Karman Gossett – drums (1996)
Dan Dryden – bass (1998–2001)
Ryan Mallam – guitar (2000–2001)
Keith Watson – bass (2002–2004)
John Carpenter – drums (2002–2003)
Sean Delson – bass (2004–2009)
Eric Sanders – drums (2005–2006)
Mike Martin – guitar (2005–2009)
Lord Nelson – vocals (2006–2009)
Rodney Beaubouef – drums (2006–2008)
Steve "Nailz" Underwood – drums (2008–2009)
Len Sonnier – bass (2016)
Randy Drake – bass (2017)