Shop Boyz

Rap group Shop Boyz are made up of cousins Demetrius 'Meany' Hardin and Richard 'Fat' Stevens, and their friend Rasheed 'Sheed' Hightower. All three worked as car mechanics in Bankhead, West Atlanta whilst self-publishing tracks on music streaming websites. They used the studios of local producer Brian 'Bingo' Ward and, with the assistance of producer Richard 'Fire' Harris, they released a series of mixtapes and albums. They had their big break in 2007 when they recorded 'Party Like a Rockstar' which led to Universal Republic Records giving them a recording contract and releasing the single, along with their album 'Rockstar Mentality' in 2007. The album went straight into the US Billboard 200 Chart at number eleven, and the single 'Party Like a Rockstar' reached number two in the US Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart. Their follow-up single from the album, 'They Like Me', failed to have the same success, only reaching number 98 in the US Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart. They parted company with Universal Republic Records and released a third non-album single 'Up Thru There' in 2008, which failed to chart in the mainstream chart, although it did reach the top 100 of the US R&B Charts.