They were four members but Cosm.i.c has left the group. His appearance on "Fort Europa" (Album) was his last. Read about it on http://www.looptrooprockers.com
Dj Mc Marshall (later to be known as EMBEE) and his classmate Marcie Cee shared a newfound love of hip-hop music in the early 90s. The rest of the jerks in the school didn't get it, and the two were both excited about having something that was their own and eager to let some more people in on the secret. One day they would laugh about who in school looked least likely to be able to rap. They soon decided it was definitely that longhaired, loud-mouthed, tight jeans wearing dude in the 8th grade: Mc Mårten (Promoe).
Some months later Dj Mc Marshall and Mc Mårten recorded their first song, and many more were to come. They would team up with two other young guys from their hometown of Västerås, Sweden and eventually take on the name Looptroop that now reigns supreme over nearly every continent. Mellow T (Cosmic) was one of the two guys that joined forces with them. He used to be in another Västerås crew called The Hot Dogs, and before that it was Groovy Soundsystem.
"I remember seeing Cosmic battling some of his old crew members at a highschool disco," reminisces Promoe. "This was before I knew him, and I have a clear memory of how the kids he was battling were reading their lyrics off big pieces of paper on the stage floor while performing. I was not impressed."
"Supreme joined the crew some years later," says Embee, "[we] met at different house parties around town. He was in a hardcore band called Aggressive Contrast and I invited him to make a song, or rather kick a verse or two, at The Wax Cabinet. Up till this day he still refuses to listen to that first recording and even when we listen to old Looptroop songs that we recorded before he was in the group he runs out like his pants are on fire."
Now, 14 years after Embee and Promoe took their first stumbling steps into the world of music, and seven years after Looptroop founded their record company David vs. Goliath it's time for the third Looptroop album called Fort Europa to be released to the public. It's been almost 40 releases from the DvsG's, most recently Promoe's Long Distance Runner and White Man's Burden, Embee's Grammy award winning Tellings From Solitaria, and Looptroop's Fort Europa. They've continued their collaboration with punk label Burning Heart Records that will license the new album just as they did Modern Day City Symphony (2000) and The Struggle Continues (2002). Looptroop, Embee, and Promoe works closely with the sound and mixing masters at Soundism since a few years.
9/2-2007, Cosm.i.c announced that he is no longer a member of the Looptroop crew.
He announced that he was leaving because of all the travelling and not being together with his family as much as he wanted to. He also said that there's no ongoing beef between the members and that he loves his crew like they were his own brothers.
As a consequence of Cosm.i.c leaving the band, they changed the name to Looptroop Rockers, under which the 2008 album "Good Things" has been released.
Discography
Main Albums
* Modern Day City Symphony (2000)
* The Struggle Continues (2002)
* Fort Europa (2005)
* Good Things (23. april 2008) (released under the name Looptroop Rockers)
Singles
* Ambush in the Night b/w Heed This Warning (f/ Freestyle of the Arsonists) (1999)
* Looptroopland b/w Heads Day Off (2001)
Tapes
* Superstars (1993)
* Threesicksteez (1995)
* From the Waxcabinet (1996)
* Punx Not Dead (1998)
12" vinyl
* Don't Hate The Player (xxxx)
* Fly Away (xxxx)
* Looptroopland (xxxx)
* Ambush in the night (xxxx)
Solo Albums and Side Projects
Promoe
* Off the Record (single) b/w It's Promoe/Poor Lonesome Homeboy (1999)
* Government Music (2001)
* The Long Distance Runner (2004)
* White Man's Burden (2006)
* Standard Bearer (2007)
Embee
* Tellings From Solitaria (2004)
The Casual Brothers (Embee and Cosmic)
* The Casual Brothers (2001)
* Customer's Choice (2003)
Reclaim The city
Looptroop Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In the year 2000, watch out for Looptroop
coming to reclaim a city near you
It's Timbuk with the truth, detonate your city like a nuke
And duck from blue suits and cop boots
Headline the news and reclaim the avenues
Scare them nazi crews with rap attitudes
This is my Swedish history exclamation
I'd rather stand up for my views in handcuffs
This shit you can't trust, get fucked and banged up
Back in the days the state helped Hitler
Now they're trying to arrest me for packing rizla
I can't live the law that they speak
My cause is deep, I keep prowl while you're asleep (Yes!)
Cause me and Promoe, keep a low pro
A big bro catch us on a satellite photo
So when the punk police roll up from light, what
You want an autographed poster?
You cops are the same all over the world
Wanna brush me with the night sting
Charge me with anything, the mic stink
How sick can y'all get?
Timbuktu's the terrorist target
Excuse me, sergeant, you need a pause for breathing
I'm gonna put my hands on a mic where you can see them
And yes, I use profanity and foul language
You can point your fingers at me cause I'm the bandit
That's how they planned it, so I can look like the enemy
Fucking with us (?) , the melody
This here's a 28 bar felony
Rounded with the Looptroop to reclaim your city
(Chorus: Cos.m.i.c)
Nowadays, who got rights? The people? Not quite
Can you truly say that you feel safe in daily life?
I try to rise cause the way I see democracy
Got to be the opposite of your hypocrisy
A cop to me is like a certified murderer
who push you down mentally and physically hurting you
never protect and serving you, that's their policy
that's why we reclaim the city with no apologies
(Promoe)
I see men, pulling up in car loaves
Dressed in law-suites, wanting to trap me behind barcodes
Like John Carlos, life's a big Olympic game
Money, drugs and corruption, the winner stays the same
White guys in suites and ties, telling white lies
Selling white lines, dollar-signs instead of eyes
But it's us they rob and blind that's why we stick with dogs
Atomic canines on your ass like liquid blocks
Plus we're sick with jobs, that's why we make hits with mobs
In the studio, DVSG pull stakes and rob
You, while you look the other way
Nocturnal animals, locked in their cage during the day
Then at nighttime we break out on a mission to get even
Some evil heathens touring the highways of Sweden
Leaving walls bleeding, cops breathing down our necks
With bad breath, trying to keep us in check
But hey, Mr Officer, listen Mr Constable
My name is Promoe, I'm illegally responsible
For this multinational corporation called DVSG
Still underground productive, but now tax deductive
Nothing to be fucked with, like homos with AIDS
But here's a three o'clock road block, it's Promoe they raid
Cause they hate my rebel music with a passion
But yo, they can not turn it down, they can not cut my hair like Samson
My record keeps spinning, as long as the world is spinning
In the next inning I'm swinging until I'm winning
Cause cops been sinning since the beginning and now the end is near
Promoe, yo I'm the fuck about it here
(Chorus)
The lyrics of Looptroop's "Reclaim the City" criticizes aspects of society such as the media, police brutality, and politicians. The song sheds light on the band’s negative experiences with authority and encourages listeners to question the actions of those in power. The opening lyrics set the tone for a declaration. The band plans to reclaim the city and fight against the powers that be. Timbuktu raps about the government's history of aiding fascist regimes and now arresting him for drug paraphernalia. He boasts that he will stand up for his views even if it means getting arrested. Promoe joins in with his disillusionment with the justice system and the inequality that exists in society. He compares the police to murderers and calls out politicians for their complacency in perpetuating corruption.
The chorus repeats the idea that the people do not have rights in society. Cosmic raps about the hypocritical nature of democracy and how the police are not protecting but rather hurting citizens mentally and physically. He believes that being associated with the police is like being part of a criminal gang.
Interestingly, the song was released in 2000, the same year that the World Trade Organization protests occurred in Seattle. The protests were against the power and influence of the WTO and the lack of transparency in their decision-making. Reclaim the City seems to parallel this sentiment and desire for change.
Line by Line Meaning
In the year 2000, watch out for Looptroop
coming to reclaim a city near you
Looptroop is here to reclaim a city near you in 2000
It's Timbuk with the truth, detonate your city like a nuke
And duck from blue suits and cop boots
Timbuk is telling the truth and causing chaos in the city while evading the police
Headline the news and reclaim the avenues
Scare them nazi crews with rap attitudes
Make headlines and take back the streets, scaring off Nazi groups with rap attitudes
Cause mass media's polluting the nation
This is my Swedish history exclamation
The mass media is polluting the nation and this song is a declaration of Swedish history
I'd rather stand up for my views in handcuffs
This shit you can't trust, get fucked and banged up
Stand up for what you believe in even if it means getting arrested, because you can't trust the government
Back in the days the state helped Hitler
Now they're trying to arrest me for packing rizla
The state helped Hitler in the past but now they are trying to arrest Timbuk for something minor like carrying rolling paper
I can't live the law that they speak
My cause is deep, I keep prowl while you're asleep (Yes!)
The government's laws don't align with Timbuk's beliefs and causes, so he operates in secret
Cause me and Promoe, keep a low pro
A big bro catch us on a satellite photo
Timbuk and Promoe operate in secret to avoid being caught by Big Brother's surveillance
So when the punk police roll up from light, what
You want an autographed poster?
When the police approach, Timbuk sarcastically asks if they want an autographed poster
You cops are the same all over the world
Wanna brush me with the night sting
Charge me with anything, the mic stink
Timbuk believes that all cops are the same and will try to arrest him for anything, even if it's not true
Timbuktu's the terrorist target
Excuse me, sergeant, you need a pause for breathing
I'm gonna put my hands on a mic where you can see them
Timbuktu is being targeted as a terrorist and asks the sergeant to take a breath before he puts his hands on the mic
And yes, I use profanity and foul language
You can point your fingers at me cause I'm the bandit
Timbuk uses profanity and foul language, and is seen as a bandit because of it
That's how they planned it, so I can look like the enemy
Fucking with us (?) , the melody
This here's a 28 bar felony
Rounded with the Looptroop to reclaim your city
The government planned for Timbuk to look like the enemy so that they can silence his message. But Timbuk and Looptroop are fighting back by reclaiming the city with their music
Nowadays, who got rights? The people? Not quite
Can you truly say that you feel safe in daily life?
People don't have their rights anymore and it's hard to feel safe in daily life
I try to rise cause the way I see democracy
Got to be the opposite of your hypocrisy
A cop to me is like a certified murderer
who push you down mentally and physically hurting you
never protect and serving you, that's their policy
that's why we reclaim the city with no apologies
Promoe believes that democracy should not be hypocritical and cops are certified murderers who don't protect and serve. That's why they are reclaiming the city with no apologies
I see men, pulling up in car loaves
Dressed in law-suites, wanting to trap me behind barcodes
Promoe sees men in business suits trying to trap him with legalities
But it's us they rob and blind that's why we stick with dogs
Atomic canines on your ass like liquid blocks
The government robs and blinds the people, that's why they are sticking with dogs who are trained to attack like liquid blocks
Plus we're sick with jobs, that's why we make hits with mobs
In the studio, DVSG pull stakes and rob
You, while you look the other way
They have great jobs but still make music with a message. They also rob in the studio with DVSG while people turn a blind eye
Nocturnal animals, locked in their cage during the day
Then at nighttime we break out on a mission to get even
Some evil heathens touring the highways of Sweden
Leaving walls bleeding, cops breathing down our necks
With bad breath, trying to keep us in check
They feel like nocturnal animals locked up during the day, but at night they break out to take action. Evil people are touring the highways of Sweden, leaving walls bleeding. Cops are trying to keep them in check
But hey, Mr Officer, listen Mr Constable
My name is Promoe, I'm illegally responsible
For this multinational corporation called DVSG
Still underground productive, but now tax deductive
Promoe tells the officer that he is illegally responsible for DVSG, which is now tax-deductible and still underground productive
Nothing to be fucked with, like homos with AIDS
But here's a three o'clock road block, it's Promoe they raid
Cause they hate my rebel music with a passion
But yo, they can not turn it down, they can not cut my hair like Samson
Promoe compares his music to someone with AIDS, not to be messed with. But the cops still hate his rebel music and raid him at a road block. They can't take away his power, like they couldn't cut Samson's hair
My record keeps spinning, as long as the world is spinning
In the next inning I'm swinging until I'm winning
Cause cops been sinning since the beginning and now the end is near
Promoe, yo I'm the fuck about it here
Promoe's music will continue to play as long as the world spins. He will keep fighting until he wins, and he knows that the end is near because cops have been sinning since the beginning. Finally, he is done and he is out
Contributed by Benjamin O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.