Although they still draw from the same California hardcore punk and Beastie Boys eclecticism as Orange County rap-metal outfit the Kottonmouth Kings, Johnny Richter (Tim McNutt) and D-Loc (Dustin Miller) splintered off to create a more strictly rap group, Kingspade, in the early 2000s. Still a part of the Suburban Noize family, Richter and D-Loc spit their stoner rhymes over beats with heavy Southern bass and G-funk party grooves instead of rap-rock fusion. The two knew each other as childhood friends in Placentia, CA, way before the formation of the Kottonmouth Kings. Richter was not an original member of Kottonmouth, but he had been friends with the entire band. Richter became an official MC/vocalist in time for their second album, Hidden Stash (1999), after another member departed. Richter and D-Loc debuted as Kingspade on the sixth Kottonmouth Kings LP, Fire It Up, in 2004. Carving out a new fan base from Suburban Noize's cult following, they released their eponymous full-length later that August and returned in 2007 with PTB, an acronym for "P-Town (as in Placentia) Ballers." ~ Cyril Cordor