View source for Da Band

{{short description|American hip hop group}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2022}}

{{Infobox musical artist
| name            = Da Band
| image           =
| caption         =
| image_size      =
| alias           =
| origin          = New York City, U.S.
| genre           = {{hlist|[[Hip hop music|Hip hop]]|[[Contemporary R&B|R&B]]}}
| years_active    = 2002–2004
| label           = {{hlist|[[Universal Records (defunct record label)|Universal]]|[[Bad Boy Entertainment|Bad Boy]]}}
{{Infobox 
| child = yes
| label1 = Formed by
| data1 = [[Sean Combs|P. Diddy]]}}
| website         =
| current_members = Sara Rivers<br />Dylan Dilinjah<br />Chopper "Young City"<br />Babs<br />Ness<br />Freddy P
}}

'''Da Band''' was an American hip hop group put together by [[Sean Combs|Sean "P. Diddy" Combs]] and signed to his label, [[Bad Boy Entertainment]]. The group's formation was documented for three seasons of [[MTV]]'s reality television series, ''[[Making the Band|Making the Band 2]]''.

== Career ==
During the preliminary period, 40,000 participants auditioned for a place in the group but Diddy narrowed it down to six artists.<ref name=autogenerated2>[http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p628149 Da Band – Music Biography, Credits and Discography], AllMusic</ref> For several weeks the group was subjected to vigorous and sometimes demeaning tasks, including walking from midtown Manhattan to Brooklyn to purchase a [[Junior's]] cheesecake for Diddy, and Ness's battle with the [[Harlem]] rapper [[Jae Millz]]. Their first album, ''[[Too Hot for TV]]'', was released in September 2003.

=== After Da Band ===
On the season three finale, the group effectively ended when Diddy dissolved them and chose to keep Ness and Babs. Though not chosen to be kept on the season three finale, Diddy later brought Chopper "Young City" back on the label. Ness and Babs were to be a duo and Chopper was to be a solo artist on [[Bad Boy South]].<ref name=autogenerated1>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120209060245/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1487040/da-bands-new-reality-solo-albums-movies.jhtml Da Band's New Reality: Solo Albums And Movie Deals – Music, Celebrity, Artist News], MTV.com</ref> Chopper eventually left the label and was followed by Babs some time later, leaving Ness the group's only member still signed to Bad Boy. Ness has worked as a songwriter for Diddy on albums such as  ''[[Press Play (album)|Press Play]]'' (2006). Ness cut ties with the label the following year. The group (minus Freddy P and Dylan, who was played by Chappelle and appeared via footage) parodied their experience during the filming of ''Making the Band 2'' on [[Dave Chappelle]]'s sketch comedy show ''[[Chappelle's Show]]''. The group members have since been working on solo projects and have maintained good relationships with each other.  Sara Rivers previously Sara Stokes has since been remarried to new husband Fashun Rivers and also now share a newborn together that goes by the moniker "Baby" Fashun. Sara is now very involved in her entrepreneurial endeavors with her company SaraFina Co. an apparel and skincare collection. Chopper and Ness were involved in a long-standing dispute but that seems to have been settled.<ref name="youtube.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FroaOTzoyQ |title=Chopper City Explains How Getting Shot Changed his Life, Relationship With Diddy & New Album |publisher=[[YouTube]] |date=November 26, 2014 |accessdate=April 5, 2020}}</ref> According to Dylan in a 2014 interview, the group was talking about reuniting but Chopper is apparently not yet on board.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.neshasays.com/2014/07/06/interview-dylan-says-5-out-of-6-da-band-members-have-agreed-to-a-reunion/ |title=Nesha Says &#124; INTERVIEW: Dylan Says 5 Out of 6 da Band Members Have Agreed to a Reunion |access-date=November 22, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129044511/http://www.neshasays.com/2014/07/06/interview-dylan-says-5-out-of-6-da-band-members-have-agreed-to-a-reunion/ |archive-date=November 29, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 2022, it was revealed that Chopper was facing a felony sex trafficking charge in Las Vegas in an ongoing criminal investigation alleging that he used his large social media following to recruit women as prostitutes, according to police.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Reality TV figure facing sex trafficking charge in Las Vegas |url=https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/reality-tv-figure-facing-sex-211233076.html |access-date=April 28, 2022 |website=www.yahoo.com |date=April 27, 2022 |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Band members ==
* '''Sara Rivers''' (born June 1, 1977) – a [[Port Huron, Michigan|Port Huron]] [[Contemporary R&B|R&B]] singer<ref name=autogenerated2 />
* '''Dylan Dilinjah''' (born Dylan John on February 8, 1980) – a [[Brooklyn, New York|Brooklyn]] [[reggae]] vocalist<ref name=autogenerated2 />
* '''Chopper "Young City"''' (born Kevin Barnes<ref name="youtube.com" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.musictapp.com/chopperyoungcity/ |title=Chopper Young City |website=Musictapp.com |access-date=September 1, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720022307/http://www.musictapp.com/chopperyoungcity/ |archive-date=July 20, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>[http://www.xxlmag.com/news/latest-headlines/2006/08/young-city-from-making-the-band-2-arrested-for-armed-robbery/ Young City from Making The Band 2 Arrested for Armed Robbery], Xxlmag.com</ref> on January 12, 1987) – a rapper from the [[Third Ward of New Orleans|3rd Ward]] of [[Uptown New Orleans]], [[Louisiana]] <small> (Chopper recorded under the alias of Rodney Hill<ref name=autogenerated2 /> in an attempt to avoid prosecution by the law.)</small>
* '''Babs''' (born Lynese Wiley in 1979) – an MC from [[Brooklyn]]<ref name=autogenerated2 />
* '''E. Ness''' (born Lloyd Mathis in 1977) – an MC & battle rapper from [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Philadelphia]]<ref name=autogenerated2 />
* '''Freddy P''' (born Freddrick Watson on November 23, 1981) – a [[Liberty City, Miami|Liberty City]], [[Miami, Florida]] MC<ref name=autogenerated2 />

== Discography ==
=== Studio albums ===
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!rowspan="2"|Year
!rowspan="2"|Album
!colspan="2"|Peak chart positions
!rowspan="2"|Certifications
|-
!width=40|[[Billboard 200|U.S.]]
!width=40|[[Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums|U.S. R&B]]
|-
| 2003
| '''''[[Too Hot for TV]]'''''
* Released: September 30, 2003
* Label: [[Universal Records (1995)|Universal]], [[Bad Boy Records|Bad Boy]]
| style="text-align:center;"|2
| style="text-align:center;"|1
|
* [[Recording Industry Association of America|RIAA]]: Gold<ref name=":2">{{cite web|url=https://www.riaa.com/search/Da+Band/|title=You searched for Da Band|website=[[Recording Industry Association of America]]|language=en-US|access-date=May 4, 2021}}</ref>
|}

=== Singles ===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!rowspan="2"|Year
!rowspan="2"|Title
!colspan="3"|Chart positions
!rowspan="2"|Album
|-
!width="50"|<small>[[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]]</small>
!width="50"|<small>[[Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs]]</small>
!width="50"|<small>[[Hot Rap Tracks]]</small>
|-
| style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2"|2003
|"Bad Boy This, Bad Boy That"
| style="text-align:center;"|50
| style="text-align:center;"|15
| style="text-align:center;"|13
|rowspan="2"|''[[Too Hot for TV]]''
|-
|"Tonight"
| style="text-align:center;"|45
| style="text-align:center;"|23
| style="text-align:center;"|10
|}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p628149|label=Da Band}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20031010170041/http://www.mtv.com/bands/az/bad_boy_s_da_band/artist.jhtml Bad Boy's Da' Band] at [[MTV]]

* {{cite web | url=http://www.sheenmagazine.com/tag/sara-rivers/ | title=Sara Rivers }}
* {{cite web | url=https://icecreamconvos.com/sara-rivers-former-making-the-band-star-is-pregnant/ | title=Sara Rivers: Former 'Making the Band' Star is Pregnant | date=March 31, 2021 }}
* {{cite web | url=https://icecreamconvos.com/sara-rivers-husband-fashun-rivers-expecting-baby-no-2/ | title=Sara Rivers & Husband Fashun Rivers Expecting Baby No. 2 | date=July 17, 2022 }}
* {{cite web | url=https://bckonline.com/2022/07/18/sara-rivers-and-husband-fashun-rivers-expecting-baby-no-2/ | title=Sara Rivers and Husband Fashun Expecting Baby No. 2 | date=July 18, 2022 }}

{{s-start}}
{{s-bef|before=[[O-Town]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=''[[Making the Band]]'' winners
|years=2002}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Danity Kane]]}}
{{end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Band}}
[[Category:American hip-hop groups]]
[[Category:Reality show winners]]
[[Category:Musical groups established in 2003]]
[[Category:Musical groups disestablished in 2004]]
[[Category:Bad Boy Records artists]]
[[Category:Participants in American reality television series]]