| Too Phat | |
| Origin: | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
| Genre: | Rap, Hip-Hop |
| Years Active: | 1998–2007, 2010 |
| Associated Acts: | KLG Sqwad, DJ Iman, Pop Shuvit, Kyla, DJ T-Bone, Stylustiks, Phlowtron, Emcee David, Warren G, Sharifah Aini, Siti Nurhaliza, Innuendo, Ruffedge, V.E., Reefa, Teh Tarik Crew, Kyla, Camelia, Machi, Joey Boy, Inul Daratista |
| Website: | www.toophat.com.my |
| Past Members: | Malique Ibrahim (Malique) Johan Ishak (Joe Flizzow) & Hazim Faiz (Noh Hazim) |
Too Phat was a Malaysian hip-hop duo,[1] composed of rappers Joe Flizzow (born Johan Ishak in Kuala Lumpur; 16 October 1979) and Malique (born Malique Ibrahim in Johor Bahru; 21 August 1977).
Joe Flizzow and Malique first knew each other in a hip-hop chat group in 1998.[2] In the late of same decade, both them and Kevin Felix @ Doctah'K formed a musical trio who later became a duo under the Positive Tone label. Their first big break came in 1999 when their first singles, Li'l Fingaz and Too Phat Baby entered normal rotation on local English-language radio.
On the back of the success of these first singles, work soon began on an album entitled whuttadilly?. So far, Plan B has sold over 4,500,000 copies, earning double platinum status in Malaysia.
The music video for a track from Plan B, "Just a Friend", was produced in collaboration with Maxis Hotlink and debuted on Malaysian television channel NTV7. The video features cameo appearances from local artistes M. Nasir, Fauziah Latiff and Ferhad, and Malaysian track and field athlete Watson Nyambek. Most of the scenes were shot locally, in the city of Kuala Lumpur. The group controversially used their video to confront issues regarding homosexuality, addressing a topic which is usually avoided in conservative Malaysia. Too Phat have also collaborated with American hip hop artist Warren G.
In 2005, they produced their fourth and last studio album Rebirth into Reality featuring various hip-hop artists from East Asia. The album's first single Dua Dunia features award-winning Malaysian singer Siti Nurhaliza. The duo went on indefinite hiatus with Malique and Joe Flizzow pursue their solo careers.
In 2010, Too Phat reunited for a short period to promote their single, "Masih Hip Hop".[3]
The respective Phat boys started to venture off into their solo career after their last public performance for Kanye West in 2007. Malique did so with his solo album OK (2008), K.O The Mixtape (a collaboration with DJ Fuzz -2009) and TKO: Pejamkan Mata under his own label[4] named Qarma Musiq. Rumours grew among rappers and fans that Malique would release a new English album in 2017, but this never came to pass.
Joe Flizzow released his first solo album President on 31 December 2008 under Warner Music Malaysia as the distributor and Havoc[5] on 7 November 2013.
During 2015 Anugerah Juara Lagu Award (AJL) the song Apa Khabar by Joe Flizzow (feat. SonaOne) won the top prize[6] on that night. The song lyrics dealt with Joe reminiscing over the good memories that he had with Malique and Joe's saying hello to him. The song received mixed response at the ceremony with one side booing because the top prize was awarded to a hip hop/R&B song, which is an unpopular genre among many Malaysians. At the same time that night, long time fan of Too Phat praised Joe for inspiring nostalgic memories for them.
As of 2016 Joe Flizzow's projects mostly involved Kartel Records, a record label that he had founded in 2005. Numerous local and R&B artist had signed under his label with notable names like Altimet and SonaOne.
As for Malique, he has become more reclusive and prefers to keep his personal life private after the Too Phat days. Despite releasing numerous top hit collaboration tracks with other local artists such as Mantera Beradu (feat. M Nasir -2008), Senyum (feat. Najwa -2010) Aku Maafkan Kamu (feat. Jamal Abdilah -2011), Teman Pengganti (feat. Black -2012) Malique seems to shy away from the public and declines to appear on any shows or interviews. In an interview in 2011, Malique was quoted saying him being able to sell his music without making public appearances made him feel more comfortable and he has no intentions to change that.
As of December 2016, it is announced that his new solo album may be out with the title TKO[7] in 2016 under his own label Qarma Music.[8] Malique intends to release an English album in 2017.