1223Music Past to Present

The roots of “1223” can be traced back to three San Antonio, TX high school kids who had a perpetual love for rap and basketball. At the time, all three played for the Holmes High School basketball team and their summer league jersey numbers became the inspiration for the name of their rap group. Mr. Sylk sported number 12, Spade was number 20, and John-John was number 3. Always being creative, the three guys decided to call themselves “1223” (pronounced “Twelve-Twenty-Three”).

The group honed their techniques by rapping at the lunch table in the high school cafeteria and battling any rapper that wanted to challenge their skills. It wasn't long before the surrounding high schools in the District began acknowledging the inconceivable range of their talents.

The next considerable step for the group took place when fellow group member Spade(currently Breze) competed in a weekly local San Antonio radio rap contest (on 96.1 F.M.) called the “Thursday Night Main Event”. Spade went on to dominate 7 weeks in a row, was crowned “King of the Ring”, and was retired from the show after his undefeated streak. The following week John-John entered himself in the contest, and correspondingly won 7 consecutive weeks and was crowned “King of the Ring”. Due to the fact that the two rappers were a part of the same rap group (1223), the radio show afforded the group the opportunity to open for the next major rap concert that was scheduled to come to San Antonio; "OutKast".

At the time OutKast was an up and coming group with a moderate hit throughout the south called “Players Ball”. Being the opening act gave 1223 the opportunity to both prove themselves and be exposed to the legions of San Antonio fans that had grown to love them during their run on 96.1's “Thursday Night Main Event”. 1223 went on to open for OutKast, and even as high schoolers stunned the crowd of about 10,000 people with their word-play, confidence, and infectious enthusiasm for the music. Even today, 1223 continues to be compared to OutKast because of the uniqueness of their modern day style and lyrics. Little did “1223” know that this would be one of the last “high notes” for the group before hurdling a 10 year hiatus.

1996 became a turning point for the group when Mr. Sylk, at the age of 17, found out that he was going to become a father, John-John had plans to leave for college, and Spade still had one more year to complete high school. It seemed that the universe had different plans for the group, and the world would have to wait at least another 10 years before 1223 would come full circle and make an official effort at making an album.

Fast forward to 2006, and we find all three members of “1223” back in their hometown of San Antonio with a wealth of life experiences and a burning desire to complete the album that eluded them as teenagers. However, this time “1223” would speak with a mature, creative flare that would propel a “different” sound than the current rap scene. Sadly, the first obstacle presented itself a few months into the development process as one of the founding member of the group, Spade, was unable to fully participate in the completion of the project and ultimately was forced to leave the group, leaving Mr. Sylk and John-John as the lone standing members.

The group has been quoted as saying, “The hardest thing we had to do was move on without Spade...but we'll always have love for him.” John-John and Mr. Sylk decided that they would make the album by any means necessary and in October of 2006 pushed forward towards completing the dream that they had since high school without Spade. By December 2006, the group finished the writing portion of the album, which would include sixteen songs, and in January of 2007 the recording process began. February 25, 2007 “1223” declared their album complete.