The Conscious Sisters were a female hip-hop duo from Oakland, California that consisted of Carla “CMG” Green and Karryl “Special One” Smith. They signed to rapper Paris’ record label, Scarface Records after passing him a demo tape at a club.

In 1993, the duo released their debut album, “Ear to the Street” which peaked at #126 on the Billboard 200 chart, #25 on Billboard’s R&B Albums chart, and #7 on Billboard’s Heatseekers Albums chart.

Their first single, “Somethin’ to Ride To (Fonky Expedition)” peaked at #42 on the Billboard Hot 100 & #41 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Singles chart in April of 1994, staying on the chart for 17 weeks, and #7 on Billboard’s Hot Rap Singles chart.

The follow-up single from the album, “We Roll Deep” peaked at #99 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Singles chart in July of 1994, staying on the chart for only 3 weeks, #45 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Maxi-Singles Sales chart, and #31 on Billboard’s Hot Rap Singles chart.

In 1996, the Conscious Sisters released their sophomore album, “Gamers” which peaked at #29 on Billboard’s R&B Albums chart.

Only the title song managed to peak at #65 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Singles chart in March of 1996, staying on the chart for 11 weeks and #25 on Billboard’s Rap Singles chart. After that, not much was heard from the Conscious Daughters until 2007 when they were featured on Nas’ single, “Where Are They Now (West Coast Remix).”

In February of 2009, the Conscious Sisters released their third album, “The Nutcracker Suite” on Guerilla Funk Recordings. A year later, the duo left the label and in 2011, they signed a distribution deal with Phaseone\Sony Records.

Sadly on December 10, 2011, Karryl Smith was found deceased in her home; the cause of death was originally unknown, but it was later determined to be from complications associated with blood clots that reached her lungs.

To see the music video for “Somethin’ to Ride To (Fonky Expedition),” go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZIWR2VQJQQ

To see the music video for “We Run Deep,” go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25iSFMoXSWU

To see the music video for “Gamers,” go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDOZZSUbKjY