Styles of Beyond are an American hip-hop group from Los Angeles whose members later worked closely with Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park in the group Fort Minor. Respected within underground rap, they reached their widest audience with one hard-hitting track that escaped into mainstream culture.
"Nine Thou", and especially its remix, became a fixture of sports arenas, video games, and adverts in the mid-2000s, its aggressive energy making it the group's defining song far beyond their core following.
On streaming, "Nine Thou" sits near 74 million plays, while their next most-streamed track trails at around seven million. That sends the ratio above 11, far past our 5.0 line.
By our measure Styles of Beyond are a certified one-hit wonder, with the caveat that they are respected, well-connected figures in underground hip-hop. It is simply that one high-octane track, lifted by its use in games and sports broadcasts, broke out far beyond the rest of their catalogue, becoming the single song most listeners know them for while their deeper work stayed within the underground. It is a familiar fate for a respected rap group: years of admired material, yet mainstream recognition resting on one track placed in the right game at the right time.