Experienced veterans on the scene, they first came together at a house party where K-Def was spinning. The pair are cousins, but it was a friend who actually spotted Larry-O's rhyme skills. Once Larry-O had rapped outside the jam for K-Def the pair formed "Real Live". K-Def states in a 1996 interview: "What we attempted to do with our album is make raw music... Real live is about keeping things real..."