Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz

Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz

Company type	Hip hop duo
Industry	Music
Founded	1996
Headquarters	The Bronx, New York City , United States
Products	Music albums, singles

Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz formed a hip hop duo originating from The Bronx, New York City, composed of rappers Sean "Lord Tariq" Hamilton and Peter "Peter Gunz" Pankey. They gained widespread recognition for their 1997 hit single "Deja Vu (Uptown Baby)", which secured a position within the top ten of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Career

Before adopting their well-known moniker, they performed under the name The Gunrunners. Their first appearance was on Whodini's 1996 album Six, where they featured on the track "Can't Get Enough" and contributed as co-writers to two additional songs. Peter Gunz collaborated with Shaquille O'Neal on his albums You Can't Stop the Reign (1996) and Respect (1998), including involvement in the single "Men of Steel" from O'Neal's movie Steel released in 1997. Meanwhile, Lord Tariq partnered with Jay-Z and Nas on the 1996 track "Analyze This" and appeared on Cuban Link's posse cut "Men of Business" alongside artists such as N.O.R.E., Kool G Rap, and M.O.P.

Their breakthrough came with the release of their debut single, "Deja Vu (Uptown Baby)", in December 1997. This track incorporated a sample from Steely Dan's 1977 composition "Black Cow". It achieved a peak position of number nine on the Billboard Hot 100, reached the top spot on the Billboard Hot Rap Songs chart, and climbed to number 21 on the UK Singles Chart in May 1998. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified this single platinum for surpassing one million copies sold.

Building on this momentum, Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz released their sole album in 1998 titled Make It Reign. The album reached number 38 on the Billboard 200 and climbed to number eight on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Despite featuring prominent guest artists such as Big Pun, Fat Joe, Sticky Fingaz, Kurupt, and Cam'ron, no additional singles from the album achieved significant commercial success.

The duo parted ways in 1999 without issuing further recordings.

Later career

Between 2013 and 2020, Peter Gunz was a cast member on the VH1 reality program Love & Hip Hop: New York. Subsequently, he served as host for the long-running reality show Cheaters until its conclusion in 2021. He was married to singer Amina Schmahl, known professionally as Black Buddafly. His son, Peter Cory Pankey, Jr., born in 1987 and performing under the name rapper Cory Gunz, was formerly signed to Young Money Entertainment, an imprint under Cash Money Records established by rapper Lil Wayne.

In June 2005, Lord Tariq released his solo project entitled The Barcode, which featured collaborations with both Peter Gunz and Cory Gunz. In 2007, he became a member of the underground rap collective Bang Bang Boogie alongside Mysonne, Cuban Link, and brothers Hocus 45th and S-One. This group produced two mixtapes before disbanding due to the unjust imprisonment of Hocus and S-One.

Lord Tariq & Peter Gunz

Year	Title	Peak chart positions
		US	US R&B
1998	Make It Reign Released: June 2, 1998 Label: Columbia	38	8

Lord Tariq

Year	Album	Highest chart rankings
		US	US R&B
2005	The Barcode Release date: June 23, 2005 Record label: Team Saga	—	—

Peter Gunz

Television Appearances

Year	Show	Character	Remarks
2013–20	Love & Hip Hop: New York	Himself	Appeared in 63 episodes
2017	Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars	Himself	Featured in 11 episodes
2020–2021	Cheaters	Himself	Final episode appearance

Peter Gunz

Peter Gunz is a father to ten children: rapper Cory Gunz, Whitney, Kennedi, Brandon, Phoenix, Jamison, Kaz, Cori, Gunner, and Bronx. Additionally, he is a grandfather to two granddaughters.