The Puppies

American hip hop group

The Puppies were a child hip hop sibling duo composed of brother Calvin "Big Boy" Mills III, and sister Tamara Dee Mills. Specializing in Miami bass music, the duo released two albums and scored one Top 40 hit on the U. S. Billboard Hot 100, "Funky Y 2 C."

The group was assembled in the early 1990s by Kendall based record producer Calvin Mills II, who sought to create a young rap group with a Miami bass sound. Knowing the pressures of the music industry first hand, Mills initially hesitated to include his own children, Calvin III and Tamara Dee, in the group. Nevertheless, the brother and sister duo became the Puppies and signed a recording contract with Miami based Joey Boy Records soon after. The Puppies soon attracted the interest of Columbia subsidiary Chaos Recordings and were bought out of their contract with Joey Boy, signing a $400,000 deal with Chaos/Columbia. and became the duo's biggest hit, reaching the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 and selling over 280,000 copies. The Puppies spent the summer on tour, particularly at schools and radio sponsored outdoor concerts where they could reach a young audience. While promoting "Funky Y 2 C", the duo frequently held video giveaways and dance contests at their shows. After the Puppies' second single, "Summer Delight", failed to chart, the duo were dropped from the Chaos/Columbia roster, at which point their producer and father, Calvin Mills II, and prior label Joey Boy Records fought over the rights to the Puppies' material. In exchange for the right to continue to record under the name the Puppies, Mills relinquished a large sum of money along with ownership of the Puppies' prior material to Joey Boy Records. the former duo's Big Boy continues to release music under the name DJ Big Boy, including occasional guest vocals from Tamara Dee.