Injury Reserve was an alternative hip hop trio hailing from Tempe, Arizona. It was comprised of producer Parker Corey and rappers Ritchie with a T and the late Stepa J. Groggs.

The members of the group met one another in 2013, and they immediately started recording music together: as a result, they’ve published the mixtape Depth Chart (2013) and the EP Cooler Colors (2014), later removed from all the digital platforms.

In 2015, the group self-released their second mixtape, Live From the Dentist Office, aptly named due to the fact it was recorded in the dental office of producer Corey Parker’s grandfather. The project has been praised by music critics for Groggs and Ritchie’s honest and charismatic rapping style, as well as for Parker’s innovative approach to jazz rap and alternative hip-hop, characteristics that are well-reflected by songs such as “Yo,” “Whatever Dude,” “Washed Up” and “Ttktv.”

The subsequent year, the group followed their successful debut with the release of their third mixtape, Floss, which immediately receiving critical acclaim, too, as Groggs and Ritchie’s technical skills became even sharper and Parker’s production got more hard-hitting and more influenced by elements of noise and industrial music. This time, the pivotal tracks from the project were the singles “Oh Shit!!!” and “All This Money,” together with songs like “S on Ya Chest” and “What’s Goodie” (featuring Cakes da Killa).

As their fan-base gradually widened, in 2017 Injury Reserve continued to strike the iron while it was hot with the EP Drive It Like It’s Stolen, previewed by three singles: “North Pole” (featuring Austin Anderson), “See You Sweat” and “Boom (X3).”

The achievements kept coming for the group in the next years, as they opened for groups such as Ho99o9 and The Underachievers, collaborated with fellow colleagues like Aminé (“Campfire”), led their first headlining tour supported by JPEGMAFIA and, above all, got a record deal with the independent label Loma Vista.

This last choice allowed Injury Reserve to work with a bigger budget on their self-titled debut album, that eventually was released on May 17th, 2019 and featured many more guest artists (the previously mentioned JPEGMAFIA, Aminé and Cakes da Killa, but also Rico Nasty, Freddie Gibbs and DRAM, among others), as well as more extravagant and forward-thinking choices in the production, as shown in the singles “Jawbreaker,” “Jailbreak the Tesla” and “Koruna & Lime.”

Throughout 2019 and 2020, Injury Reserve reached out to various groups, such as Code Orange, 100 gecs and Jockstrap. Unfortunately, on June 29, 2020, the group lost one of its original members; Stepa J. Groggs passed away at the age of 32 to undeclared circumstances.

Following a hiatus after the passing of Groggs, they announced their sophomore album, By the Time I Get to Phoenix, via a statement on their Twitter account. This announcement was followed by the release of the album’s lead single, “Knees,” accompanied by a music video on August 11, 2021.

The group officially disbanded on July 6th, 2023, with the remaining members forming By Storm.