Clifford Smith, 1 April 1971, Staten Island, New York, USA. Smith rose to acclaim as one of the leading members of Staten Island’s hip-hop collective, Wu-Tang Clan. Adopting the Method Man moniker, his smoky, flowing vocals were a prominent feature of 1993’s landmark debut Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). His own Tical set, released the following year, was the firs
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Corey Woods, 12 January 1970, New York, USA. Raekwon is a long-standing member of the Wu-Tang Clan, Staten Island’s seminal hip-hop crew. Following the release of their 1993 debut Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), several of the members released solo projects. Raekwon’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx … followed albums by Method Man (Tical) and Ol’ Dirty Bastard (
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Russell Tyrone Jones, 15 November 1968, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA, d. 13 November 2004, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. Rapper Ol’ Dirty Bastard was a founder member of Staten Island’s highly influential Wu-Tang Clan crew. His 1995 solo debut, however, was disappointingly formulaic. The album was interesting only on those tracks (‘Brookly
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This rap duo, comprising Havoc (Kejuan Muchita, 21 May 1974, Queensbridge, New York, USA) and Prodigy (b. Albert Johnson, 2 November 1974, Queensbridge, New York, USA), made a colossal impact in 1995 with their hardcore hip-hop single ‘Shook Ones Part II’. Compared in the music press to the experience of hearing Schoolly D for the first time, it saw the New York-ba
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Jason Hunter, New York City, New York, USA. Also known as Rebel INS, Inspectah Deck is a prominent member of Staten Island’s hip-hop overlords the Wu-Tang Clan. He was first heard on their acclaimed 1993 debut, Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), but a planned solo release the following year was aborted. A solo debut in all but name came about when he wrote and produced th
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Arguably hip-hop’s most literate, challenging act on both musical and lyrical fronts, Gang Starr comprises Guru Keith E (Keith Elam, 17 July 1966, Roxbury, Massachusetts, USA; vocals/lyrics) and DJ Premier (b. Christopher Martin, 21 March 1966, Houston, Texas, USA; music). Guru (Gifted Unlimited Rhymes Universal) was born the son of a Boston municipal and superior court
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Reginald Noble, 17 April 1970, Newark, New Jersey, USA. Inventive and witty US rapper whose 1992 debut Whut? Thee Album broke into the US Top 50, although it failed to get a UK release until much later in the year. Enshrining the new ethos of cannabis as the drug of choice (‘How To Roll A Blunt’), there was also room for the traditional braggadocio (‘A Day Of
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Nasir Bin Olu Dara Jones, 14 September 1973, Long Island, New York, USA. From the tough Queensbridge housing projects which brought the world Marley Marl, MC Shan and Intelligent Hoodlum, Nas made his name as a highly skilled rapper with the double whammy of 1994’s Illmatic and 1996’s It Was Written, albums whose music was crafted with a degree of subtlety and fore
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Lamont Coleman, 30 May 1974, New York City, New York, USA, d. 15 February 1999, Harlem, New York City, New York, USA. This highly respected Harlem-based MC had his life cut tragically short just when it appeared his legendary underground status was about to translate into the mainstream. Coleman first came to the attention of the rap world in the early 90s as part of Harlem&
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Another of the new rap breed to extol the creative use of marijuana/hemp, this interracial trio from the Latin quarter of Los Angeles are champions of NORML (National Organisation To Reform Marijuana Laws), and perform tracks such as ‘I Wanna Get High’, ‘Legalize It’ and ‘Insane In The Brain’ which advocate marijuana as a cultural replacement for a
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Darryl Hill, New York City, New York, USA. Raised in New York’s Staten Island district, Cappadonna became the tenth official member of the Wu-Tang Clan. Hill had known members of the crew since grade school, and began writing and performing himself from the age of 15 onwards. His first recorded appearance on a Wu-Tang Clan product was in 1995, adding a lewd rap to ‘
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Parish Lesane Crooks, 16 June 1971, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA, d. 13 September 1996, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. The controversy-laced gangsta rapper 2Pac was the son of two Black Panther members, and his mother Alice Faye Williams was actually pregnant with her son while being held in a New York prison. After his mother married Mutulu Shakur, who became the baby
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