Blaq Poet | |
|---|---|
 Screenshot of Blaq Poet from music video "Catch My Drift" by Ruc featuring Blaq Poet | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Wilbur Bass |
| Also known as | The Poet |
| Born | May 31, 1969 |
| Origin | Queensbridge, New York City, U.S. |
| Genres | Hip Hop |
| Years active | 1987–present |
| Labels | Year Round Records, Aggravated Mayhem, Brick Records, Mad Men Entertainment |
Wilbur Bass (born May 31, 1969), [1] better known as Blaq Poet, is an American rapper from Queensbridge, New York City. [2]
Blaq Poet was first heard on the track "Beat You Down" from the Bridge Wars during 1987, a diss song towards KRS-One and Boogie Down Productions. [3] At that time, Poet was at least 17 years old, as stated in a 2009 radio interview.
During 1991, Poet and DJ Hot Day made a duo called PHD (Poet & Hot Day) and released their debut album, Without Warning, on Tuff City Records. They released after that album several 12-inch singles and an EP until 1996 when they parted ways due to being unable to find another record label. Poet went on to team up with KL, Hostyle and Solo, creating the group Screwball. They released two albums and a compilation together before Poet went solo with the street album Rewind: Deja Screw, released 2006. The album featured production from DJ Premier amongst others.
In 2007, Poet appeared on the track "Victory" on KRS-One and Marley Marl's 2007 album Hip Hop Lives , which was released as proof that the Bridge Wars had ended.
Poet later signed to DJ Premier's label Year Round Records, and he released his second album, Tha Blaqprint , on that label in 2009. The majority of the production was by DJ Premier, and guest appearances were made by the likes of Lil' Fame and Noreaga, as well as Poet’s Year Round labelmates the NYGz and Nick Javas. On the remix version of “Ain't Nuttin' Changed”, a single from Tha Blaqprint, Poet collaborated with West Coast rappers MC Eiht and Young Maylay.
On November 3, 2020, Blaq Poet released an LP with Serious Truth entitled "Cultural Revolution" [4] to critical acclaim. [5] [6] [7] Inspired by current events, the album is also focused on returning hip hop back to its roots and original cultural standards. Cultural Revolution has become a cult classic among hardcore hip hop fans and DJs alike, accumulating 120,000 views, listens & streams across all platforms. [8] Upon the album's release, it frequently found its way onto radio stations in the UK, Germany, Belgium and the USA, [9] as well as DJ Premier's radio show on Sirius XM. [10]
| Title | Year | Other artist(s) | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Crime Library" | 2012 | Vinnie Paz | God of the Serengeti |
| "Close to the Edge" | 2021 | The Nicewun JM | Celebratin' Hip Hop... Over Here |
Boogie Down Productions (BDP) was an American hip hop group originally composed of KRS-One, D-Nice, and DJ Scott La Rock. DJ Scott La Rock was murdered on August 27, 1987, five months after the release of BDP's debut album, Criminal Minded. The name of the group, Boogie Down, derives from a nickname for the South Bronx section of New York City. The group pioneered the fusion of dancehall reggae and hip hop music and their debut LP Criminal Minded contained frank descriptions of life in the South Bronx during the late 1980s, thus setting the stage for what would eventually become gangsta rap.
Christopher Edward Martin, known professionally as DJ Premier, is an American record producer and DJ. He is considered one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time. He was half of the hip hop duo Gang Starr—alongside the rapper Guru—and presently forms half of the hip hop duo PRhyme, together with Royce da 5'9".
Aaron Tyler, better known by his stage name MC Eiht, is an American rapper and actor. Many of his songs are based on his life in Compton. His stage name was partly inspired by the numeral in KRS-One's name. He chose Eiht for its links to "hood culture", including Olde English 800 and .38 caliber firearms. He is the de facto leader of West Coast hip hop group Compton's Most Wanted, which also included fellow Compton-based rappers Boom Bam, The Unknown DJ, Tha Chill, DJ Mike T, DJ Slip and Ant Capone. He is also known for his role as A-Wax in the 1993 film Menace II Society, as well as playing the character Ryder in the 2004 video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
Queensbridge Houses, also known simply as Queensbridge, is a public housing development in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens, New York City. Owned by the New York City Housing Authority, the development contains 29 buildings and 3,142 units accommodating approximately 7,000 people in two separate complexes. The complex opened in 1939 and is the largest housing project in North America.
Farid Karam Nassar, better known by his stage name Fredwreck, is a Grammy Award-winning American hip hop recording artist, DJ and record producer. He got his big break when he became a producer for Dr. Dre's newly founded record label Aftermath Entertainment, and then went on to work with Snoop Dogg's record label Dogghouse Records and became a known producer on Tha Dogg Pound-affiliated material. During this time he also was a producer for Snoop Doggs track: Riders on the storm Ft The Doors on EA's Need for speed underground 2. He has produced tracks from Kurupt's Tha Streetz Iz a Mutha and most of his next release, Space Boogie: Smoke Oddessey; both released during the period the rapper had left Death Row Records. He has also produced for other hip-hop and pop artists such as Eminem, Britney Spears, Ice Cube, Westside Connection, Lil' Kim, Hilary Duff, Xzibit, The Game, Nate Dogg, Everlast, Cypress Hill, 50 Cent, Mobb Deep, as well as non-US acts such as Dizzie Rascal, Tamer Hosny, Qusai Kheder and Karl Wolf.
The Bridge Wars was a hip hop music rivalry during the mid-to-late 1980s and early 1990s, that arose from a dispute over the true birthplace of hip hop music and retaliation over the rejecting of a record for airplay. The Bridge Wars originally involved the South Bronx's Boogie Down Productions, led by KRS-One, and Marley Marl's Juice Crew, hailing from Queensbridge. KRS-One and Marley Marl have since officially retired the feud, with the release of their collaborative 2007 album Hip-Hop Lives.
The Juice Crew was an American hip hop collective made up largely of Queensbridge, New York-based artists in the mid-to-late 1980s. Founded by radio DJ Mr. Magic, and housed by Tyrone Williams' record label Cold Chillin' Records, the Juice Crew helped introduce New School artists MC Shan, Big Daddy Kane, Biz Markie, Roxanne Shante, Masta Ace, Tragedy, Craig G and Kool G Rap. The crew produced many answer records and engaged with numerous "beefs" – primarily with rival radio jock Kool DJ Red Alert and the South Bronx's Boogie Down Productions, as well as the "posse cut", "The Symphony".
James Campbell, better known by his stage names Freddie Foxxx and Bumpy Knuckles, is an American rapper and music producer from Long Island, New York.
Percy Lee Chapman, known by his stage name Tragedy Khadafi, is an American rapper and record producer. Chapman hails from the Queensbridge Housing Projects in Queens, New York City, who helped spawn other hip hop artists such as Mobb Deep, Capone-N-Noreaga, Nas and many others both through production and influence. He was the first in the Queensbridge projects to create intelligent street music, and is documented to be the first to use the phrase "Illmatic" in 1988 on a record called "The Rebel", from the Marley Marl album In Control, Volume 1, which was an inspiration and influence on fellow New York rapper Nas.
Infamous Mobb, also known as IM3, is a hip hop group from Queensbridge, Long Island City, Queens, New York, United States, composed of members Ty Nitty, Twin Gambino aka Big Twin and G.O.D. Part III aka Godfather Part III. They are an integral part of the Queensbridge Hip Hop scene, which includes rappers like Nas, Tragedy Khadafi, Mobb Deep, Cormega, Capone-N-Noreaga, whose legacy originated mid 80's in Marley Marl's studio and with him and his protegés on Cold Chillin' Records, known as the Juice Crew.
Screwball is an American underground hip hop quartet from New York City, composed of rappers Hostyle, KL, Blaq Poet and Solo. The group has released two studio albums, Y2K: The Album in 1999 and Loyalty in 2001, and a compilation album Screwed Up in 2004.
Hip Hop Lives is the collaborative studio album by American rapper KRS-One and record producer Marley Marl. It was released on May 22, 2007 via Koch Records. Recording sessions took place at House Of Hits in New York and at Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles. Production was handled by Marley Marl himself, except for one track produced with 88 Fingers. It features guest appearances from Blaq Poet, Busy Bee Starski and Magic Juan. The album's title is a response to Nas's 2006 album Hip Hop Is Dead.
Screwed Up is a compilation album by American hip hop quartet Screwball. The double disc project was released on July 19, 2004 via Hydra Entertainment. It is primarily composed of songs from the group's two previous albums Y2K: The Album and Loyalty, as well as new tracks, remixes, and songs from member Hostyle's One Eyed Maniac album. The album's title came from the group's 1996 single "Screwed Up" b/w "They Wanna Know Why". After the release of Screwed Up, member Blaq Poet pursued a solo career. Member Kenneth "KL" Lewis died on March 28, 2008 of an asthma attack, and member Fredrick "Hostyle" Ivey died in January 2020. The compilation was re-issued for digital download shortened to fifteen tracks.
This is the discography of American rapper KRS-One.
Cary Guy, better known as Big Shug, is a rapper and actor from Boston, Massachusetts, a co-founder of Gang Starr and a member of the Gang Starr Foundation collective.
Tha Blaqprint is the second studio album by American hip hop recording artist Blaq Poet, released June 30, 2009 on DJ Premier's record label Year Round Records via Fat Beats Records. It features guest appearances by the also Year Round Records signed group NYGz and Nick Javas, Capone-N-Noreaga member N.O.R.E., Imani Montana, Lil' Fame from M.O.P., and the late Screwball member KL. The album was entirely produced by DJ Premier, except for two tracks: "U Phucc’d Up", produced by Easy Mo Bee, and "Sichuwayshunz", produced by Gemcrates. Several tracks have been released on various mixtapes, such as "Blaq Out" or "No Talent Required", dating all the way back to 2006. The album's lead single, "Ain't Nuttin' Changed", has been released in February 2009. There's also a remix version to the single, released in June 2009. It features verses by MC Eiht from Compton's Most Wanted and Young Maylay from Ice Cube's Lench Mob Records.
Rewind: Deja Screw is the debut studio album by American Queensbridge hip hop emcee Blaq Poet since 1991's Without A Warning together with producer DJ Hot Day. Released on March 21, 2006 through Traffic Entertainment, the album features a mix of old and new verses by Poet over all new beats, hence the title. The three main producers are 45 Scientific from France, DJ Premier, and Blaq Poet himself, although Easy Mo Bee and The Alchemist both contribute a track each. Poet's cousin, KL, who died in early 2008, makes three appearances on the LP.
DJ Premier Presents - Get Used To Us is a compilation album by American hip hop DJ and record producer DJ Premier. The album was released on his Year Round Records on December 7, 2010. It features collaborations from frequent DJ Premier's collaborators and a few newcomers. The album was well received by critics.
In Death Reborn is the fourth studio album by the underground hip hop collective Army of the Pharaohs. The album was released on April 22, 2014, via Vinnie Paz's independent record label, Enemy Soil. The album features members Vinnie Paz, Apathy, Blacastan, Block McCloud, Celph Titled, Crypt The Warchild, Demoz, Des Devious, Doap Nixon, Esoteric, King Magnetic, King Syze, Planetary, Reef the Lost Cauze and Zilla, with a guest appearance by Lawrence Arnell. The only member who did not appear on the album was Jus Allah, also affiliated with Jedi Mind Tricks; it was later confirmed that Allah had left both groups.
Emeka Akumefule, known professionally as Blaqbonez, is a Nigerian rapper signed to Chocolate City.
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