DJ King Assassin | |
---|---|
Born | Craig S. Venegas Alvarado January 15, 1971 |
Other names | DJ Raleem, Assassin |
Occupation(s) | Disc jockey, record producer, radio personality, director |
Years active | 1989 - Present |
Musical career | |
Genres | Hip hop, G-Funk |
Instrument(s) | |
Labels | |
Website | Official website |
Craig Venegas Alvarado (born January 15, 1971), known by his stage name DJ King Assassin, is an American disc jockey, producer, and engineer from Los Angeles, California.
Venegas became influential in the west coast hip-hop music scene after having helped pioneer records for 1990s era rap moguls such as 2Pac, Ice-T and Eazy-E. [1] [2]
Venegas started producing at an early age, growing up in the California Bay Area. Starting in the 1980s, Venegas influenced the west coast hip-hop music culture by creating sounds for rappers in the Bay Area & L.A California. [3] He connected with former Ruthless Records rapper Kokane and charted on billboard with Dr Kokastien and The Legend Continues. [4]
Throughout his career, Venegas engineered over 300 titles for recording artists signed to Universal Records, EMI, Def Jam, including several of which reached the Billboard charts, respectively. In 2014, he peaked at #7 on the Billboard charts in the US following the release of a mixtape with fellow industry partner Kokane. [5] For several consecutive years, Venegas has been awarded DJ of the Year for his lengthy music contribution in the West Coast Hip Hop Awards. [6] [7]
Venegas spent most of his early life in California traveling from San Jose, Vallejo, East Palo Alto and Sacramento, where he then relocated back to his native California lifestyle in the city of Los Angeles. As a kid, he won his school's spelling bee at Hillsdale Elementary and later went on to the district of Franklin Mckinley's spelling bee. He also learned to play drums in elementary school, and in eighth grade, how to make music. From that time, he became interested in music as well as breakdancing, in which he won trophies at local fairs and contests throughout the state of California.
Venegas' influences include long-time friend and collaborator 2Pac and Eazy-E, as he has grown up in California. [8] [9] [10]
Venegas moved where originally his parents are from, in Southern California, and began his career as a record disc jockey, in which he later produced for recording artists signed to Russell Simmons record label Def Jam. In the early part of his career, Venegas produced for several projects from Eazy-E at Kitchen Sync and Echo Sound studios. It was there where, Venegas, a rising producer, teamed up with Tupac Shakur in which he later established a close relationship with the West Coast rapper. [11]
While Tupac Shakur worked on "Me Against The World", Venegas began producing music with Shakur, later witnessing the creation and scratching on original version of "Dear Mama", one of Shakur's most successful hip-hop records. Venegas, thereafter, produced, mixed and mastered an inordinate number of records for hip-hop recording artists in the west coast of the US, influencing the unique funk sound established by rappers like Eazy-E and 2Pac. [12] [13]
Venegas started his own internet syndicated radio show, The King Assassin Show, which featured appearances from recording artists and other notable figures like Freeway Rick Ross, for example. [14] Throughout the first half of the 2010s, Venegas released numerous mixtapes, some of which featured unreleased music from Tupac Shakur, and others in collaboration with west coast rappers. [15] [16]
In May 2016, following the passing of Afeni Shakur, Tupac Shakur's birth mother, Venegas was featured on TMZ and Billboard magazine where he spoke on his affiliation and relationship with the Shakur estate and the release of the original version of Tupac Shakur's classic record "Dear Mama". [17] In 2016, Venegas announced he will be producing and directing a film loosely based on Tupac Shakur's personal life and music career. The film is expected to be shot in California, and acting cast has not been released yet. [18]
In 2016, following the passing of Tupac Shakur's mother, Alvarado released a rare recording of 'Dear Mama' in honor of her death, which was later picked up by numerous music news outlets including TMZ, XXL and Complex. [19] [20]
Assassin holds the Guinness Book Of World Records for recording the longest hip-hop song in the history followed by Rappers Delight entitled State Of Emergency which features mostly platinum and legendary artists and to be released in 2020.
This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (July 2021) |
Title | Billboard Charting History | Peak chart positions | |
---|---|---|---|
Spotify + Web [21] | Heatseekers [22] [23] | ||
Dr. Kokastien Hosted By Dj King Assassin] | Billboard Charts Number 1
| 1 | 1 |
DJ King Assassin | Billboard & Spotify
| 7 | -- |
Chart (1995) | Weekly production charts Peak positions | ||
Australia (ARIA) [24] | 37 | 37 | |
Germany (Official German Charts) [25] | 81 | 81 | |
Netherlands (Single Top 100) [26] | 31 | 31 | |
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [27] | 4 | 4 | |
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) [28] | 43 | 43 | |
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) [29] | 43 | 43 | |
UK Singles (OCC) [30] | 84 | 84 | |
US Hot Dance/Electronic Songs ( Billboard ) [31] | 1 | 1 | |
US Billboard Hot 100 [32] | 9 | 9 | |
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs ( Billboard ) [33] | 3 | 3 | |
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay ( Billboard ) [34] | 7 | ||
US Hot Rap Songs ( Billboard ) [35] | 1 | 1 | |
US Rhythmic ( Billboard ) [36] | 16 | 16 | |
International | |||
Chart (1999) | Peak position | ||
UK Singles (OCC) [30] | 27 | 27[ citation needed ] |
Year | Title | Note | |
---|---|---|---|
12inch singles | |||
1990 | Lyrical Prophecy - You can't swing this | Featured and Production as DJ Raleem | |
1990 | Charizma And Peanut Butter Wolf Circa 1990 -1993 | Featured Adlibs | |
1992 | Cisco The Frisco Mc - Audi 5000 | Featured and Production | |
1992 | Various What A Remix Assassin Bring The Drums | Featured and Production | |
1998 | 17 Reasons Various Cisco - Take Me Higher | Featured and Production | |
1993 | Ghetto Politics - Ghetto Life E.P | Featured and Production | |
1995 | Juvenile Style - The Cavi | Production | |
1996 | Assassin Featuring Tupac - Real Bad Boyz | Featured and Production | |
2002 | Assassin - Out Of Custody E.P | Solo Album and Production | |
Cassette | |||
1994 | Various Strictly For The Streets A Compilation about the game | Official LP Features and Production | |
1994 | Assassin - Hitworks Original Cassette release | ||
1996 | Assassin - Hitworks | ||
1997 | Assassin - Born And Raised In The Bay | ||
1998 | Assassin - Armed N Dangerouz | ||
1999 | Assassin - Worldwide Game | ||
1999 | Assassin - Soldierz At War | ||
Compact disk | |||
1994 | Assassin & Tupac's Thuglife - Strictly For The Streets A Compilation about the game | ||
1996 | Assassin - Hitworks | ||
1997 | Assassin - Born And Raised In The Bay | ||
1998 | Assassin - Armed N Dangerouz | ||
1999 | Assassin - Worldwide Game | ||
1999 | Assassin - Soldierz At War | ||
1999 | Assassin - City Of Dope | ||
2000 | Assassin - Revelation 2000 | ||
2001 | Assassin - Anthology | ||
2002 | Assassin - Out Of Custody | ||
2003 | Assassin - Hitman For Hire | ||
2004 | Assassin - JT The Bigga Figga Fillmoe 2 San Jo | ||
2006 | Assassin - San Quinn - Fillmoe 2 San Jo 2 | ||
2007 | Assassin - Mopreme Shakur Black And Brown Pride | ||
2008 | Assassin - United Playaz Of The Bay | ||
2008 | Assassin - High-Fee Movement | ||
2011 | Assassin - West Turf Compilation Kings | ||
Mixtapes | |||
| |||
Title | Year | Role | Other notes |
---|---|---|---|
The King Assassin Show | 2014 | Host | Starring Role |
Savoy Films Directors: George Tillman Jr. Robert Teitel | 1995 | Soundtrack Featuring Tupac Shakur Real Bad Boys | Joshua Dreams Films Producer Soundtrack |
Oprah Winfrey Show | 2015 | Special Guest | Live television |
TMZ Live [37] | 2016 | Special Guest | Live television |
Title | Year | Role | Other notes |
---|---|---|---|
The King Assassin Show | 2014 | Host | Web syndicated |
98.2 The Beat | 2016 | DJ | Web syndicated |
Tupac Amaru Shakur, also known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential and successful rappers of all time. Shakur is among the best-selling music artists, having sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Much of Shakur's music has been noted for addressing contemporary social issues that plagued inner cities.
Marion Hugh "Suge" Knight Jr. is an American record executive and convicted felon who is the co-founder and former CEO of Death Row Records. Knight was a central figure in gangsta rap's commercial success in the 1990s. This feat is attributed to the record label's first two album releases: Dr. Dre's The Chronic in 1992 and Snoop Dogg's Doggystyle in 1993. Knight is serving a 28-year sentence in prison for a fatal hit-and-run in 2015.
West Coast hip hop is a regional genre of hip hop music that encompasses any artists or music that originated in the West Coast of the United States. West Coast hip hop began to dominate from a radio play and sales standpoint during the early to-mid 1990s with the birth of G-funk and the emergence of record labels such as Suge Knight and Dr. Dre's Death Row Records, Ice Cube's Lench Mob Records, the continued success of Eazy-E's Ruthless Records, Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment, and others.
Me Against the World is the third studio album by American rapper 2Pac. It was released on March 14, 1995, by Interscope Records and Out da Gutta Records and distributed by Atlantic Records. 2Pac draws lyrical inspiration from his impending prison sentence, troubles with the police, and poverty.
Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory is the fifth studio album by American rapper Tupac Shakur, his first posthumous album and the last released with his creative input. Recorded in July and August 1996, it was released on November 5, 1996, almost two months after his death, under the stage name of Makaveli, through Death Row Records, Makaveli Records and Interscope Records.
Loyal to the Game is the ninth studio album and fifth posthumous studio album by American rapper Tupac Shakur. The album was produced by Eminem and consists of remixes of previously unreleased music recorded by Tupac before his death in 1996. Released in the United States on December 14, 2004, Loyal to the Game debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart. It was later certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
"California Love" is a song by American rapper 2Pac featuring fellow American rapper-producer Dr. Dre and American singer Roger Troutman of the funk group Zapp. The song was released as 2Pac's comeback single after his release from prison in 1995 and was his first single as the newest artist of Death Row Records. The original version is featured on the UK version of his fourth album, All Eyez on Me (1996), and is one of 2Pac's most widely known and most successful singles. It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks and also topped the charts of Italy, New Zealand, and Sweden. The song was posthumously nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group in 1997.
"Hit 'Em Up" is a diss track by American rapper 2Pac, featuring the Outlawz. It is the B-side to the single "How Do U Want It", released on June 4, 1996. The song's lyrics contain vicious insults to several East Coast rappers, chiefly Shakur's former friend turned rival, the Notorious B.I.G.. The song was recorded at Can Am Studios in 1996. A previous version of the song was recorded in October 1995.
Thug Life, Volume I is the only studio album by American hip hop group Thug Life, released on September 26, 1994, by Interscope Records and Out da Gutta Records and distributed by Atlantic Records. The group was started by American rapper 2Pac and also comprising Big Syke, The Rated R, Macadoshis and Mopreme Shakur, Tupac's stepbrother. The album features guest appearances by Y.N.V. and Nate Dogg and production by Warren G, Easy Mo Bee, Big Syke and Stretch.
"2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted" is a song by American rapper 2Pac from his fourth studio album, All Eyez on Me (1996). The song features fellow West Coast rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg and was produced by Dat Nigga Daz. The song was released as a promotional single for the album on May 7, 1996 and later as the B-side to the album's second major and third overall single, How Do U Want It. The song peaked at number 46 on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart. The song contains interpolations of Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five's song "The Message" and "Radio Activity Rap " by MC Frosty and Lovin' C.
"I Wonder If Heaven Got a Ghetto" is a song by American rapper 2Pac. It was released as the first single from the posthumous album R U Still Down? . The original version, titled "I Wonda if Heaven's Got a Ghetto", was released as a B-side on the 1993 single, "Keep Ya Head Up".
"Dear Mama" is a song by American rapper 2Pac from his third studio album, Me Against the World (1995). It was released on February 21, 1995, as the lead single from the album. The song is a tribute to his mother, Afeni Shakur. In the song, Shakur details his childhood poverty and his mother's addiction to crack cocaine, but argues that his love and deep respect for his mother supersede bad memories. The song became his first top ten on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number nine. It also topped the Hot Rap Singles chart for five weeks. As of March 2021, the song is certified 3× Platinum by the RIAA.
"I Get Around" is a song by American rapper 2Pac from his second studio album, Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z... (1993). It was released on June 10, 1993 as the album's second single and features Shakur's mentor Shock G and Money-B of Digital Underground, Shakur's old group. It was produced by Shock G, who produced it under the alias, The D-Flow Production Squad. AllMusic notes that in the song Shakur "brags about his sexual conquests". Chart-wise, it was the album's most successful single reaching number eleven on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.
Jerry Buddy Long Jr., better known by his stage name Kokane, is an American rapper and singer best known for his distinctive vocal style and numerous guest appearances, such as on Snoop Dogg's Tha Last Meal.
The East Coast–West Coast hip hop rivalry was a dispute between artists and fans of the East Coast hip hop and West Coast hip hop scenes in the United States, especially from the mid-1990s. Focal points of the feud were East Coast–based rapper The Notorious B.I.G. with Puff Daddy and their New York City–based label, Bad Boy Records, and West Coast–based rapper Tupac Shakur with Suge Knight and their Los Angeles–based label, Death Row Records. The feud culminated in the murders of both rappers in drive-by shootings. Although several suspects have been identified, both murders remain unsolved.
The discography of American rapper Tupac Shakur consists of 11 studio albums. Throughout his career and posthumously, Shakur sold more than 75 million records worldwide. He has scored 5 No. 1 albums on Billboard 200 and 8 No. 1 albums on Top R&B/Hip-Hop albums. In 2001, Guinness World Records hailed him as the then Best-selling artist of rap in the US. According to Recording Industry Association of America, he has sold 55.3 million albums and an additional 4 million under his alias Makaveli with "The Don Killuminati", making him the second best-selling hip-hop artist in history.
Ridin' Dirty is the third studio album by American hip hop duo UGK. It was released on July 30, 1996, by Jive Records. Despite no music videos or official singles being released, it is their best selling album with over 850,000 copies sold to date, with 70,000 copies sold in its first week.
All Eyez on Me is the fourth studio album by American rapper 2Pac and the last to be released during his lifetime. Released on February 13, 1996, by Death Row and Interscope Records, the album features guest appearances from Dr. Dre, Snoop Doggy Dogg, Redman, Method Man, Nate Dogg, Kurupt, Daz Dillinger, E-40, K-Ci & JoJo, and the Outlawz, among others.
"Rapper's Ball" is a song by American rap artist E-40, featuring rapper Too $hort and Jodeci lead singer Cedric "K-Ci" Hailey. It is a single from the lead rapper's 1996 album Tha Hall of Game and is a B-side for E-40's song "Things'll Never Change", featuring The Dove Shack rapper Bo-Rock. The song peaked at #29 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart along with "Things'll Never Change", becoming E-40's most successful song as a lead artist until "U and Dat" featuring T-Pain and Kandi Girl peaked at #13 on the Hot 100 in 2006. This song is considered a classic by most west coast rap fans, especially in E-40's hometown Vallejo which is in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. This song is also notable for featuring a diss to Brooklyn rapper The Notorious B.I.G. in which E-40 says, "Don't buy an $85,000 car before you buy a house", making reference to Biggie owning expensive cars but still not having purchased his own home. In the video, Tupac Shakur, who makes a cameo appearance, winks at the camera when this line is said. This song is also one of Too Short's successful songs amongst many Platinum Albums Too Short has recorded with other Bay Area HipHop Rap Legend. Later several Top Artists around the Bay would collaborate on the album Derty Werk by T.W.D.Y. a west coast supergroup formed by Ant Banks and released in 1999. The music video also features another Rap artist from the Bay Area most known for his Raw Gangsta Rap lyrics, Ice-T arriving with Too Short & playing pool with Tupac, albeit doesn't perform.
{{cite magazine}}
: External link in |title=
(help)