Z-Ro | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Joseph Wayne McVey IV [1] |
| Also known as | The Mo City Don [2] |
| Born | January 19, 1977 [1] [3] Houston, United States |
| Origin | Missouri City, Texas, U.S. |
| Genres | Hip hop |
| Occupation(s) |
|
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Labels | EMPIRE |
Joseph Wayne McVey IV (born January 19, 1977), better known by his stage names Z-Ro and the Mo City Don, is an American rapper from Houston, Texas. He was named one of America's most underrated rappers by The New York Times in 2007. [4]
Z-Ro was born Joseph Wayne McVey IV in Houston's South Park neighborhood on January 19, 1977. [5] When he was six, his mother died, and he was shuttled from household to household in search of stability, eventually settling in the Ridgemont area, a middle-class neighborhood in Southwest Houston near the suburb of Missouri City. [5] When Z-Ro reached his late teens he was unemployed and resorted to drug dealing and hustling on the streets. [5] According to Z-Ro, listening to the music of 2Pac, Geto Boys, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Street Military, K-Rino and Klondike Kat inspired him to work harder for his goal of leaving the streets. [5] Z-Ro discovered his talent of freestyle rapping and after going through a couple of recording studios to make a demo, [5] the CEO of a local label discovered and signed him.
Z-Ro released his critically acclaimed Rap-a-Lot debut titled The Life of Joseph W. McVey . [5] [6] The record was a huge success and helped expand Z-Ro's fan base beyond the South. [5] In 2005, Z-Ro released Let the Truth Be Told , which was well received. [5] Z-Ro's 2006 album I'm Still Livin' was released while he was imprisoned for drug possession, to positive reviews. [7] [8] It was called "a great album... powerful" but "relentlessly bleak" by The Village Voice [7] and "one of the best rap albums to come out of Houston" by the Houston Chronicle. [9] In 2010 he released the album titled Heroin , which was followed by an album titled Meth in 2011 and then Angel Dust in 2012.
Z-Ro released his first EP under The Mo City Don titled Tripolar on August 25, 2013, via One Deep Ent. [2] Z-Ro then followed up with The Crown in June 2014. [10] In February 2015, Z-Ro released his first proper studio album in three years, titled Melting the Crown.
In 2016, Z-Ro released Drankin & Drivin in August [11] and Legendary in November under his label One Deep Entertainment.
In 2017, Z-Ro announced he was retiring and released No Love Boulevard in June as his final album. [12] He came out of retirement 6 months later and released Codeine in December.
In 2018, Z-Ro released Sadism on November 16 under One Deep Entertainment and was distributed by EMPIRE. [13]
In 2020, Z-Ro released an EP titled Quarantine, The Social Distancing EP with appearances from rapper Boosie Badazz, Slim Thug, Lanlawd and late rapper Wicket Cricket. He then later released an album titled Rohammad Ali on June 26. [14]
In 2021, Z-Ro along with S.U.C. rapper Mike D released a collaboration album titled 2 The Hardway with appearances from Slim Thug, Lil' Keke, Beanz from the production duo, Beanz N Kornbread, Klondike Kat, Grace from Grace Boys, Duke Gutta, Oticia Redmond, C-Note, Big Pokey, and Lil' O. [15]
In 2022, in a statement to XXL , Z-Ro claims Trae Tha Truth asked to talk to him outside a Houston Restaurant before he allegedly sucker punched him. After that, several men jumped in and continued to assault him. [16]
 | This section needs to be updated. The reason given is: What happened with the misdemeanour charges?.(December 2023) |
On July 26, 2017, Z-Ro was arrested after his ex-girlfriend, Just Brittany, accused him of beating her three months earlier. Z-Ro told the media that Brittany was using this accusation to get more publicity for herself as she is also appearing in a reality show on television. [17] On October 10, a grand jury dropped the felony charges. [18] The next day, the Harris County, Texas, district attorney filed misdemeanor charges against Z-Ro on the same alleged incident. [19]
+ List of albums, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name
| Year | Title | Chart positions [20] | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US | U.S. R&B | ||
| 1998 | Look What You Did to Me | — | — |
| 2000 | Z-Ro vs. the World | — | 90 |
| 2001 | King of da Ghetto | — | — |
| 2002 | Screwed Up Click Representa | — | 58 |
| 2002 | Z-Ro | — | — |
| 2002 | Life | — | 57 |
| 2003 | Z-Ro Tolerance | — | — |
| 2004 | The Life of Joseph W. McVey | 170 | 27 |
| 2005 | Let the Truth Be Told | 69 | 14 |
| 2006 | I'm Still Livin' | 75 | 14 |
| 2007 | King of tha Ghetto: Power | 197 | 32 |
| 2008 | Crack | 48 | 12 |
| 2009 | Cocaine | 147 | 19 |
| 2010 | Heroin | 142 | 29 |
| 2011 | Meth | 90 | 12 |
| 2012 | Angel Dust | 120 | 17 |
| 2014 | The Crown | — | — |
| 2015 | Melting the Crown | — | 16 |
| 2016 | Drankin' & Drivin' | 99 | 7 |
| 2016 | Legendary | — | 15 |
| 2017 | No Love Boulevard | 135 | 46 |
| 2017 | Codeine | — | 41 |
| 2018 | Sadism | — | 24 |
| 2020 | Rohammad Ali | — | — |
| 2022 | Pressure | — | — |
| 2024 | The Ghetto Gospel | - | - |
Bernard James Freeman, known professionally as Bun B, is an American rapper. He is best known as one half of the southern rap duo UGK, a group he formed in 1987 alongside Pimp C. Aside from his work with UGK, Bun B has released five solo albums, including 2010's Trill OG, which received the rare 5-mic rating from The Source.
Paul Michael Slayton, better known by his stage name Paul Wall, is an American rapper and DJ. He has spent much of his career affiliated with Swishahouse, and has released several albums under the label and collaborated with numerous other rappers signed to the label. He began his career performing alongside fellow Houstonian Chamillionaire, with whom he released several albums, including 2002's independently released Get Ya Mind Correct. By 2005, he was signed to Atlantic Records and became successful with his major label debut The Peoples Champ, which was followed up by Get Money, Stay True followed in 2007. He has been nominated for one Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance as a Duo or Group for the song "Grillz", his collaboration with rapper Nelly.
Devin Derico Copeland, better known by his stage name Devin the Dude, is an American rapper known for his unique rapping style and his 2002 songs "Lacville '79" and "Doobie Ashtray".
Stayve Jerome Thomas, better known by his stage name Slim Thug, is an American rapper. He gained mainstream attention for his guest performance alongside Paul Wall on Mike Jones' 2004 single "Still Tippin'." The following year, he guest appeared alongside Bun B on Beyoncé's 2005 single "Check on It", which peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100 and won an MTV Music Video Award. Capitalizing on this, he signed with Interscope Geffen A&M and the Neptunes' Star Trak Entertainment to release his debut studio album Already Platinum (2005), which peaked at number two on the Billboard 200. Furthermore, he guest appeared on Gwen Stefani's 2005 single "Luxurious", which peaked at number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Rap-A-Lot is a hip hop record label co-founded by James Prince and Cliff Blodget in 1986. Smoke-a-Lot Records is a subsidiary.
The Screwed Up Click is an American hip hop collective based in Houston, Texas, that was led by DJ Screw. Its most notable members include DJ Screw, Big Hawk, Big Mello, Big Moe, Big Pokey, the Botany Boyz, E.S.G., Fat Pat, Lil' Flip, Lil' Keke, Lil' O, and Z-Ro. In addition, Devin the Dude, K-Rino, Lil' Troy, South Park Mexican and UGK are considered to be "Screwed Up Affiliated". Many of the current and former SUC members come from the neighborhoods of South Park, 3rd Ward, Sunnyside, Cloverland, Hiram Clarke and South Acres.
Kelefa T. Sanneh is an American journalist and music critic. From 2000 to 2008, he wrote for The New York Times, covering the rock and roll, hip-hop, and pop music scenes. Since 2008 he has been a staff writer for The New Yorker. Sanneh published Major labels: A history of popular music in seven genres in 2021.
The Life of Joseph W. McVey is the eighth solo studio album by American rapper Z-Ro. It was released on February 24, 2004 through Rap-A-Lot 4 Life/J. Prince Entertainment with distribution via Asylum Records. Recording sessions took place at Dean's List House Of Hits in New York City, at Noddfactor Studios in Denton, and at M.A.D. Studios in Houston. Production was handled by Mike Dean, Mr. Lee, Bigg Tyme, Sean "Solo" Jemison and Tone Capone. It features guest appearances from Trae tha Truth, Scarface and Tanya Herron. The album peaked at number 170 on the Billboard 200 in the United States.
Frazier Othel Thompson III, better known by his stage name Trae tha Truth, is an American rapper from Houston, Texas. Embarking on a musical career in 1998, he soon established himself as a prominent member of the Texas hip hop scene with his solo debut, Losing Composure (2003). Same Thing Different Day (2004) and Restless (2006) followed up, the latter of which was his debut on Rap-a-Lot Records.
Boss Hogg Outlaws is a collaborative studio album by American southern rap artists E.S.G. and Slim Thug from Houston, Texas. It was released on November 6, 2001, via Houston-based record label S.E.S. Entertainment. It features guest appearances from Big Hawk, Bun B, Carmen SanDiego, Daz Dillinger, Lil' Keke, Lil' O, Scarface and Z-Ro. The album peaked at #55 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, #16 on the Independent Albums and #30 on the Heatseekers Albums in the US Billboard charts. Two singles were released from the album: "Getchya Hands Up" and "Thug It Up".
ABN or Assholes by Nature is an American hip hop duo, composed of Houston, Texas-based rappers Trae tha Truth and Z-Ro. They have so far released two studio albums Assholes by Nature (2003) and It Is What It Is (2008).
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This is the discography of American rapper Trae tha Truth from Houston, Texas.
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Sergio Giavanni Kitchens, known professionally as Gunna, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is signed to Young Thug's YSL Records and 300 Entertainment. Gunna initially rose to fame with the mixtape Drip Season 3 in 2018. Later that year, he released the mixtape Drip Harder with Lil Baby, which spawned the single "Drip Too Hard" that reached number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and eventually achieved Diamond certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
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