Alias: E-40, 40, 40 Water, Charlie Hustle…
Occupation: Hip Hop Artist, Entrepreneur, Actor…
Set: West Coast/The Bay Area
Wireless Device of Choice: T-Mobile Sidekick and Nextel Motorola 730
In hip-hop most artists seek to display an unequaled sound that separates them from the rest. Artist E-40 fit that mold from day one. Known for his stop-n-go rhymes and unique delivery this Bay Area rapper recently signed with The King of Crunk Lil’ Jon’s label Warner Brothers/BME. Long awaited highly anticipated , E-40 is in hopes of reaching long over do main stream success. This Godfather of the Underground Scene sold cassettes out the trunk of his car while saturating the music game with slanguistic terms like fa’shizzle, what’s up pimpin’, and ya’smell me over the past ten years. His talents has even lead him to the silver screen as an actor in the comedic urban flick “Three Strikes.”
Words By: Nia B
Take a trip back to the mid 90’s. E-40 and his comrades “The Click” had their own paper route; pushing units off his independent label Sick Wid’ It Records selling hundred of thousands of units, longing to be heard by the entire nation. Looking to extend and get signed to a major label, 40 had offers from Def Jam, Jive Records, EMI, Priority, Capitol, and Rap-A-Lot. With an underground spit that was real to the hood, Jive Records was good for pushing that type of artists at the time. Playing home to artist like Too Short and Spice 1 (his mentors from The Bay Area), Jive also had artists like UGK, Tribe Called Quest, and KRS-1 on the roster. The deal seemed good at the time coming out of an era before the pop roster evolved with Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys, N’Sync, etc. “My deal between Jive was very unorthodox. They saw me as a low maintenance type rapper. They knew we had the talent and the platinum material, but back then you didn’t have to spend a lot of money to make a lot of money. Today it’s not about talent anymore; it’s all about what record companies are willing to spend. Artists have become so watered down.” Originally 40’s deal with Jive was up in 2001, but he stayed releasing three more albums hoping that Jive would get the picture, but they neglected to take him to the next level. It was then he decided to make a move that looked more promising.
“I hooked up with Lil’ John through Too Short and eventually game recognized game. Lil Jon’s a good dude. It’s a good thing to do business with somebody’s that’s my partner. He has a vision and he’s a hit maker and with him producing half my album and Rick Roc producing the other half I feel like I have two of the best in the business”. Aiming to put forth an album due out in 2005, E-40 with a CRUNK sound is something to anticipate. “Nothing about my music is going to switch now that I’m signed with Lil’ Jon because I’ve rhyme over down southern beats before. I just want to have a more world wide impact.” Having released his last album off Jive quietly this year “The Best of E-40: Yesterday, Today, And Tomorrow”, a collection of E-40’s greatest hits, its highly unlikely that Lil’ Jon and BME will provide him with the same injustice.
And if you’re searching for that E-40 slanguistic dictionary, he hopes to have that ready by the time his new album drops. “The slang started back when I was a young mustache many moons ago. I can’t lie; I keep coming up with new words everyday. In The Bay Area we love to shoot the breeze and come up with creative lingo. It’s like a hobby for us, it just happens. It’s embroidered in me and I think I’m going to continue creating slang for the rest of my life”.
In the midst of taking on a new label, “The Ambassador of the Bay” has continued to take his entrepreneurial drive forward. Anticipating the opening of 10 New Fat Burger restaurants in Northern California in 2005 along side former NFL player Chester McGlockton it doesn’t stop there. E-40 has also opened up a hot spot in The Bay Area named The Ambassador Lounge, in honor of his hood moniker. No stranger to the big screen, E-40 is also set to make an appearance in the new movie “Hair Show” staring Mo’Nique formerly of “The Parkers”. He’s also crafting together his own liquor “Num Num Juice”. Along with creating ringtones for UrbanWorld Wireless and a host of other projects in the making 40’s contributions to the game will continue to be priceless. “I feel like I have longevity in the game like LL Cool J, Ron Isley, and Patti Labelle, and the rap game continues to follow me because I’m a leader.” – U-DUB!