Buckshot (rapper)

Buckshot

Buckshot at Le Belmont, Montreal in 2009
Background information
Birth name Kenyatta Blake
Also known as Buckshot Shorty, The BDI Thug (Beady-Eyed Thug)
Born (1974-11-19) November 19, 1974
Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States
Genres East Coast hip hop
Years active 1992 – present
Labels Duck Down Records
Associated acts Boot Camp Clik, Outlawz, KRS-One, 9th Wonder, David Stones, Havoc

Buckshot (born Kenyatta Blake on November 19, 1974[1] in Brooklyn, New York) is an American rapper, known for being the leader of the hip-hop supergroup Boot Camp Clik, and the group Black Moon.[2][3] He has released one solo album, three with producer 9th Wonder, one with KRS-ONE, four albums with Black Moon and four albums with the Boot Camp Clik.

Biography

Born and raised in Brooklyn, Kenyatta Blake a.k.a. Buckshot Shorty began rapping in neighborhood rhyming ciphers. In high school, he befriended 5 ft, DJ Evil Dee and Mr. Walt, who would evolve into the super production team Da Beatminerz.

In 1992, Buckshot, 5 ft and DJ Evil Dee, formed Black Moon.[2] The trio released the single, "Who Got Da Props?" in 1993, which reached #86 on the Billboard Top 100 charts, landing them a recording deal with Nervous Records. Later that year, Black Moon released their first full-length album, Enta Da Stage to positive critical acclaim.

The album featured appearances by Havoc of Mobb Deep, as well as future Boot Camp Clik members, Tek and Steele of Smif N Wessun.

In 1994, with Dru-Ha, the two left Nervous Records and formed Duck Down Management. That same year, Buckshot signed and oversaw the creation of Smif-n-Wessun's debut album Dah Shinin', as well as adding Heltah Skeltah (Rock & Sean Price) and O.G.C.: Originoo Gunn Clappa (Starang Wondah, Top Dog, and Louieville Sluggah) to Duck Down's roster. During the summer, Buckshot took part in the collaboration the Crooklyn Dodgers (Buckshot, Masta Ace and Special Ed), releasing a single by the same name, on the soundtrack of Spike Lee's, Crooklyn.

Officially titled Duck Down Entaprizez in 1996, Buckshot, Dru-Ha and Smif N Wessun began work with 2Pac on the unreleased studio album One Nation. During this time Buckshot was dubbed, "The BDI Thug" by 2Pac.

March 1997 marked a milestone in Duck Down history. The collective of: Buckshot, Smif-n-Wessun (Tek and Steele), Heltah Skeltah (Rock and Sean Price), and O.G.C.: Originoo Gunn Clappaz (Starang Wondah, Top Dog and Louieville Sluggah) formed the super group, The Boot Camp Clik, who released their debut album, For the People. A remix of "Night Riders" was recorded featuring Aaliyah, but the single was never released, due to conflicts between record labels.

In 1999 Black Moon released their second album, War Zone. It was their first full-length album in more than 5 years. Featuring guest appearances from Q-Tip, Busta Rhymes, M.O.P., Heather B. and produced by Da Beatminerz, the album sold over 200,000 units and was met with strong reviews. Buckshot's solo album, The BDI Thug, was released later that year but to mediocre reviews.

In July 2002, Duck Down ended its two-year search for a new distribution deal, inking a three-year contract with Koch Distribution. Boot Camp Clik released their second full-length album, The Chosen Few. The album sold over 60,000 copies, making it one of Duck Down's most successful releases. In 2004, Black Moon returned with Total Eclipse. The album peaked at #47 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Charts and ranked #23 for independent albums.

Buckshot and 9th Wonder (Little Brother and Justus League) collaborated to release Chemistry in summer 2005 to positive reviews. Duck Down also released Smif N Wessun's Reloaded and Sean Price's Monkey Barz.

Boot Camp Clik returned in summer 2006 with The Last Stand. With an all-star cast of producers (Pete Rock, Da Beatminerz, 9th Wonder, Large Professor, Marco Polo, Ill Mind, Coptic, Sic Beats and Ken BB), it was a critical success and marked the return of the entire Boot Camp Clik for the first time in several years. In addition, Black Moon released, Alter The Chemistry. Laced with 1970s influenced rhythms and samples it takes a new approach to Buckshot and 9th Wonder's, Chemistry.

In September 2008, Buckshot was hospitalized after suffering a series of seizures. His partner, Dru-Ha, said he had just returned from a three-week tour through Europe prior to the episodes. After a short hospitalization,[4] he was released and returned to performing and recording.

Buckshot and KRS-ONE also released an album together, called Survival Skills, on September 15, 2009 on Duck Down Records.[5] Its first single "Robot", produced by Havoc, was released on iTunes on May 5, 2009.

Discography

Solo albums

Black Moon albums

Boot Camp Clik albums

Collaboration albums

Guest appearances

List of non-single guest appearances, with other performing artists, showing year released and album name
Title Year Other artist(s) Album
"Crooklyn" 1995 Masta Ace, Special Ed Crooklyn, Vol. 1 (soundtrack)
"Get Down With Me" 1997 Amari Nothing to Lose (soundtrack)
"For the Money" 1998 Mack 10, Ol' Dirty Bastard The Recipe
"Light Shit Up" Kurupt Kuruption!
"Follow Me" Kid Capri, Cocoa Brovas Soundtrack to the Streets
"We Got U Opin (Part 2)" Flipmode Squad The Imperial
"Suspect Niggaz" 1999 O.G.C., Havoc The M-Pire Shrikez Back
"The Illest It Gets" 2001 Hi-Tek Hi-Teknology
"Military Minds" 2002 2Pac, Cocoa Brovas Better Dayz
"En Alerte" 2003 Starflam, Starflam Donne-moi de l'amour
"Brooklyn Block" 2004 Masta Ace Hits U Missed
"Fake Neptune" 2005 Sean Price, Steele, Louieville Sluggah Monkey Barz
"Bye Bye" Sean Price
"Go Around" 2007 Marco Polo Port Authority
"So Damn Tuff" 2008 Heltah Skeltah, Ruste Juxx D.I.R.T.
"The Pledge" Kidz in the Hall, Sean Price The In Crowd
"Better Than You" 2010 Duck Down All-Stars, Skyzoo, Promise, Sean Price NBA 2K11 (soundtrack)
"The Now or Never" Skyzoo, Styles P Live from the Tape Deck
"A La Vie a La Mort" 2011 Tactica, KRS-One Tactica
"Ain't Coming Down" David Dallas The Rose Tint
"Everybody's Watching" 2012 David Stones The Steppin' Stone: All Or Nuthin''
"Frankenberry" Sean Price Mic Tyson
"Don't Front" 2013 Eminem The Marshall Mathers LP 2
"Side" CJ Fly Thee Way Eye See It
"Rep Brooklyn" 2015 Rooftop ReP Just To Get A ReP - Pt.2'

References

  1. ↑ http://www.mylife.com/shacoolspit
  2. 1 2 Fleury, Serge (2008) "Buckshot - Best Of Both Worlds", Six Shot
  3. ↑ "Black Moon", Hip Hop Galaxy
  4. ↑ Starbury, Allen (2008) "Duck Down's Buckshot Hospitalized After Suffering Seizures", Baller Status
  5. ↑ http://www.duckdown.com/website/krsone.html
  6. ↑ "Buckshot & P-Money Announce Backpack Travels Album". Nahright.com. 2014-05-15. Retrieved 2014-05-15.


External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, May 01, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.