Why E-40 is a Top 3 Emcee To Me
In early 1995, I was nine years old, going on 10, and for some reason, I was up late on a Friday night listening to the radio. I lived in Fort Wainwright, Alaska at the time, and the radio station that I was listening to that night, played hip hop uncensored late, and sometimes albums in their entirety. This particular night that I was listening, this channel played the latest album from E-40 at the time, "In A Major Way." Before that particular night, I had never heard of 40. I was young and my parents were pretty strict on me about listening to music with cursing in it. So the only way I heard hardcore, explicit hip hop, was through my big brother in his room. I think the only hip hop song that I knew by heart at that time was "All I Need," by Method Man.
Moving along, that night, the radio station played, "In a Major Way," by E-40 in its entirety. I remember sitting in my room (I had just got my own room at that point, so listening to MY OWN radio and music at the time and not what my brother made me hear, was a big deal!), and I was playing with my action figures, and the album started playing. I think I missed the intro and, "Chip n Da Phone," and really started paying attention when, "Da Bumble," came on. I had never heard anything like that before. His style, his delivery, the slang that he spit on tracks, it was probably the most impressive thing I had heard at the time outside of Bone Thugs n Harmony. Speaking of them, I give BTNH a lot credit with opening my ears as it relates to rap/hip hop and making me fall in love with the genre, and while this is very true, 40 might've begun the process two years before Bone pushed it over the edge.
After about the first verse of, "Da Bumble," I remember I stopped playing with my toys, and found a tape so that I could try to record the songs from the radio, because that's what we did in the 90's. So my recording of this album started about midway through that song, might've had some commercials, and finished right around the song, "It's All Bad." As an entire album, I would put IAMW up against any album from that era and I feel like it could compete even to this day. IAMW, in my opinion, is a certified classic album. There were hits on the album in, "Sprinkle Me," and, "One Luv." There were songs about life struggles, "It's All Bad," (which features his son, a very young at the time Droop-E.) even songs about partying and having a good time in, "Smoke N Drank," and, "Ridin Sideways. Hell, there's even a great 2Pac feature on this album on the song, "Dusted n Disgusted," that I'm sure all Pac fans would enjoy. This album has it all!
IAMW is where it all began for me with 40, but it has only gotten better over the years. A lot of the game I've learned over the years from hip hop has come from 40. Not just slang words, but motivational things as well, or quotes that make you want to get after it. My favorite is, "A closed mouth don't get fed and a lazy hustler don't get bread." Like, I actually live by that quote every day! (The quote can be found in the song, "Tell it Like it Is," from the 2008 album, "The Ball Street Journal.") A lot of the slang that your favorite rappers use, come from The Bay Area and E-40 himself. Most importantly however, is the fact that since IAMW was released in 1995, 40 has remained relevant throughout the past 23 years.
Since IAMW was released in 1995, 40 has released 22 albums! And not just 22 throw away albums, but 22 legit albums with hits and meaningful songs across the board. After all of this time, 40 is still relevant and able to churn out hits to this younger generation. Not only that, but 40's business accumen is top notch! Sure, some rappers dabble in alcohol, but 40 owns his own brands and he's hands on about it. His wine business has taken off and he's proven that he's not just a fad in the adult beverage business. I've even seen news stories of 40 giving back to his community during the holidays, where he's giving out bikes to local neighborhood children.
This is someone, as a musician, that children and young adults can look up to. I stand behind that statement. I'm almost 33 now, and I've followed 40's career since that Friday night when I was nine. As an aspiring emcee myself, the longevity alone in the ever changing landscape of the rap game is amazing in itself. But to see him grow as a person, as an emcee, as a businessman, is also something that should be praised. I feel like E-40 is the total package. The great KRS-One said, "Rappers spit rhymes that are mostly illegal. Emcees spit rhymes to uplift their people." E-40, in my humble opinion, definitely is the latter, and without question, belongs in my top 3 emcees of all-time list.
Moving along, that night, the radio station played, "In a Major Way," by E-40 in its entirety. I remember sitting in my room (I had just got my own room at that point, so listening to MY OWN radio and music at the time and not what my brother made me hear, was a big deal!), and I was playing with my action figures, and the album started playing. I think I missed the intro and, "Chip n Da Phone," and really started paying attention when, "Da Bumble," came on. I had never heard anything like that before. His style, his delivery, the slang that he spit on tracks, it was probably the most impressive thing I had heard at the time outside of Bone Thugs n Harmony. Speaking of them, I give BTNH a lot credit with opening my ears as it relates to rap/hip hop and making me fall in love with the genre, and while this is very true, 40 might've begun the process two years before Bone pushed it over the edge.
After about the first verse of, "Da Bumble," I remember I stopped playing with my toys, and found a tape so that I could try to record the songs from the radio, because that's what we did in the 90's. So my recording of this album started about midway through that song, might've had some commercials, and finished right around the song, "It's All Bad." As an entire album, I would put IAMW up against any album from that era and I feel like it could compete even to this day. IAMW, in my opinion, is a certified classic album. There were hits on the album in, "Sprinkle Me," and, "One Luv." There were songs about life struggles, "It's All Bad," (which features his son, a very young at the time Droop-E.) even songs about partying and having a good time in, "Smoke N Drank," and, "Ridin Sideways. Hell, there's even a great 2Pac feature on this album on the song, "Dusted n Disgusted," that I'm sure all Pac fans would enjoy. This album has it all!
IAMW is where it all began for me with 40, but it has only gotten better over the years. A lot of the game I've learned over the years from hip hop has come from 40. Not just slang words, but motivational things as well, or quotes that make you want to get after it. My favorite is, "A closed mouth don't get fed and a lazy hustler don't get bread." Like, I actually live by that quote every day! (The quote can be found in the song, "Tell it Like it Is," from the 2008 album, "The Ball Street Journal.") A lot of the slang that your favorite rappers use, come from The Bay Area and E-40 himself. Most importantly however, is the fact that since IAMW was released in 1995, 40 has remained relevant throughout the past 23 years.
Since IAMW was released in 1995, 40 has released 22 albums! And not just 22 throw away albums, but 22 legit albums with hits and meaningful songs across the board. After all of this time, 40 is still relevant and able to churn out hits to this younger generation. Not only that, but 40's business accumen is top notch! Sure, some rappers dabble in alcohol, but 40 owns his own brands and he's hands on about it. His wine business has taken off and he's proven that he's not just a fad in the adult beverage business. I've even seen news stories of 40 giving back to his community during the holidays, where he's giving out bikes to local neighborhood children.
This is someone, as a musician, that children and young adults can look up to. I stand behind that statement. I'm almost 33 now, and I've followed 40's career since that Friday night when I was nine. As an aspiring emcee myself, the longevity alone in the ever changing landscape of the rap game is amazing in itself. But to see him grow as a person, as an emcee, as a businessman, is also something that should be praised. I feel like E-40 is the total package. The great KRS-One said, "Rappers spit rhymes that are mostly illegal. Emcees spit rhymes to uplift their people." E-40, in my humble opinion, definitely is the latter, and without question, belongs in my top 3 emcees of all-time list.
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