King T

Roger McBride (born December 14, 1968),^[1] better known by his stage name King T (formerly known as King Tee), is an American West Coast Hip hop rapper from Compton, California. Emerging as one of Compton's earliest hip hop artists. He was signed to Capitol records, where he released his debut album "Act a Fool" in 1988 with the hit singles, "Act a Fool," "Payback's a Mutha," "The Coolest," and "Bass (remix)," all of which were considered hip-hop classics. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, he worked primarily with producer DJ Pooh, and was responsible for the rise of Tha Alkaholiks, whom he helped guide into the industry.^[2] T is also the CEO of his own record label, King T Inc.

Early life and career

Roger McBride was born in Compton, California on December 14, 1968 and has attended high school. He had been around the Los Angeles Hip hop scene for many years alongside Ice-T and Kid Frost and acted as a pioneer for the genre. In 1988, he made his debut with Act a Fool, which is considered to be a classic among West Coast fans.

Tha Alkaholiks

During his time with Capitol, T began mentoring a young trio of rappers called Tha Alkaholiks, also known as "Tha Liks, consisting of Tash, J-Ro and E-Swift, as well as their loosely affiliated collective called the Likwit Crew. The Likwit Crew also includes others such as Xzibit, who would later rise to fame and bring King T close to Compton producer Dr. Dre. Tha Alkaholiks put out their debut album 21 & Over under King T's guidance on Loud Records in 1993.

The Notorious B.I.G. influence

T greatly influenced The Notorious B.I.G. with his deep voice, flow and rhyme style, which Big would at times imitate on his 1994 album Ready to Die. Tee later paid homage to Biggie on the track "6 In'a Moe'nin" on his album Thy Kingdom Come, using a similar setup to and vocal samples of Biggie's track "Somebody's Got to Die". Recently, Ice T confirmed in an interview that King T was one of B.I.G's favorite MC.^[3]

Record deals

After 1993's Tha Triflin' Album, on which T worked with Marley Marl, he left Capitol for MCA and put out IV Life in 1994. After leaving MCA as well, he built with Dr. Dre and ended up signing to the producer's label, Aftermath Entertainment. However, T only released three songs while on the label, "Str8 Gone" and "Fame" which appeared on Dr. Dre Presents the Aftermath and "Some L.A. Niggaz" which appeared on 2001, the two began recording for King T's Aftermath album, but the project was subject to repeated push-backs. Eventually, King T requested a release from the label.

With Ant Banks

King T has also worked extensively with Oakland rapper and producer Ant Banks. He first appeared on Banks' 1997 compilation Big Thangs, in the song "West Riden" and in 2000 he was featured in the "Lead the Way" album of Banks' supergroup T.W.D.Y., in the song "No Win Situation".

San Andreas: The Original Mixtape

San Andreas: The Original Mixtape is the debut album by American West Coast rapper Young Maylay, released July 5, 2005. King T has written and produced the most songs from the album. He made appearances and some productions on songs "Liq Hittaz", "That’s Real", "Inna Ghetto", "Boss Up Freestyle", "Twist A Corner", "Salute'n G'z", and "Speak On It". The album was released by Maylay's record label Maylaynium Musiq.

Releases

In 2002, King T independently released his Aftermath album, The Kingdom Come, produced by Dr. Dre and DJ Battlecat. He also released The Ruthless Chronicles in 2004, which had songwriting by T's protégé Young Maylay and featured some of the songs seen on Thy Kingdom Come and others produced by DJ Quik. In the interim, T has guested on DJ Muggs' Soul Assassins II album. He was mentioned on Nas' song "Where Are They Now?" and appeared on the West Coast remix, along with Kam and Ice-T and other California artists Breeze, Candyman, Threat, Sir Mix-A-Lot and The Conscious Daughters. After this appearance, he put out a mixtape called Boss Up Vol. 1 with music by Snoop Dogg, The Game, J-Ro and several other West Coast artists. In 2006 he made a guest appearance on the song "Poppin' Off" from Xzibit's album Full Circle. He has also reportedly started his own label, though no artists are yet signed to it.^[4] A remix of the song Money has appeared on Dr. Dre's son Hood Surgeon's "The Autopsy Mixtape". The song was renamed "Fast Money" and features King T and Dr. Dre. The original song was on "Thy Kingdom Come".

Personal life

His daughter, Heaven, died at the age of 16 after a car accident on May 19, 2009.^[5]

Current events

King T is currently signed to Table Records Music Distribution.^[6]

In early 2013, King T announced he wants to do his final album. He stated that working with Xzibit's song "Louis XIII" motivated him to record his last album.^[7]

Notes

King Tee (later known as King T), one of the West Coast's pioneering rappers, released a few major-label albums in the late '80s and early '90s. Though the Compton rapper enjoyed little commercial success, he's often cited as an influence upon the gangsta rappers of the early to mid-'90s. He notably collaborated with a pair of premier West Coast rap producers, DJ Pooh and E-Swift, who were largely unknown at the time. In later years, King T resurfaced from time to time; for instance, he was featured on Dr. Dre's 2001 and released some independent albums of his own, including Thy Kingdom Come. But for the most part, he remains a footnote in West Coast rap history, as his music was out of print for years on end. Ruff Rhymes: Greatest Hits Collection (1998), a compilation of his recordings for Capitol, is the exception, though even it is hard to come by.

Discography

Filmography

• 2007: DJ Crazy Toones – It's A CT Experience: The DVD Files

References

External links

• King Tee's official Twitter on Twitter
  
• King Tee's official page on Facebook
• Official MySpace
• King T at AllMusic
• King Tee discography at Discogs