AZ (stage name) also known as American rapper born in Brooklyn, New York. He is known to be a longtime and frequent musical partner of Nas. Also a member of the hip-hop group The Firm along with Nas, Foxy Brown, Cormega and Nature.
In a countdown to the 10 most underrated rappers, the most underrated rappers of all time, the editors of About.com named AZ first on the list. He was also included on About.com’s list of the 50 best MCs of our time (1987-2007), where he was described as ‘probably the most underrated lyricist ever’. He is of African American and Dominican descent.
AZ RAPPER AGE
He was born on March 9, 1972 in New York, United States. He is currently 47 years old.
THE RAPPER FAMILY
AZ was born to an African American mother and a Dominican father. He grew up in the East New York neighborhood with his mother and sister.
AZ RAPPER EDUCATION
This information is under review.
WIFE RAPPER AZ
This information is under review.
AZ RAPPER CHILDREN
This information is under review.
AZ RAPPER DOE OR DIE, PIECES OF A MAN AND 9 LIVES
Doe or Die was released on October 10, 1995 on EMI Records. The album features guest appearances by artists such as Nas and Miss Jones and the production of NO Joe, Pete Rock, LES and Buckwild, among others. Upon its release, Doe or Die received considerable commercial success. The album peaked at # 15 on the Billboard 200 and # 1 on the US R & B / Hip Hop album chart.
Doe or Die was known for popularizing the mafia rap theme, along with several albums, namely Jay-Z’s Reasonable Doubt and Nas’s It Was Written . Doe or Die have produced several singles, including ‘Mo Money, Mo Murder, Mo Homicide’, ‘Gimme Your’s (remix)’, ‘Doe or Die’ and ‘Sugar Hill’ – which was certified Gold by the RIAA in 1995 .
Pieces of a Man is AZ’s second album. The album was highly regarded for its complex and penetrating lyricism. The first single was supposed to be ‘Hey, AZ’ with SWV. That song uses the same sample as Mariah Carey’s ‘Honey’ song, ‘Hey, DJ’ from the World-Famous Supreme Team. Both were released in the summer of 1997.
After the album was released, AZ left the label. 9 lives peaked at # 23 on the Billboard 200 and # 4 on Best Hip Hop / R&B Albums. Lead single, Problems, with accompanying music video, peaked at # 34 on the Hot Rap Singles chart.
AZ RAPPER AZIATIC, A.W.O.L. E THE FORMAT
Asian is considered AZ’s comeback album, which has restored its credibility. It gave AZ youth and new life to its production. The album features AZ’s flow and style on a melodic and soulful production. It contained a duet between AZ and longtime friend and collaborator, Nas, ‘The Essence’, which was nominated for a Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group.
The album was largely well received by critics, such a positive review by Allmusic’s Brad Mills, states: “AZ was considered to do amazing things with his music. It lived up to those high expectations on this album from start to finish. The rhythms on this album are complex, imaginative and almost perfectly suited to AZ’s rhyme style. He carefully crafted this album instead of putting it together overnight to meet his quota, and it shows.
It helps immensely that he’s brought with him people like DR Period, Az Izz, Nas, and Buckwild, but they don’t eclipse young AZ because he holds good to himself. AZ did his best work on this album in a long time. ‘ AWOL was released on September 6, 2005. It was recorded after Final Call, which AZ refused to release because his label had delayed release by two months – according to him, they were also the source of his first leak in the press. and on the Internet.
Gaining critical acclaim with producing highly regarded New York underground artists such as DJ Premier, Buckwild and DipSet production duo, the Heatmakerz, the rapper ditched his previously money-oriented argument, stating that ‘he wanted it to be everything. street. [ citation needed ] AWOL is AZ’s first album to be released on his Quiet Money Records label. In a couple of months after release, AWOL 1.5 , which included a bonus disc with a cappella and instrumental versions of the AWOL songs , was released.
The album format contains the production of Fizzy Womack (better known as Lil ‘Fame of MOP), Face Defeat, Emile, J. Cardim, Phonte, Statik Selektah and DJ Premier. Guest appearances are provided by MOP, Little Brother, as well as artists on AZ’s new label, Quiet Money Records. The album’s lead single is the title track, ‘The Format’, produced by DJ Premier, with ‘Vendetta’ as the B-Side.
The format also contains the bonus track ‘Royal Salute’, a retaliation to 50 Cent’s song ‘What If’, which included a verse aimed at AZ. On 7 October 2007 Quiet Money The Format (Special Edition) was released adding six bonus tracks including ‘Royal Salute’.
AZ RAPPER UNDENIABLE, LEGENDARY AND DOES OR DIE 2
Undeniable was released on April 1, 2008, through Quiet Money and Koch Records. The album debuted at number 141 on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling over 25,000 copies in its first week. AZ confirmed that he was working on his ninth studio album, titled Doe or Die 2 in October 2009. He hoped to enlist the original Doe or Die production team as LES, Pete Rock, DR Period & Buckwild.
He had confirmed a couple of tracks with Pete Rock, including ‘Rather a Unique Part II’. AZ also had an ambition to try to acquire DJ Toomp, Dr. Dre and Kanye West’s beats for the album, as well as contact his old rhyming partner Nas. The first single from the album is titled ‘Feel My Pain’, produced by Frank Dukes. In 2010, a former member of Da Beatminerz, Baby Paul, confirmed that he would produce the album and serve as executive producer.
On November 30, 2010 he published a 15th anniversary edition of Doe or Die right Doe or Die: 15th anniversary . In 2010, Dr. Dre and Kanye West were rumored to be too busy to produce the album, but AZ said he was patiently waiting for them to complete their next solo albums so they could join the production team. He was also looking for a DJ Premier production. During a 2011 interview with XXLMag, AZ confirmed that Nas would be included on the album.
AZ released their first street single Doe or Die 2 , titled ‘My Niggas’, which features the production of longtime collaborator Buckwild, on March 27, 2012. As of April 2012, a third quarter release was planned 2012. AZ had failed to secure the Dr. Dre tracks as he previously wanted, but was looking into the second half of the album selections for his own productions.
He was still looking for production of both Eminem and DJ Premier, but has tracks from Statik Selektah, Baby Paul and the original Doe or Die team from beatsmiths LES, DR Period, Pete Rock & Buckwild. AZ was widely included on Ghostface Killah’s 2014 album 36 Seasons .
NATIONALITY OF THE RAPPER AZ
His nationality is American.
NET WORTH OF THE RAPPER AZ
Az Rapper’s net worth is estimated at $ 5 million.
RAPPER DISCOGRAPHY
-Doe or Die (1995)
-Pieces of a man (1998)
-9 Lives (2001)
-Asian (2002)
-AWOL (2005)
-The format (2006)
-Undeniable (2008)
-Legendary (2009)
-Doe or Die 2 (TBA)
-The Firm: The Album (with The Firm) (1997)
AZ RAPPER OTHERS
AZ is well known for appearing on Nas’ 1994 historical album Illmatic in the song ‘Life’s a Bitch’, as well as vocals on the opening track The Genesis. AZ signed with EMI and soon released his 1995 debut album Doe Or Die to critical acclaim. The album’s lead single, ‘Sugar Hill’, became AZ’s major commercial success as a solo artist, peaking at number 25 on the Hot 100 chart and achieving Gold status.
AZ’s EMI contract was transferred to sister label Noo Trybe / Virgin Records when EMI Label Group closed. In 1997, AZ and Nas appeared in a Sprite commercial. Also in 1997, The Firm with AZ, Nas, Nature and Foxy Brown released their only album as a group, The Album . The album featured the production of well-known producers such as Dr. Dre and Trackmasters and generated a lot of hype.
The group disbanded after just this album. In 1998 AZ released his second solo album, Pieces of a Man . The album did well but didn’t go as well as its debut and it didn’t have a crossover single like ‘Sugar Hill’. The same year AZ made a cameo appearance in the film Belly starring Nas, DMX and Method Man.
Following the release of this album, AZ signed with Motown / Universal Records and released 9 lives . [3] In 2002 he released Asian . A single from the album, ‘The Essence,’ (with Nas) was nominated for the 2003 Grammy Awards for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. In 2004 AZ had plans to release his fourth studio album, Final Call , however, it was eventually scrapped due to heavy losses and released as Final Call (The Lost Tapes) in 2008.
She released her fifth and sixth studio albums AWOL and The Format in 2005 and 2006 respectively. In 2015, AZ self-published and released a book called Jewels, Gems and Treasures . The release garnered due respect and sales that led AZ to prepare to shoot a mini-film based on the book due out in late 2017.
Also in 2016 AZ collaborated with BET to publish his documentary for 20 years narrated by Rakim; which included Nas, Raekwon, Foxy Brown, Pete Rock, Premier and others.