Canibus

Canibus (aka Can-I-Bus aka Rip the Jacker or just Bis for short; real name Germaine Williams) is a Jamaican-born rapper, born in 1974 to Basil and Elaine Williams. After his parents divorced, Germaine moved to the United States with his mother at the age of thirteen. His first new home was The Bronx, where he found an interest in the hip-hop culture, beatboxing, breakdancing and rap music. Due to his mother's job he was often forced to move, living in Washington D.C., Miami, England (where his mother originated from), Atlanta and New Jersey. This constant movement limited his ability to make friends and turned him into something of a recluse. Williams graduated high school in 1992 and went on to work for AT&T and the US Department of Justice as a data analyst. It was at this time that Williams became an internet 'junkie'. Having grown interesting in computers and the internet, Germaine studied computer science at DeKalb Community College (now Georgia Perimeter College) in Atlanta.

Related Topics:
Jamaican - Rapper - 1974 - United States - The Bronx - Hip-hop - Beatboxing - Breakdancing - Rap music - Washington D.C. - Miami - England - Atlanta - New Jersey - 1992 - AT&T - US Department of Justice - Georgia Perimeter College

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He began rhyming in the mid-'90s and by 1995 formed a duo called T.H.E.M. (The Heralds of Extreme Metaphors) with Atlanta rapper Webb. While he was with Webb, he took part in a legendary cypher with Killah Priest and the rest of the Wu Tang Clan family in Atlanta, which earned him respect from the rap veterans. In 1996, T.H.E.M. split and Canibus teamed with businessman Charles Suitt to form management company Group Home Entertainment. He began infiltrating the mix-tape circuit in 1997 and got his first big break when Ras Kass invited him to record a verse for the song "Uni-4-orm", which also included Heltah Skeltah. Canibus also collaborated with The Lost Boyz, who were represented by Group Home Entertainment, on their Love, Peace & Nappiness album. Canibus featured on the songs "My Crew" and "Beasts from the East", the latter being considered one of his finest verses ever.

Related Topics:
Webb - Killah Priest - Wu Tang Clan - Charles Suitt - Group Home Entertainment - 1997 - Ras Kass - Heltah Skeltah - The Lost Boyz

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For the first part of 1998, he was managed by the main man behind the Fugees, Wyclef Jean, who was introduced to him by Jay-Z. It was at this time that the intense rivalry between him and rapper LL Cool J began. The battle stemmed from a collaboration with LL titled "4, 3, 2, 1" from L's 1997 album Phenomenon. Supposedly, LL took offense to two lines that referenced his tattoo of a microphone on his arm (which in actuality were Canibus' way of showing LL respect) and wrote an indirect diss to Bis in his verse on the same track; Bis' lines were removed before the track was officially released but LL's lines remained. After he inked a deal with Universal Records, Canibus released his debut single, "Second Round K.O." in 1998, in which Bis sent an all out assault on LL for dissing him on "4, 3, 2, 1". The rivalry continued, with both sides releasing further diss tracks, but eventually the feud fizzled out. Later on in his career, Canibus would have a similar, but less publicized rivalry with hip-hop superstar Eminem.

Related Topics:
Fugees - Wyclef Jean - Jay-Z - LL Cool J - 1997 - Universal Records - Eminem

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Bis' debut album Can-I-Bus came out in September of 1998, and the general public felt genuinely disappointed, saying that the album suffered production-wise and rhetorically. While the first single, "Second Round K.O.", was a success (with the song and video featuring Wyclef Jean and a cameo by boxer Mike Tyson), the album itself was a commercial failure. Despite eventually being certified Gold, critics (including The Source magazine) also panned the album. Because Wyclef produced most of the tracks, Bis blamed him for his album being a "commercial failure" and cut ties with him. He went as far as to diss Wyclef on his second album for it ("You mad at the last album? I apologize for it / Yo, I cant call it, motherfucking Wyclef spoiled it!"). At the end of 2004, Bis and Clef met up and settled their differences; they have since worked together on a remix of the Machel Montano song "Carnival Survivors" and it has been rumored that Bis will be on the upcoming Fugees' comeback album, set for release later this year.

Related Topics:
Can-I-Bus - 1998 - Wyclef Jean - Mike Tyson - Gold - The Source - 2004 - Machel Montano

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His second album, 2000 B.C., was also released to mixed feelings. Though most agreed it was an improvement on Can-I-Bus, many still felt that the production was subpar and the content repetitive. The album also suffered from having very little promotion. 2000 B.C. was also the beginning of another phase in Canibus' career; on the song "Horsementality", Canibus teamed up with Kurupt, Ras Kass and Killah Priest to form rap supergroup The Horsemen (later abbreviated as The HRSMN). From this point on, rumours of a Horsemen album were rampant including speculation about collaborations with Pharoahe Monch, Common and Rakim among others. In 2003, Killah Priest's management released The Horsemen Project, a collection of previously unreleased outtakes from the official HRSMN album. Technically, it is the first HRSMN album but the official album is currently being recorded.

Related Topics:
2000 B.C. - Kurupt - Ras Kass - Killah Priest - The HRSMN - Pharoahe Monch - Common - Rakim - The Horsemen Project

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In 2001, Canibus released his third album C True Hollywood Stories, based after the television show E! True Hollywood Stories of the E! Television network. It was released on Archives Music, a label owned by Bis' future business partner Louis Lombard III. It was a controversial release due to the album's overall concept, which is still a little unclear to this day. Many people took it as Bis' attempt at going commercial and wrote him off as a one-hit wonder, while others have called it a concept album in which Bis satirized the mainstream hip-hop scene. Most explanations since the album's release seem to lean towards the latter. When his new official website MicClub.net went up in the end of 2002, the summary of this album in the merchandise section called it "an introspective look into the ultimate fan 'Stan's' take on the current state of hip hop". In an interview conducted in 2005, Bis' former hype man Pak-Man, who worked on over half of the album with Bis, spoke on CTHS, with his explanation leaning toward the satire idea: "At that time Canibus was in the studio recording a lot of songs and mean a lot, but he didn't want to make the fans wait no more so he did C True Hollywood Stories and he wanted to have fun wit, so thats what we did we had fun wit." In an interview on the website AllHipHop.com posted on April 8th, 2005, Bis was asked what direction he was trying to take with that album, in which he stated "That album depicts the state of affairs in my life at the time - nothing more, nothing less".

Related Topics:
2001 - C True Hollywood Stories - E! True Hollywood Stories - E! - Archives Music - Louis Lombard III - One-hit wonder - Concept album - Satirized - 2002 - Merchandise - Pak-Man

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In 2002, Canibus signed up for the United States Army. The reasons behind this are not entirely sure, but it is known that he was affected by the September 11, 2001 attacks. In May of 2003, two months before his fifth album, Rip the Jacker, would be released to very positive reviews, he graduated from Ft. Knox and started out as a reconnaissance specialist. In 2004, he was caught smoking marijuana and was discharged for it.

Related Topics:
2002 - United States Army - September 11, 2001 attacks - 2003 - Rip the Jacker - Ft. Knox - 2004 - Marijuana

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In the span of his career, Canibus has released six full-length albums. His most recent album, Mind Control, was released in June of 2005 through Gladiator Music. The album was originally recorded back in 2001 after he did 2000 B.C. (and before he did CTHS) and is only being released now to complete a contractual agreement with Gladiator. The album is produced entirely by Mark Sparks and features two guest appearances, one from longtime associate Kurupt and the other from former hype man Pak-Man. Most of the songs on the Mind Control album had been released previously, either on Bis' MP3.com website, his mixtape My Name is Nobody, or The Horsemen Project; the album only included three songs that hadn't been previously released/leaked ("In the Rain", "Mind Control", and "Talk the Talk").

Related Topics:
Mind Control - Gladiator Music - Mark Sparks - Kurupt - Pak-Man - MP3.com - My Name is Nobody

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Canibus' upcoming seventh album, Hip-Hop for Sale, will also be released later this year, this time through his own label, Mic Club Music, in partnership with Babygrande/Koch. The production was originally going to be handled entirely by Virginia-based producer Nottz, but recent reports have confirmed that the album will include "various other producers" http://micclub.net/News.asp; reports have also confirmed that the album will contain thirteen tracks. It was originally scheduled to be released on May 10 but it was pushed back so it wouldn't interfere with the release of Mind Control; the new release date is November 22nd, 2005. It has also been reported that in 2006, Bis will release his eighth album, Mic Club Volume 2, the sequel to his fourth full length album, '. Bis is also currently working on a side project with rapper Phoenix Orion. Under the name Cloak & Dagger, Bis and Orion are releasing a DVD titled Def Con Zero through Head Trauma Records, the label owned by K-1 fighter Dewey Cooper. The DVD will include music which features guest apperances from Kool G Rap, K-Solo, and others. The release date for this DVD is October 25, 2005. Other future projects from Canibus include an autobiographical documentary, the long awaited HRSMN album, and a rumored collaboration with Kanye West.

Related Topics:
Mic Club Music - Babygrande - Koch - Virginia - Nottz - May 10 - November 22nd - 2005 - 2006 - Phoenix Orion - Cloak & Dagger - Head Trauma Records - K-1 - Dewey Cooper - Kool G Rap - K-Solo - October 25 - Kanye West

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