Sir Mix-a-Lot

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Sir Mix-a-Lot
Sir Mix-a-Lot in December 2006
Sir Mix-a-Lot in December 2006
Background information
Birth name Anthony Ray
Born August 12, 1963 (1963-08-12) (age 45)
Origin Seattle, Washington, United States
Genre(s) Hip hop
Years active 1986—2003
Label(s) Nastymix, American, Artist Direct

Anthony Ray (born August 12, 1963), better known by his stage name Sir Mix-a-Lot is a rapper and producer. The founder of the Nastymix record label, he debuted in 1988 with Swass. In 1992, he debuted on a major label with his album Mack Daddy, whose single "Baby Got Back" reached the top of the American singles chart and won a Grammy Award.

Contents

[edit] Career

In 1986, Sir Mix-a-Lot and his DJ Nasty Nes founded the Nastymix record label. His first hit, released in 1987, was the single "Posse on Broadway", whose title referred to a street in Seattle's Capitol Hill district.[1] The Godzilla remix of "Posse on Broadway" contained a sample from David Bowie's 1975 hit "Fame", but neither the album version or the original seven inch edit version (which was used for the video) used the David Bowie sample. Swass, his debut album, came out in 1988, with two other singles "Square Dance Rap" and a rap cover of the Black Sabbath song "Iron Man" backed by the band Metal Church.[1] In 1990, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified Swass platinum for selling a million copies.[2]

Sir Mix-A-Lot debuted at the Def American label with Mack Daddy in 1992. Its single "Baby Got Back" was a number-one hit that went double platinum[2] and won the 1993 Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance.[3] MTV aired the video for "Baby Got Back" only during evening hours because of its supposed sexual nature. In 1993, Sir Mix-a-Lot collaborated with Seattle-based grunge group Mudhoney for the song "Freak Momma" on the Judgment Night soundtrack.[1]

In 1995, Sir Mix-a-Lot starred as the titular character of the short-lived TV series The Watcher. The show was one of the first dramas aired on the fledgling broadcast network, UPN. Reminiscent of series such as The Twilight Zone, Sir-Mix-a-Lot functioned as an omniscient narrator who introduced each episode, which would feature a new tale set in the seamy underbelly of Las Vegas.[4]

Low label promotion of his 1996 album Return of the Bumpasaurus led Sir Mix-a-Lot to leave the American label. During the three year break, Sir Mix-a-Lot worked closely with another group, The Presidents of the United States of America under the group name "Subset" with a combination of rock and rap music, but nothing was ever officially released. Sir Mix-a-Lot signed with the independent Artist Direct label for his 2003 album Daddy's Home with "Big Johnson" as its lead single.[1][5]

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

Album Information
Swass
  • Released: 1988
  • Chart Positions: #82 US, #20 R&B/Hip-Hop
  • Last RIAA certification: Platinum
  • Singles: "Posse on Broadway", "Gold," "Iron Man", "Rippin'"
Seminar
  • Released: 1989
  • Chart Positions: #67 US, #25 Top Hip Hop/R&B
  • Last RIAA certification: Gold
  • Singles: "Beepers", "I'll Roll You Up", "I Got Game"
Mack Daddy
Chief Boot Knocka
  • Released: July 19, 1994
  • Chart Positions: #69 US, #28 Top R&B/Hip-Hop
  • Last RIAA certification: None
  • Singles: "Put 'Em on the Glass", "Let It Beaounce"
Return of the Bumpasaurus
Daddy's Home

[edit] Singles

  • 1985: "Let's G"
  • 1986: "I'm a Trip"
  • 1987: "Square Dance Rap"
  • 1987: "Rippin"
  • 1988: "Posse on Broadway"
  • 1988: "Gold"
  • 1988: "Iron Man"
  • 1988: "My Hooptie"
  • 1989: "Beepers"
  • 1989: "I'll Roll You Up"
  • 1991: "I Got Game"
  • 1992: "Baby Got Back"
  • 1992: "Ride"
  • 1992: "One Time's Got No Case b/w Swap Meet Louie"
  • 1992: "Put 'Em on the Glass"
  • 1993: "Let It Beaounce"
  • 1993: "Til da Sun Cums Up"
  • 1996: "Jump on It"
  • 1997: "Batter Up"
  • 2003: "Y'all Don't Know"
  • 2003: "At the Next Show"

[edit] Videos

  • "Posse on Broadway"
  • "Iron Man"
  • "My Hooptie"
  • "Beepers"
  • "Baby Got Back"
  • "Ride"
  • "One Time's Got No Case"
  • "Jump on It!"
  • "Put 'Em on the Glass"
  • "Batter Up"

[edit] VHS

  • Mac-o-Nomics

[edit] DVDs

  • Shhh... Don't Tell 'Em That..


[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d Huey, Steve (2003). "Sir Mix-A-Lot - Biography". allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:kifoxq95ld6e~T1. 
  2. ^ a b "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=&artist=Sir%20Mix%20a%20Lot&format=&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=&catalogNo=&aSex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2009&sort=Artist&perPage=25. Retrieved on 2009-03-13. 
  3. ^ "Sir Mix-A-Lot - Charts & Awards - Grammy Awards". allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:kifoxq95ld6e~T52. Retrieved on 2009-03-13. 
  4. ^ Weintraub, Joanne (1995-03-01). "UPN's `Marker' and `Watcher' escape true rottenness, but not by much". The Milwaukee Journal. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4207/is_19950301/ai_n10187149. Retrieved on 2009-03-13. 
  5. ^ Kaufman, Gil (2003-08-01). "Sir Mix-A-Lot Hoping Baby's Got Comeback". MTV News. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1475234/20030801/sir_mix_a_lot.jhtml. Retrieved on 2009-03-13. 

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Mix-a-Lot"
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