Canibus

Canibus

Germaine Williams (born December 9 1974), better known as Canibus and also as Can-I-Bus and Rip the Jacker, is a Jamaican-born American MC and rapper. He is noted for his intricate and complex rhyme schemes and punchlines, as well as his sound technique and aptitude as a battle rapper.

Background

After his parents, Basil and Elaine Williams, divorced, Williams 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, Florida, Buffalo, New York, England (where his mother originated from), Atlanta, Georgia and New Jersey. This constant movement limited his ability to make friends and turned him into something of a recluse. Williams graduated from 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 highly interested in the Internet. Having developed this interest in computers and the Internet, he studied computer science at DeKalb Community College (now Georgia Perimeter College) in Atlanta.

Music career

Early career (1995–1997)

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 (now called C.I., also known as Central Intelligence). While he was with Webb, he took part in a legendary cypher with the Wu Tang Clan family in Buffalo, New York, which earned him respect from the rap veterans. In 1996, T.H.E.M. split and Canibus teamed with businessman Charles Suitt. In 1997, Canibus started earning respect in the hip hop world after making numerous guest appearances with artists including The Lost Boyz, Common, Wyclef Jean, Kurupt, Ras Kass, Heltah Skeltah and The Firm.

Debut album, LL Cool J feud and second album (1998–2000)

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LL Cool J's Phenomenon, on which a version of "4, 3, 2, 1" appeared

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. LL took offense to the lines, "L, is that a mic on your arm? Let me borrow that", which referenced his tattoo of a microphone on his arm – and which Canibus claimed was his own way of showing the rap veteran respect – and wrote an indirect diss to Williams: "The symbol on my arm is off limits to challengers" and "Now let's get back to this mic on my arm / If it ever left my side, it'd transform into a time bomb / You don't wanna borrow that, you wanna idolize". Before the song was released, LL Cool J asked Bis to change his lines. Canibus claims that LL vowed to modify his own lines as well, but the latter denied this and pointed out that nobody would know who he was talking about if only Canibus' line was changed. The original version eventually leaked, and fans started to piece the lines together.

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"Second Round K.O." single cover

After inking a deal with Universal Records in 1998, Canibus released his debut single, "Second Round K.O.", in which Williams commenced an all-out assault on LL for dissing him on "4, 3, 2, 1". The rivalry continued, with both sides releasing further diss tracks (LL Cool J's "The Ripper Strikes Back" and Canibus' own "Rip the Jacker", among others), 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, with the latter referring to him as "Can-I-Bitch" in several songs. Additionally, a song entitled "Can-I-Bitch" leaked onto the Internet and file-sharing networks in 2004 and was subsequently released on the bootleg album Straight from the Lab; the song itself is a slightly modified cover of the Slick Rick classic "Children's Story", and sees Eminem commenting on the rivalry in a humorous tone, with a number of explicit references to Canibus' rapping style.

Canibus' debut album Can-I-Bus came out in September of 1998. While "Second Round K.O.", produced by Wyclef Jean, was a success, with the song and video featuring Wyclef and a cameo appearance by boxer Mike Tyson, the album itself was a commercial failure. Despite eventually being certified Gold, critics (including The Source) also panned the album, criticizing both Canibus' subject matter and Wyclef's beats, most of which were considered inferior to both "Second Round K.O." and the artists' previous collaborations.

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Can-I-Bus album cover

Because Wyclef produced the grand majority of the tracks, Williams blamed him for the general dissatisfaction with Can-I-Bus and cut ties with him, going as far as to diss Wyclef, most notably on the title track of his second album ("You mad at the last album? I apologize for it / Yo, I can't call it, motherfucking Wyclef spoiled it!"). Said album, 2000 B.C., was also released to mixed feelings and reviews – the latter once more focusing on the lack of topical variety and uninspired production – also suffering from very little promotion by Universal Records.

2000 B.C. featured the first collaboration between Canibus and Kurupt, Ras Kass and Killah Priest, a rap supergroup collectively known as The HRSMN (referring to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse), on the track "Horsementality". Though following 2000 B.C.'s release it had been announced that the group would be releasing an album, these plans never materialized, with only an EP of outtakes from 2001 entitled The Horsemen Project released by Killah Priest's management in 2003. Since 2000, however, the members of the group have worked together on various songs and rumors of a full-length HRSMN album are rampant to this day and include speculation about collaborations with Pharoahe Monch, Common and Rakim, among others.

Though much bitterness between Canibus and Wyclef Jean remained for a period of time, the two artists finally settled their differences at the end of 2004; they have since worked together on two remixes of the Machel Montano song "Carnival Survivors". In an interview with HipHopsite.com conducted in November of 2005, Williams revealed that he had recorded five songs with Wyclef and Jerry 'Wonder' Duplessis at Platinum Studios in New York for the upcoming Fugees reunion album. Whether or not those recordings will appear on the album hasn't been determined yet.

C True Hollywood Stories (2001)

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C True Hollywood Stories album cover

In 2001, Canibus released his third album, C True Hollywood Stories, the title and some of the content deriving from the television show E! True Hollywood Stories of the E! television network. It was released on Archives Music, an independent label owned by Williams' future business partner, Louis Lombard III. It was a controversial release due to the album's overall concept, which to this day remains quite unclear to some. Many listeners interpreted it as Canibus' botched attempt at becoming a commercial and mainstream artist and wrote him off as a one-hit wonder, while others have called it a concept album in which the rapper satirized the mainstream hip-hop scene. Most explanations since the album's release seem to lean towards the latter; when Canibus' new official website, MicClub.net, appeared online towards the end of 2002, the summary of C True Hollywood Stories 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, Williams' former hype man, Pak-Man, who worked on over half of the album with the rapper, spoke on the record, with his explanation leaning toward the album being intended as satire: "At that time Canibus was in the studio recording a lot of songs and [I] 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 AllHipHop.com posted on April 8, 2005, Williams was asked what direction he was trying to take with that album; in his response, he stated "That album depicts the state of affairs in my life at the time - nothing more, nothing less".

Despite, or perhaps partly due to, the varying interpretations of the release, it is still regarded as one of Canibus' weakest releases; reviewers noted that Canibus attempted to alter his voice, possibly in order to gain mainstream appeal, and that the production, handled by mostly unknown individuals, was significantly lacking in quality.

Mic Club: The Curriculum and Rip the Jacker (2002–2003)

Mic Club: The Curriculum album cover

After the critical and commercial failure of C True Hollywood Stories, Canibus was subject to criticism and ridicule from the rap industry until the release of Mic Club: The Curriculum, his fourth full-length album, towards the end of 2002. Although the production was handled almost entirely by little-known producers, some of them from Europe, the record proved to be a greater critical success than the previous year's release. Mic Club also saw Canibus return to a more scientific and complex rapping style, with a number of concept tracks and few songs with a chorus. The album was released on Mic Club Music, Canibus' own label, but failed to chart, selling relatively few copies.

Following the release of Mic Club: The Curriculum, it was announced that Williams decided to join the United States Army, an unexpected decision which confused much of his fan base. Before commencing his work with the military, however, he recorded a number of tracks which he intended to be released on his next album, entitled Rip the Jacker. Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind was given the task of producing the entire record, equipped solely with Canibus' pre-recorded vocals. Due to his military obligations, Canibus himself only managed to review the album after having acquired a copy.

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Rip the Jacker album cover

Upon release, Rip the Jacker received rave reviews from the majority of critics, who noted that Williams' largely scientific lyrics and distinctive, rough delivery was finally matched by equally fine production, as Canibus had had a history of working with badly selected producers. Unlike Mic Club, Rip the Jacker charted on both Billboard's R&B/hip-hop charts and the Billboard 200, peaking at #34 and #197, respectively, although commercially, it retained the tendency to sell few copies.

Critics highlighted various aspects of Rip the Jacker's originality, both in terms of beats and lyrics; Stoupe had employed a large number of samples from often obscure compositions, while Canibus himself undertook a variety of topics from various perspectives. Of note was the inclusion of "Poet Laureate II", a song exceeding seven minutes in length and lacking a chorus, with several changes of beat throughout; the track was frequently singled out as one of the strongest in Canibus' career and the album as a whole convinced listeners and the industry alike that the rapper hadn't lost his potential.

Mind Control, Cloak N Dagga and Hip-Hop for $ale (2005–2006)

Following Rip the Jacker and Canibus' subsequent discharge from the army, an album entitled Mind Control (2005) was released to negative reviews. Canibus had never planned for it to be compiled as a separate record, but agreed to release it through the independent Gladiator Music label as part of a contractual agreement; most of the vocals for Mind Control had been recorded prior to the release of C True Hollywood Stories. A collection of previously recorded material (with only three of the songs being unreleased) produced entirely by Mark Sparks, the album failed to chart and is rarely considered an official Canibus release by the rapper's fans.

Hip-Hop for $ale's cover featured elements of bling typical of mainstream rap

Also in 2005, a collaboration between Williams and underground rapper Phoenix Orion, who had also been known for scientific lyrics, yielded the album Def Con Zero, released on the independent Head Trauma Records label, owned by K-1 boxer Dewey Cooper. The record featured guest appearances from Kool G Rap, K-Solo, and former 106 & Park host Free, among others. As Cloak N Dagga, the duo briefly toured the United States promoting the release.

The following month, after numerous delays, Canibus' seventh solo album, Hip-Hop for Sale, was released, but was panned by critics, who dismissed it as yet another failed attempt to gain mainstream recognition. Additionally, due to the earlier release of Mind Control and the leaking of most of the material in the form of a mixtape entitled The Vitruvian Man, the release date had been pushed back to November, the original date having been May. The production on Hip-Hop for $ale was handled in part by Virginia-based producer Nottz, with several relatively unknown producers handling the remaining tracks after Nottz had cut ties with Canibus due to the appearance of The Vitruvian Man.The day of Hip-Hop for Sale's release, Mic Club Master Volume One, a separate mixtape, appeared in stores, many of the songs receiving more praise than those present on the full-length album.

Upcoming releases

Canibus has an assorted number of projects that have been announced, but, as of March 2007, it is largely unknown which ones will be released. It was officially reported that in 2006, Williams would release Mic Club, Vol. 2, the sequel to Mic Club: The Curriculum, as well as a sequel to Rip the Jacker. In October 2005, Dewey Cooper announced that Canibus would release a solo album on Head Trauma Records in 2006; this was to be entitled Caesar Germanicus. Canibus had gone on to state that all three albums were in production and that Caesar Germanicus would be his final release. However, it has been announced that Canibus has parted ways with both Head Trauma and Babygrande Records, which may have an effect on the decision to ultimately release Caesar Germanicus. Williams later announced on the fansite Canibus-Central.com that he would be releasing an entirely new album on a newly-created independent label, InterDependent Media; the album was said to be called The 'C' of Tranquility, but no official news has been released on this album since.

In January 2007, it was announced that Canibus would release new material in 2007 exclusively on his own imprint, Mic Club Music, in a joint venture with Legion Entertainment and distributed via his former major label, Universal Music Group. A pair of mixtapes, titled Nothing to Prove and Nothing to Lose, were slated for release in March 2007, but were eventually scrapped; instead, Canibus decided to use the best material from each mixtape to create a new full-length album entitled For Whom the Beat Tolls. It was originally set for release in May 2007, but was pushed back one month, and currently has a release date of June 5, 2007. Canibus' MySpace page is calling the album "Classic hardcore Canibus in the vein of Mic Club the Curriculum and Rip the Jacker.

The album has 16 tracks and includes contributions from Killah Priest and Vinnie Paz, among others; when the record was originally announced in March, there was only one confirmed track – the third installment in Canibus' "Poet Laureate" series, "Poet Laureate Infinity". The track supposedly has 1,000 bars, in the form of five 200 bar verses, and is layered in such a way that "when you mix it and spread it throughout five channels, [you have the ability] to mix the track differently every time." On April 8, 2007, the track was uploaded, by Canibus himself, to a website, where the listener could mix the track differently on a digital mixing board.

On April 4, 2007, XXLmag.com released some more information about the interview they did with Canibus two weeks earlier The new release of information spoke mainly on the previously mentioned sequel to Rip the Jacker: "Canibus also told XXLMag.com that during that interview he is working on a sequel to his 2003 album, Rip the Jacker. The album will be called Rip The Jacker II: Infinity, and will follow the formula of 'Poet Laureate Infinity' for an entire album." Canibus went on to say that "this record is going to mimic the same format, but it’s going to be for an album. So you are going to get an infinite album. And I don’t know if that’s ever been done, but I’m gonna do it."

In addition, Canibus and Phoenix Orion are working on a sequel to Def Con Zero entitled Def Con V2.0: Ground Zero. It is known that four of the record's tracks have been recorded and edited; Ground Zero itself is slated to be released in 2007. Since both Williams and Phoenix Orion have left Head Trauma, the record is set to be released on the latter rapper's own label, Phocus Entertainment. Canibus has also been confirmed to have signed a deal with Waste Management Records, K-Solo's new label, but what influence this will have on Williams' future releases remains unknown.

The group The HRSMN is also in the process of finally making an official album, but the date is unknown. According to Killah Priest's HipHopGame.com journal, he mentions the HRSMN a few times. The talks about a new album were mentioned on the May 1, 2006 entry. He said "The Horsemen project is definitely going to come. Right now we just have to get Kurupt. He's been doing the Dogg Pound thing, but it's definitely going to come. We have songs recorded and we have more in store."

Military career

In 2002, Canibus signed up for the United States Army. For the next three years, fans were not provided with an official reason for this decision. It was originally thought that the rapper joined the military because he was affected by the September 11, 2001 attacks, but, according to an interview with SOHH.com from 2005, there was another reason: "'I enlisted because I wanted to get away from the music,' said the MC. 'I wanted to do something that gave me a separate definition from what I had done all through my teens and twenties. I was 28 when I enlisted'". In May of 2003, two months before his fifth album, Rip the Jacker, was released to rave reviews, he graduated from Fort Knox and began working as a Cavalry Scout. In 2004, the authorities found Williams smoking marijuana and thereby discharged him.

Subject matter

Canibus is known for his scientific and philosophical approach to hip hop. In many of his lyrics, he uses scientific jargon and often creates intricate rhyme schemes, complex phrases and concepts in order to provide an artistic depth to his music. Punchlines, a key aspect of freestyle and battle rap, and vivid imagery are other trademarks of Canibus' rhyming style.

I destroy your whole city block when I'm ready to rock
blow your speaker box magnetically shielded or not
magnetic energies propagate as radio waves
oscillate lyrics and beats copulate to pop your tape
manipulating space in large proportions
millions of brain organs get lost when I start talkin
about shit like, supernatural forces
gnomes, fairies and superstring theories
~"Chaos", 2000 B.C.

Discography

Main article: Canibus discography

Solo albums

• 1998: Can-I-Bus
• 2000: 2000 B.C. (Before Can-I-Bus)
• 2001: C True Hollywood Stories
• 2002: Mic Club: The Curriculum
• 2003: Rip the Jacker
• 2005: Mind Control
• 2005: Hip-Hop for Sale
• 2007: For Whom the Beat Tolls
• 2007: Rip the Jacker 2: Infinity

Group albums

• The HRSMN – The Horsemen Project (2003)
• Cloak N Dagga – Def Con Zero (2005)
• Cloak N Dagga – Def Con V2.0: Ground Zero (2007)

Mixtapes

• My Name Is Nobody (2003)
• The Brainstream (2003)
• Mic Club Master Volume One (2005)

Filmography

• Bamboozled (2000)
• Beef 2 (2004)
• The MC: Why We Do It (2004)

External links

Official websites

• Official Canibus homepage
• Canibus "Poet Laureate Infinity" promotional website
• Canibus' profile page on Myspace
• Mic Club's page on Myspace
• Canibus merchandise
• Waste Management official website
• Canibus - For Whom The Beat Tolls Has Leaked
• Canibus - For Whom The Beat Tolls Review

Fansites

• Canibus Central
• Canibus World
• RipTheJacker.net