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Kxng Crooked

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Kxng Crooked

Dominick Wickliffe, better known by his stage name Crooked I, is an American rapper from Long Beach, California. The name "Crooked I" comes from the malt liquor beverage St. Ide's, whose logo has a crooked letter 'I' on the label. Crooked I is currently CEO of his own record label, Dynasty Entertainment, and Senior Vice President of Treacherous Records. Before he became his own boss, Crooked I was also signed to Virgin Records, and most notably, Death Row Records, where he spent four years working under the infamous Suge Knight.

The 19th Street Era

Crooked I originally got his start appearing on compilations released by Big C-Style's record label, 19th Street Records, such as 19th Street LBC Compilation and Straight Outta Cali. He also appeared on the soundtracks to movies such as Ride and Caught Up, where he collaborated with Snoop Doggy Dogg, Tha Eastsidaz, and The Luniz. In 1999, he caught the interest of Suge Knight through Daz Dillinger, but Crooked I didn't officially sign with Death Row Records until 2000. By then, Daz had already left Death Row to start his own label, DPG Records, and it was up to Crooked I to lead Death Row Records into the new millennium.

Death Row's Second Dynasty

While on Death Row, Crooked I appeared on a number of compilations, such as Too Gangsta For Radio and Dysfunkyional Family, and appeared on various releases, such as Tha Dogg Pound's 2002, Ja Rule's The Last Temptation, and 2Pac's Nu-Mixx Klazzics. He also recorded two albums, Untouchable and Say Hi To The Bad Guy, both of which were unreleased due to various label issues. He did manage to release a mixtape along with Death Row's then in-house producer, Darren Vegas, called Westcoastanostra Vol. 1 in 2003.

The Start of a New Dynasty

By 2004, Crooked I's album had not been released, Suge Knight was constantly in and out of jail, and Crooked I's contract was up. He left in early Spring of that year to start his own label, Dynasty Entertainment. It wasn't long after that when Crooked I signed a distribution deal with Treacherous Records/Universal, but more legal trouble from Death Row surfaced, and Crooked I had to stop production for his then titled album, Mama's Boy, which later became Mama's Boy Got a Loaded Gun. In the mean time, he released the online mixtape, Young Boss Vol. 1, through his official website.

After the legal matters settled, Crooked began recording again, and prepping the release of his documentary Life After Death Row. He appeared on compilations such as Yukmouth's United Ghettos of America Vol. 2, Sway & King Tech's Back 2 Basics, and K. Young's debut, Learn How To Love. In 2005, the name of the album changed to Boss Music, and he created a huge buzz with his song, "Boom Boom Clap" in the Summer of 2005. He also recorded two songs with producer Scott Storch, "Cali Boyz" and "You're So Bad". In 2006, Crooked I released his heavily anticipated mixtape, Young Boss Vol. 2 hosted by DJ Skee, and his DVD, Life After Death Row, surfaced later that Fall.

Present

Since 2006, Crooked I has started his own successful weekly freestyle series titled Hip-Hop Weekly, where he's rapping over popular beats, and releases them on the internet every Wednesday. He's also re-releasing his critically acclaimed DVD, Life After Death Row, along with a live performance, and CD. Young Boss Vol. 3 hosted by DJ Warrior is scheduled to come out after the re-release of the DVD. The title to his official debut changed again to B.O.S.S.(Beginning of Something Serious), which is slated for a release in late 2007.

Hip-Hop Weekly

Dynasty Entertainment

Crooked I's label, Dynasty Entertainment, has not released any albums yet. However, they did release a DVD Documentary called Life After Death Row in August of 2006.[1] The DVD is about Crooked I's experiences on Death Row, and what he's doing now. It also features the stories of other artists who were on Death Row, and why they left, starting with RBX, who was the first artist to leave Death Row Records. There is also appearances made Russel Simmons, Master P, Kurupt, WC, Big C-Style, Eastwood, Loon, and more, plus a segment dedicated to Lisa Lopes, also known as Left Eye of TLC, who was signed to Death Row before he untimely death in 2002.

Artists Under Dynasty Entertainment[2]

Discography

Guest Appearances

  • Ride: Music From The Motion Picture (1998)
  • Caught Up: Music From The Motion Picture (1998)
  • Big C-Style Presents: 19th Street LBC Compilation (1998)
  • Big C-Style Presents: Straight Outta Cali (1998)
  • Barrington Levy - Living Dangerously (1998)
  • Big C-Style Presents: Escape From Death Row (1999)
  • Kurupt - Tha Streetz Iz a Mutha (1999)
  • Sway & King Tech - The Wake Up Show, Vol. 5 (1999)
  • Sway & King Tech - The Wake Up Show, Vol. 6 (1999)
  • Death Row Records Presents: Too Gangsta For Radio (2000)
  • Tha Dogg Pound - 2002 (2001)
  • Soopafly - Dat Whoopty Whoop (2001)
  • Sway & King Tech - Wake Up Show Freestyles, Vol. 7 (2001)
  • Irv Gotti Presents: The Inc. (2002)
  • Ja Rule - The Last Temptation (2002)
  • Irv Gotti Presents: The Remixes (2002)
  • Dysfunktional Family Soundtrack (2003)
  • 2Pac - Nu-Mixx Klazzics (2003)
  • The Boo Ya T.R.I.B.E. - West Koasta Nostra (2003)
  • Yukmouth - United Ghettos of America Vol. 2 (2004)
  • K. Young - Learn How To Love (2005)
  • Sway & King Tech - Back 2 Basics (2005)
  • Ras Kass - Institutionalized Vol. 1 (2005)
  • Syndicate Villian - Army of One (2005)
  • Celly Cell Presents: The Gumbo Pot (2006)
  • Phathom - Poetical Minded (2006)

Filmography

References

  1. ^ http://www.westcoastdynasty.com/projects.shtml
  2. ^ http://www.westcoastdynasty.com/artists.shtml
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