Z-Ro
Z-Ro | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Joseph Wayne McVey |
Also known as | The Mo City Don[1] |
Born | [2][3] Houston , Texas, U.S. | January 19, 1977
Origin | Missouri City, Texas, U.S. |
Genres | Hip hop |
Occupations | |
Years active | 1994–present |
Labels | Asylum, Rap-a-Lot, King of the Ghetto Entertainment, One Deep Entertainment |
Website | www |
Joseph Wayne McVey (born January 19, 1977),[2][3] better known by his stage names Z-Ro and The Mo City Don, is an American rapper from Houston, Texas. He was named one of America's most underrated rappers by the New York Times.[4]
Early life and career
Z-Ro was born Joseph Wayne McVey in Houston’s South Park neighborhood on January 19, 1977.[5] At age six his mother died, and he was shuttled from household to household in search of stability, eventually settling in the Ridgemont area a middle-class suburb in Missouri City in Southwest Houston.[5] When Z-Ro reached his late teens he was unemployed and resorted to drug dealing and hustling on the streets.[5] According to Z-Ro, listening to the music of 2Pac, Geto Boys, Street Military, K-Rino and Klondike Kat inspired him to work harder for his goal of leaving the streets.[5] Z-Ro discovered his talent of freestyle rapping and after going through a couple of recording studios to make a demo,[5] the CEO of a local label discovered and signed him.
Z-Ro released his critically acclaimed Rap-a-Lot debut titled The Life of Joseph W. McVey.[5] The record was a huge success and helped expand Z-Ro’s fan base beyond the South.[5] In 2005, Z-Ro released Let the Truth Be Told, which was well received.[5] Z-Ro's 2006 album I'm Still Livin' was released while he was imprisoned for drug possession, to positive reviews.[6][7] It was called "a great album... powerful" but "relentlessly bleak" by The Village Voice[6] and "one of the best rap albums to come out of Houston" by the Houston Chronicle.[8] In 2010 he released his next album titled Heroin, which was followed by another new album titled Meth in 2011 and then Angel Dust in 2012.
Z-Ro released his first EP under The Mo City Don titled Tripolar on August 25, 2013 via One Deep Ent.[1] Z-Ro then followed up with The Crown in June 2014.[9] In February 2015, Z-Ro released his first proper studio album in three years, entitled Melting the Crown.
In 2016, Z-Ro released Drankin & Drivin in August[10] and Legendary in November under his label One Deep Entertainement.
Discography
Year | Title | Chart positions[11] | |
---|---|---|---|
U.S. | U.S. R&B | ||
1998 | Look What You Did to Me | — | — |
2000 | Z-Ro vs. the World | — | 90 |
2001 | King of da Ghetto | — | — |
2002 | Screwed Up Click Representa | — | 58 |
2002 | Z-Ro | — | — |
2002 | Life | — | 57 |
2003 | Z-Ro Tolerance | — | — |
2004 | The Life of Joseph W. McVey | 170 | 27 |
2005 | Let the Truth Be Told | 69 | 14 |
2006 | I'm Still Livin' | 75 | 14 |
2007 | King of tha Ghetto: Power | 197 | 32 |
2008 | Crack | 48 | 12 |
2009 | Cocaine | 147 | 19 |
2010 | Heroin | 142 | 29 |
2011 | Meth | 90 | 12 |
2012 | Angel Dust | 120 | 17 |
2014 | The Crown | — | — |
2015 | Melting the Crown | — | 16 |
2016 | Drankin' & Drivin' | 99 | 7 |
2016 | Legendary | — | 15 |
References
- ^ a b Amazon.com: Tripolar: The Mo City Don: MP3 Downloads. Amazon. Retrieved on 2016-08-01.
- ^ a b "Texas Births 1926–1995". "Family Tree Legends".
- ^ a b Z-Ro Biography. Rapartists.com (1977-01-19). Retrieved on 2011-06-21.
- ^ Sanneh, Kelefa. (2007-05-27) A Hip-Hop Hurricane and Other Phenomena – New York Times. Nytimes.com. Retrieved on 2011-06-21.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Z-Ro Biography". Artist Direct. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
- ^ a b Breihan, Tom (2006-12-07). "Project Pat and Z-Ro: The Unsung Heroes of Southern Rap". The Village Voice. Retrieved 2008-09-07.
- ^ Sanneh, Kelefa (2007-05-27). "A Hip-Hop Hurricane and Other Phenomena". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-09-07.
- ^ Peralita, Eyder (2006-11-06). "Z-Ro breaks ground, visits the past on new CD". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2008-09-07.
- ^ Z-Ro - The Crown. Amazon. Retrieved on 2014-10-12.
- ^ http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/22126-gqom-oh-x-crudo-volta-mixtape/
- ^ allmusic ((( Z-Ro > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))