Harlem-based crew , aka , gained a reputation for inundating the New York mixtape circuit with their CDs, and they have been fairly successful at it, too. Some of that credit goes toward Diplomats Records president Ezekiel Jiles, better known as . Despite his executive status, performed with his crew as an energetic hype man and was also responsible for the ridiculous skits on mixtapes and lead member 's albums. Before coming into his own as a solo artist, he endured hard times and run-ins with the law. His close friend and bodyguard was shot and killed next to him in 2003. Police first suspected of the crime, but not long after he was vindicated, was convicted on older charges of operating an ecstasy ring. While in prison for over two years in Durham, NC, he still kept up to date on the thriving business of his family, and he also began writing complete verses. Thus, within only a few weeks of his release in November 2006, the same month that rapper started ruling the independent album chart with , he signed a multi-million dollar contract with Asylum Records for his first solo album. That album, , was then released the summer of the following year. ~ Cyril Cordor

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