Suga Free
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| Suga Free | |
|---|---|
 Dejuan Rice |
|
| Origin | Pomona, California |
| Years active | 1995(?)-present |
| Genres | West Coast hip hop |
| Labels | Bungalo Records |
| Website(s) | www.sugafree.net |
Suga Free (born Dejuan Rice on January 17, 1970) is an American rapper from Pomona, California. He is known for his unorthodox flow - he can rap at high speed with wild variations in meter - his highly syncopated and staccato delivery, and presentation as an authentic and flamboyant street pimp.
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[edit] Rapping style and lyrics
He repeatedly references imagery connected to street prostitution in his raps - his best-known song is "Why You Bullshittin'?" in which he starts off his debut album with the infamous line, "Now I'd never hit a woman, no / but I'll slap the shit out of a bitch, why you bullshittin'!" However, he has displayed emotional range as well - such as in "Dip Da", in which his lyrics explore his feelings about his abusive, deadbeat father, and touch on the child molestation of one of his female acquaintances as well ("And to keep it real man - my freak Angelique just turned twenty but when she was six man her daddy was her boyfriend."') Other lyrics deal with hardcore street life and urban violence, turbulent male-female relations, and incarceration (he has served time in Los Angeles County Jail).
He possesses an extremely quick delivery of his lines, and a staccato way of speaking and rhyming that almost always makes heavy use of syncopation. The lyrical meter of his rhymes changes sometimes several times within a single line.
He has cited Johnny "Guitar" Watson as one of the influences on his personal style, as well as Richard Pryor & Sting of Police fame.
[edit] Commercial history
He is somewhat unusual among rappers who claim to "pimp" in that he actually is a pimp, with part of his income coming from managing street prostitutes. He states on his website that his rapping is actually secondary to his pimping career.
He began his professional rapping career working with DJ Quik, with Quik serving as the producer on his debut album, Street Gospel. Released in 1997, it fell short of commercial expectations, but was praised by many underground rap fans in California[citation needed]. The DJ Quik production on this album was considered to be refreshing compared to the stereotypical West Coast G-Funk sound that had dominated most of the early 90's, as he incorporated elements of jazz, funk, rhythm and blues, and even rock and roll to create instrumentals that caught the ears of many listeners.
After the release of his debut album, many of his fans highly anticipated his sophomore album "The New Testament,which got pushed back several times. From 1998-2003, there was much speculation about when the album would be released. During this time, he made guest appearances on several major albums as listed:
- 1998: DJ Quik: Rhythm-al-ism - "Down down down" and "No Doubt"
- 1999: Snoop Dogg: No Limit Top Dogg - "Trust me"
- 1999: Tha Eastsidaz: Snoop Dogg Presents.... - "Pussy sells"
- 2000: Xzibit: Restless - "Sorry I'm away so much"
- 2000: Snoop Dogg: Da Last Meal - "Bring it on"
- 2001: Tha Eastsidaz: "I don't know" and "Dogghouse in your mouth"
In 2004, he released his sophomore album titled "The New Testament", in which he sets the tone in his intro by walking through a forest and realizing that one of his prostitutes has been killed. In a hostile tone, he panics, and says things such as "If you dead, bitch, I'll kill ya! If you dead, bitch, I'll kill ya!" This album was highly anticipated, and although most fans saw it as a strong album[citation needed], they didn't find it as groundbreaking or creative as his first attempt.
Around this time, according to DJ Quik, Suga Free stole from him a beat that was composed for Dr. Dre. Supposedly, Suga Free sold the beat for what DJ Quik estimates to be USD $2,500.00 to Bay Area rapper Rappin 4-Tay, in which he used the instrumental for a song called "If it wasn't for you" which featured Suga Free and Nate Dogg. Therefore, the two had a fallout that lasted about a year. (See: http://www.westcoast2k.net/interviews/djquik2.htm)
As of early 2006 the two have put issues aside and are friends again. However, Suga Free has moved away from working with Quik as a producer, and has recruited relatively unknown local talent from Southern California for his backing beats. In June 2006, Suga Free released his latest album, "Just Add Water", which has been generally well-received[citation needed]. This album, like the previous two, has received note for a varied group of stylistic influences. The track "The Ranger" (often mistakenly referred to as "Lone Ranger") is considered especially unusual for a rap song, and has received notice on several hip-hop forums due to its unusual, guitar-heavy, uplifting backbeat[citation needed].
Just Add Water was produced by mainly by Freeze a collaborator with Morris Day and The Time. J-Steez produced one track, Kenny Mc Cloud engineered the entire album and produced "Suga Kain" and "You Ain't Knowin". Saccs, Josef Leimberg, Blaqthoven and J. Classic also contributed. The first single was So Fly which was recorded in NY with Snoop Dogg. A video was planned, however not officially released. The album sold around 5,000 records in its first week, debuting low on the billboard 200. The album was not a commercial success, however is critically well received and was named one of hip hops best album of the year on Amazon.com.
Suga Free is currently planning projects with Kokane entitled "Suspended Animation: Suga Cain". And also a album entitled "Pimpin and Producin" with J-Steez. It is unknown whether Suga Free will record new material with DJ Quik, however the two artists are on speaking terms.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Studio albums
| Release Date | Album Title | Billboard 200 Peak |
|---|---|---|
| May 20, 1997 | Street Gospel | |
| March 2, 2004 | New Testament | 72 |
| October 26, 2004 | Konnectid Project, Vol. 1 | |
| October, 2006 | Suga Free's Congregation | |
| May 2, 2006 | The Features | |
| May 2, 2006 | The Features, Vol. 2 | |
| May 9, 2006 | Just Add Water |
