Grand Daddy I.U.

Grand Daddy I.U. is an American emcee who was born in Queens, New York, active during the golden age of hip-hop. He states his nom de plume is similar to the pronunciation of his first name, "Ayyub" (ah-yoob).^[1]

Grand Daddy I.U. was raised in Hempstead, Long Island, and was encouraged to begin performing by his brother DJ Kay Cee. He recorded a demo tape and gave it to Biz Markie, who signed him to the label Cold Chillin' Records in 1989. In 1990 he released his debut, Smooth Assassin, which spawned his one and only hit "Something New" (which sampled James & Bobby Purify's only hit—their signature tune "I'm Your Puppet"). He became noted for his high-end sartorial choices, always appearing in public wearing a suit and tie.^[2]

Grand Daddy I.U. appeared as a guest on several hip hop albums in the 1990s, including Big L's Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous and Positive K's The Skills Dat Pay Da Bills.

Grand Daddy I.U. did ghostwriting and production work for Markie and Roxanne Shanté but became disenchanted with Markie over a dispute involving publishing credits for the tracks on his debut.^[2] He released a sophomore effort, Lead Pipe, in 1994, but the album received little promotion, and Grand Daddy I.U. quit emceeing for nearly a decade.

Grand Daddy I.U. continued to do production work in hip-hop for Das EFX, Heltah Skeltah, KRS-One, and Ice-T, among others. He issued a third album, Stick to the Script, in 2007, featuring production from Large Professor and Marco Polo and appearances from 2Pac, DV Alias Khrist and Pudgee Tha Phat Bastard. In 2017 he reunited with long-time collaborator Pudgee Tha Phat Bastard on the album Still Hear by Long Island emcee Lantz. The pair featured together on 2 songs, "Til The Casket" and "Yesterday". ^[3]

Discography

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