Joseph Wayne McVey (born January 19, 1977), better known by his stage names Z-Ro and the Mo City Don, is an American

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing ...

from

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, Texas. He was named one of America's most underrated rappers by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' in 2007.

Early life

Z-Ro was born Joseph Wayne McVey in Houston's

South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand the ...

neighborhood on January 19, 1977. When he was 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 neighborhood in Southwest Houston near the suburb of

Missouri City Missouri City is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, within the metropolitan area. The city is mostly in Fort Bend County, with a small portion in Harris County. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 74,259, an increase ...

. When Z-Ro reached his late teens he was unemployed and resorted to drug dealing and hustling on the streets. According to Z-Ro, listening to the music of

2pac Tupac Amaru Shakur (; born Lesane Parish Crooks; June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor, regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all tim ...

Geto Boys Geto Boys (originally spelled Ghetto Boys) were an American hip hop group originally formed in Houston, Texas. They saw commercial success in the 1990s with the lineup consisting of Bushwick Bill, Scarface and Willie D. The group became best ...

Bone Thugs-N-Harmony Bone Thugs-n-Harmony (formerly known as B.O.N.E. Enterpri$e and also referred to as simply Bone Thugs or Bone) is an American hip hop group formed in 1991 in Cleveland, Ohio. Consisting of rappers Bizzy Bone, Wish Bone, Layzie Bone, Krayzie ...

, Street Military, K-Rino and Klondike Kat inspired him to work harder for his goal of leaving the streets. Z-Ro discovered his talent of

freestyle rap Freestyle rap, also simply known as Freestyle, is a style of hip hop music where an artist normally improvises an unwritten verse from the head, with or without instrumental beats, in which lyrics are recited with no particular subject or structure ...

ping and after going through a couple of recording studios to make a demo, the CEO of a local label discovered and signed him.

Career

Z-Ro released his critically acclaimed Rap-a-Lot debut titled '' The Life of Joseph W. McVey''. The record was a huge success and helped expand Z-Ro's fan base beyond the South. In 2005, Z-Ro released '' Let the Truth Be Told'', which was well received. Z-Ro's 2006 album '' I'm Still Livin''' was released while he was imprisoned for

drug possession The prohibition of drugs through sumptuary legislation or religious law is a common means of attempting to prevent the recreational use of certain intoxicating substances. An area has a prohibition of drugs when its government uses the for ...

, to positive reviews. It was called "a great album... powerful" but "relentlessly bleak" by

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...

and "one of the best rap albums to come out of Houston" by the

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. ...

. In 2010 he released the album titled ''

Heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...

'', which was followed by an album titled ''

Meth Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational or performance-enhancing drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity ...

'' 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. Z-Ro then followed up with ''The Crown'' in June 2014. In February 2015, Z-Ro released his first proper studio album in three years, titled ''Melting the Crown.'' In 2016, Z-Ro released ''Drankin & Drivin'' in August and ''Legendary'' in November under his label One Deep Entertainment. In 2017, Z-Ro announced he was retiring and released ''

No Love Boulevard ''No Love Boulevard'' is the twenty-first studio album by American rapper Z-Ro, which was released June 30, 2017 under 1 Deep Entertainment and was distributed by Empire. This album was believed to be the last album by the American rapper when he ...

'' in June as his final album. He came out of retirement 6 months later and released ''Codeine'' in December. In 2018, Z-Ro released ''Sadism'' on November 16 under One Deep Entertainment and was distributed by

EMPIRE An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...

. In 2020, Z-Ro released an EP titled ''Quarantine, The Social Distancing EP'' with appearances from rapper

Boosie Badazz Torence Ivy Hatch Jr. (born November 14, 1982), better known by his stage name Boosie BadAzz or simply Boosie (formerly Lil' Boosie), is an American rapper. Hatch began rapping in the 1990s as a member of the Southern hip hop collective Concentr ...

Slim Thug Stayve Jerome Thomas (born September 8, 1979), better known by his stage name Slim Thug, is an American rapper. He gained mainstream attention for his guest performance alongside Paul Wall on Mike Jones' 2004 single "Still Tippin'". The followi ...

, Lanlawd and late rapper Wicket Cricket. He then later released an album titled '' Rohammad Ali'' on June 26. In 2021, Z-Ro along with S.U.C. rapper Mike D released a collaboration album titled ''2 The Hardway'' with appearances from

Lil' Keke Marcus Lakee Edwards (born March 29, 1976), better known by his stage name Lil' Keke, is an American rapper and original member of the Southern hip hop collective Screwed Up Click. Biography Music career Lil' Keke gained national attention with ...

, Beanz from the production duo, Beanz N Kornbread, Klondike Kat, Grace from Grace Boys, Duke Gutta, Oticia Redmond, C-Note,

Big Pokey Milton Jerome Powell Jr. (November 29, 1974 – June 18, 2023), better known by his stage name Big Pokey, was an American rapper from Houston, Texas. Big Pokey was associated with chopped and screwed music, and was one of the original members o ...

, and

Lil' O Lil' O (born Oreoluwa Mitchell Magnus-Lawson; November 22, 1977 in Lagos, Nigeria) is a Nigerian-American rapper, raised in Southwest Houston, Texas. He is an original member of DJ Screw's Screwed Up Click. He was also known as O or Da Fat Ra ...

. In 2022, in a statement to '' XXL'', Z-Ro claims

Trae Tha Truth Trae tha Truth (or simply Trae) is an American rapper. He embarked on a recording career in 1998, and established local prominence in the Southern hip hop, Texas hip hop scene with his solo debut, ''Losing Composure'' (2003). His second and thi ...

asked to talk to him outside a Houston Restaurant before he allegedly sucker punched him. After that, several men jumped in and continued to assault him.

Legal case

On July 26, 2017, Z-Ro was arrested after his ex-girlfriend, Just Brittany, accused him of beating her three months earlier. Z-Ro told the media that Brittany was using this accusation to get more publicity for herself as she is also appearing in a reality show on television. On October 10, a grand jury dropped the felony charges. The next day, the

Harris County, Texas Harris County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 4,731,145, and was estimated to be 5,009,302 in 2024, making it the List of counties in Texas, most populous cou ...

, district attorney filed misdemeanor charges against Z-Ro on the same alleged incident. The case was later dismissed in January 2019 after Z-Ro completed a batterer intervention program.

Discography

Studio albums *''Look What You Did to Me'' (1998) *''Z-Ro vs. the World'' (2000) *''King of da Ghetto'' (2001) *''Z-Ro'' (2001) *''Life'' (2002) *''Screwed Up Click Representa'' (2002) *''Z-Ro Tolerance'' (2003) *'' The Life of Joseph W. McVey'' (2004) *'' Let the Truth Be Told'' (2005) *'' I'm Still Livin''' (2006) *'' King of tha Ghetto: Power'' (2007) *'' Crack'' (2008) *''

Cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

'' (2009) *''

'' (2010) *''

'' (2011) *'' Angel Dust'' (2012) *''

The Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

'' (2014) *'' Melting the Crown'' (2015) *'' Drankin' & Drivin''' (2016) *'' Legendary'' (2016) *''

'' (2017) *''

Codeine Codeine is an opiate and prodrug of morphine mainly used to treat pain, coughing, and diarrhea. It is also commonly used as a recreational drug. It is found naturally in the sap of the opium poppy, ''Papaver somniferum''. It is typically use ...

'' (2017) *''Sädism'' (2018) *''Rohammad Ali'' (2020) *''Pressure'' (2022) *''The Ghetto Gospel'' (2024) *''Call Me Rother'' (2024)

References

{{Wikiquote 1977 births African-American male rappers Living people Rappers from Houston Screwed Up Click members Underground rappers Rap-A-Lot Records artists Gangsta rappers 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians People from Missouri City, Texas 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American musicians