Brandon C. Rodegeb, better known as B-12 (born October 9, 1977) is a

music executive A music executive or record executive is a person within a record label who works in senior management and makes executive decisions over the label's artists. Their role varies greatly but in essence, they can oversee one, or many, aspects of a re ...

film maker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

, and

rap Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

artist. Brandon was born in

San Francisco, CA San Francisco (; Spanish for "Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

at San Francisco General Hospital and raised in

Benicia, California Benicia ( , ) is a waterside city in Solano County, California, located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. It served as the capital of California for nearly thirteen months from 1853 to 1854. The population was 26,997 at th ...

. Living in an area rich in cultural and hip-hop history gave Brandon access to hip-hop music at an early age. The youngest son of a single mother with two brothers (one murdered in 1994) and a sister, Brandon was interested in music when very young. Growing up around such rap legends as

Too Short Todd Anthony Shaw (born April 28, 1966), better known by the stage name Too Short (stylized as Too $hort), is an American rapper and record producer. He became famous in the West Coast hip hop scene in the late 1980s, with lyrics often based on ...

11/5 11/5 was an American hip hop group from the Hunters Point section of San Francisco, California whose members were Maine-O, Hennessy and Taydatay, they were signed to Dogday Records, and were active from 1994 to 2001. Biography The Bay Area-bas ...

RBL Posse RBL Posse is a gangsta rap group from the Hunters Point section in San Francisco, California. The members were Black C, Mr. Cee, and Hitman. The only surviving member is Black C. History RBL Posse was formed in 1991 by Black C (Christian Mathew ...

, and others, B-12 was able to get into music early. Success followed, although not immediately, and his family later moved to the nearby suburb of

Vallejo, California Vallejo ( ; ) is a city in Solano County, California and the second largest city in the North Bay region of the Bay Area. Located on the shores of San Pablo Bay, the city had a population of 126,090 at the 2020 census. Vallejo is home to t ...

in 1991. He also made an album that featured several west coast artists including:

MC Eiht Aaron Tyler (born May 22, 1971), better known by his stage name MC Eiht (pronounced MC eight), is an American rapper and actor. Many of his songs are based on his life in Compton. His stage name was partly inspired by the numeral in KRS-One's nam ...

Celly Cel Marcellus James McCarver, better known by his stage name Celly Cel, is an American rapper from Vallejo, California. He released his first single, "Lifestyle of a Mack", on his independent record label Realside Records in 1992. He released his debu ...

, Taydatay,

, Young Droop,

San Quinn Quincy Brooks IV (born October 24, 1977), better known by his stage name San Quinn, is an American rapper from San Francisco, California. He is the cousin of Messy Marv, Stevie Johnson, and Ya Boy. Early life Brooks was born in Oakland, Calif ...

Luni Coleone Monterrio Williams (born August 10, 1978), better known by his stage names Luni Coleone or Lunasicc, is an American Garden Blocc Crip rapper who began his musical career on the streets of Sacramento, California. Biography He began his career ...

, M.O.G.,

Jay Tee James Trujillo, better known by his stage name Jay Tee, is a rapper, songwriter and hip hop producer from Vallejo, CA. He has been a part of the city's scene since the early 1990s as the lead member of N2Deep and Latino Velvet along with Baby ...

Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. is an American hip hop band from Carson, California, consisting of the American Samoa Devoux brothers Paul (died 2020), Ted (died 2018), Donald, Roscoe, Danny (died 2022), David and Vincent. It is noted for its use of a live ...

, Skee 64, Young Dru, Da' Unda' Dogg and also Eightball, who is from

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the County seat, seat of Shelby County, Tennessee, Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 Uni ...

. In 2002 B-12,

& Young Dru formed the group Free Agents and released the album ''

Negotiations Negotiation is a dialogue between two or more people or parties to reach the desired outcome regarding one or more issues of conflict. It is an interaction between entities who aspire to agree on matters of mutual interest. The agreement c ...

'' on 40 Ounce Records. The project is described as "a loosely knit group of 'rap comrades' who came together to make a statement about independence and ownership in a turbulent time in the music industry."

Discography

Collaboration albums

*''Neva Look Back'' with Riderlife (2001) *''

'' with Free Agents (2002)

Compilation albums

*''Bayriderz, Vol. 3: Kalifornia: State of Emergency'' with Jay Tee (2003) *''The Kollection'' (2017)

Guest appearances

References

* *Showcase Magazine

External links

*http://www.siccness.net
A-Wax
1977 births Living people American male rappers Rappers from San Francisco People from Benicia, California Musicians from Vallejo, California 21st-century American rappers {{US-music-bio-stub