Trevell Gerald Coleman (born November 19, 1974), better known by his stage name G. Dep (which stands for "Ghetto Dependent"), 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

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He joined

Bad Boy Records Bad Boy Entertainment, doing business as Bad Boy Records, is an American independent record label. The label was founded in 1993 by rapper and record producer Sean Combs. During the mid-1990s, the label signed hip-hop and contemporary R&B, R&B a ...

in 1998 and released his debut album '' Child of the Ghetto'' in 2001. He released his second album ''Ghetto Legend'' on September 7, 2010 with Famous Records.

Early life

Trevell Coleman was born on November 19, 1974. He was raised by his grandmother in the James Weldon Johnson

Housing Projects Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a combination thereof ...

Music career

His rap career started with the label Tape Kingz, releasing two 12" singles in 1996 and 1997. After meeting with

Sean Combs Sean John Combs (born November 4, 1969), better known by his stage name Diddy, and formerly Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, record producer, and record executive. Born in Harlem and raised in Mount Vernon, New York, Mount Ve ...

in 1998, G. Dep was signed to a $350,000, five-album deal with Bad Boy Records. In the next year, he appeared on two songs on

Black Rob Robert Ross (June 8, 1968 – April 17, 2021), known professionally as Black Rob, was an American rapper who was signed to Sean "Puffy" Combs' Bad Boy Entertainment. He was best known for his 2000 single " Whoa!", which peaked at number 43 on ...

's 1999 debut album '' Life Story''. G. Dep released his debut solo album '' Child of the Ghetto'' in 2001. ''Child of the Ghetto'' peaked at #106 on ''Billboard'' 200 and #23 on

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip-hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Luminate. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated January 30, ...

. Single "Special Delivery" from the album peaked at #59 on

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

and #3 on

Hot Rap Singles Hot Rap Songs (formerly known as Hot Rap Tracks and Hot Rap Singles) is a chart released weekly by ''Billboard'' in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio statio ...

. G. Dep was subsequently dropped from Bad Boy Records. G. Dep and

Loon Loons (North American English) or divers (British English, British / Irish English) are a group of aquatic birds found in much of North America and northern Eurasia. All living species of loons are members of the genus ''Gavia'', family (biolog ...

released independent album '' Bad Boy'' in 2007. He released his second album ''Ghetto Legend'' on September 7, 2010 with Famous Records.

Personal life

Coleman stated in an interview that he has been convicted of robbery and served time in

Rikers Island Rikers Island is a prison island in the East River in the Bronx, New York (state), New York, United States, that contains New York City's largest jail. Named after Abraham Rycken, who took possession of the island in 1664, the island was orig ...

. Coleman's criminal record includes arrests for drug offenses, burglary and grand larceny more than 25 times since 2003. After the release of ''Child of the Ghetto'', Coleman had a long-time struggle with PCP addiction. In 2008, Coleman told XXL about his

substance abuse Substance misuse, also known as drug misuse or, in older vernacular, substance abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods that are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder, differing definition ...

problems and rehabilitation. At the time of his latest arrest Coleman was in

Narcotics Anonymous Narcotics Anonymous (NA), founded in 1953, describes itself as a "nonprofit fellowship or society of men and women for whom drugs had become a major problem." Narcotics Anonymous uses a 12-step model developed for people with varied subs ...

twelve-step program Twelve-step programs are international mutual aid programs supporting recovery from substance addictions, behavioral addictions and compulsions. Developed in the 1930s, the first twelve-step program, Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), founded by B ...

. Coleman married Laticia Evans Coleman in May 2017, and wed at Elmira Correctional Facility. Evans is a recording artist who performs under the stage names Hustle Bunny. The two met in 2015 over the phone during Coleman's incarceration and instantly bonded, both were previously married. Laticia comes to the marriage with five children.

Murder case

On December 15, 2010, Coleman walked into the 25th Precinct to confess to a

cold case ''Cold Case'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series. It ran on CBS from September 28, 2003, to May 2, 2010. The series revolved around a fictionalized Philadelphia Police Department division that specializes in invest ...

crime, the murder of a Queens man in 1993. Coleman had attempted to confess twice before, but was previously considered to be under the influence of drugs and incoherent. On October 19, 1993, John Henkel was shot in the chest by a .40-caliber

handgun A handgun is a firearm designed to be usable with only one hand. It is distinguished from a long gun, long barreled gun (i.e., carbine, rifle, shotgun, submachine gun, or machine gun) which typically is intended to be held by both hands and br ...

outside of James Weldon Johnson Houses on Park Avenue and East 114th Street. Coleman stated that he ambushed and shot Henkel during an attempted robbery and fled the scene, throwing his weapon into the

East River The East River is a saltwater Estuary, tidal estuary or strait in New York City. The waterway, which is not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island, ...

. Coleman's information matched with the case and he was charged with murder. Coleman stated in an interview that he confessed because the case weighed on him and he was "just trying to get things right between himself and God." Coleman claimed that he did not know that his victim had died. Coleman pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder at his appearance in the

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the superior court in the Judiciary of New York. It is vested with unlimited civil and criminal jurisdiction, although in many counties outside New York City it acts primarily as a court of civil ju ...

on January 13, 2011. He was convicted of the second-degree murder charge on April 17, 2012, and was sentenced to 15-years to life in prison on May 8, 2012. He was housed at

Fishkill Correctional Facility Fishkill Correctional Facility is a multi-security level prison in New York, United States. The prison is located in both the Town of Fishkill and the City of Beacon in Dutchess County. Fishkill was constructed in 1896. It began as the Matteaw ...

Beacon, New York Beacon is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city located on the Hudson River in Dutchess County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's population was 13,769. Beacon is part of the Kiryas ...

. In December 2023, Coleman's sentence was commuted by Governor

Kathy Hochul Kathleen Hochul ( ; ; born August 27, 1958) is an American politician and lawyer who has served since 2021 as the 57th governor of New York. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, she is New York's List of female ...

, making him eligible for parole. In April 2024, he was released.

Discography

*'' Child of the Ghetto'' (2001) *''Ghetto Legend'' (2010) *''Influential'' (2024)

References

External links

G. Dep
on

Myspace Myspace (formerly stylized as MySpace, currently myspace; and sometimes my␣, with an elongated Whitespace character#Substitute images, open box symbol) is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it w ...

G. Dep Discography
on

Discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:G. Dep 1974 births 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American musicians 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American rappers African-American Christians African-American male rappers 20th-century American male rappers 21st-century American male rappers American people convicted of murder American prisoners and detainees American robbers Bad Boy Records artists Hardcore hip-hop artists Living people People from East Harlem Prisoners and detainees of New York (state) Rappers from Manhattan Underground rappers