Jerry Buddy Long Jr. (born March 10, 1969), better known by his stage name Kokane, is an American rapper and singer best known for his distinctive vocal style and numerous

guest appearance The term guest appearance generally denotes the appearance of a guest in an artistic or pop-culture setting. The guests themselves (referred to as guest artists, featured artists, guest stars, or guest fighters, depending on context), are disting ...

s, such as on

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. ( ; born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, he is widely regarded as one of t ...

's ''

Tha Last Meal ''Tha Last Meal'' is the fifth studio album by American rapper Snoop Dogg. It was released through No Limit, Doggy Style, and Priority Records on December 19, 2000. It was his third and final studio album released on No Limit, marking this rec ...

''.

Early life

Long Jr. was born on March 10, 1969, in

the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

, New York City, the son of

Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

composer Jerry B. Long Sr. and singer Debra Long. His family soon relocated to

Pomona, California Pomona ( ) is a city in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. Pomona is located in the Pomona Valley, between the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's population was ...

, where he would grow up surrounded by his father's work and later joined the gang 357 Gangster

Crips The Crips are a primarily African-American alliance of street gangs that are based in the coastal regions of Southern California. Founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1969, mainly by Raymond Washington and Stanley Williams, the Crips ...

. He started his career at

Eazy-E Eric Lynn Wright (September 7, 1964 – March 26, 1995), known professionally as Eazy-E, was an American rapper who propelled West Coast rap and gangsta rap by leading the group N.W.A and its label, Ruthless Records. Eazy-E is often re ...

Ruthless Records Ruthless Records was an American independent record label founded by Eric "Eazy-E" Wright and Jerry Heller in Compton, California on March 3, 1987. All of the Ruthless trademarks have been owned by Comptown Records, Inc. since 1987. Several ...

in 1989, co-writing songs for

N.W.A N.W.A (an abbreviation for Niggaz Wit Attitudes) was an American hip-hop group formed in Compton, California in 1987. Among the earliest and most significant figures of the gangsta rap subgenre, the group is widely considered one of the great ...

and Above the Law, before releasing his first album, '' Addictive Hip Hop Muzick'', in 1991.

Career

He began his career as a vocalist in the mid-1980s before eventually signing to

label in late 1989. His debut album, '' Addictive Hip Hop Muzick'', was released in 1991, on which he was credited as "Who Am I?" to avoid infringing on laws which forbade the use of his usual moniker. His first solo single, "Nickel Slick Nigga", appeared on the ''Deep Cover'' soundtrack. In addition to co-writing " Appetite for Destruction" for

's '' Niggaz4life'', Long also contributed to other West Coast

gangsta rap Gangsta rap or gangster rap, initially called reality rap, is a subgenre of rap music that conveys the culture, values, and experiences of urban gangs and street hustlers, frequently discussing unpleasant realities of the world in general th ...

albums such as Above the Law's '' Black Mafia Life''. For his second album, 1994's '' Funk Upon a Rhyme'', Long drastically changed his style, incorporating a great deal of singing and an eccentric form of G-funk. He would leave Ruthless Records shortly after Eazy-E's death in 1995. He was supposed to be on

Tupac Shakur 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 ...

's ''One Nation'' collaboration album, alongside others, before Shakur's murder in 1996 cut plans for the album short. He continued to make guest appearances until releasing his third solo album through Eureka Records in 1999, entitled '' They Call Me Mr. Kane''. It was on the Los Angeles posse cut "Some L.A. Niggaz", from Dr. Dre's ''2001'' album, that Long's career found a second wind. While Long had been involved with

West Coast hip hop West Coast hip-hop is a regional genre of Hip-hop, hip-hop music that encompasses any artists or music that originated in the West Coast of the United States. West Coast hip-hop began to dominate from a radio play and sales standpoint during th ...

since the dawn of gangsta rap, he had been unable to secure any substantial success for himself. This changed after his work on ''2001'', through which Long developed a relationship with

and Tha Eastsidaz. He soon became involved in Tha Eastsidaz' debut album, and went on to play a significant role in the success of Snoop Dogg's ''

''. Long spent the next few years signed to Dogghouse Records, working on ''Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Kane''. He later signed with Koch Records, forming a new group, The Hood Mob, comprising himself and fellow rappers Cricet and Contraband. They released their only self-titled album '' The Hood Mob'' on July 3, 2006. His eighth solo studio album, ''The Legend Continues'', peaked at number 196 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart. Over the course of his career Long has worked with artists such as Above the Law, Bad Azz, C-Bo,

Cypress Hill Cypress Hill is an American Hip hop music, hip hop group formed in South Gate, California in 1988. One of the first Latin groups to gain mainstream recognition in hip hop, they have sold over 20 million albums worldwide, and have obtained multi ...

Daz Dillinger Delmar Drew Arnaud (born May 25, 1973), known professionally as Daz Dillinger or simply Daz (formerly Dat Nigga Daz), is an American rapper and record producer. As a member of Death Row Records in the early 1990s, he is credited with the label ...

Doggy's Angels Doggy's Angels was an American rap trio formed by Snoop Dogg on the Doggy Style subsidiary of TVT. Members are Big Chan (Chan Gaines), Coniyac (Kim Proby-Davis) and Kola Loc (Kola Marion). The group released one album and single in 2000. Th ...

E-40 Earl Tywone Stevens (born November 15, 1967), better known by his stage name E-40, is an American rapper. Stevens is a founding member of the rap group The Click (band), The Click and the founder of Sick Wid It Records. He has released 27 stud ...

, Eazy-E,

Freddie Gibbs Fredrick Jamel Tipton (born June 14, 1982), better known by his stage name Freddie Gibbs, is an American rapper and songwriter. He signed with Interscope Records in 2006 and recorded his debut album for the label; however, its release was cance ...

, Goldie Loc,

Ice Cube O'Shea Jackson Sr. (born June 15, 1969), known professionally as Ice Cube, is an American rapper, songwriter, actor, and film producer. His lyrics on N.W.A's 1989 album '' Straight Outta Compton'' contributed to gangsta rap's widespread popu ...

Kurupt Ricardo Emmanuel Brown (born November 23, 1972), better known by his stage name Kurupt, is an American rapper and record producer. Born and raised in Philadelphia, he formed Tha Dogg Pound in 1992 along with Daz Dillinger; the rap duo has releas ...

, Mr. Short Khop, Nipsey Hussle, Roscoe, Brotha Lynch Hung, Snoop Dogg,

Spice 1 Robert Lee Greene Jr. (born July 2, 1970), better known by his stage name Spice 1 (an acronym for "Sex, Pistols, Indo, Cash and Entertainment"), is an American rapper from Hayward, California. He began releasing albums in 1991, where he gained p ...

, Suga Free,

Alchemist Alchemy (from the Arabic word , ) is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practised in China, India, the Muslim world, and Europe. In its Western form, alchemy is first ...

, Big Tray Deee, Too $hort, WC, Weazel Loc, George Clinton,

Ras Kass John R. Austin II (born September 26, 1973), better known by his stage name Ras Kass, is an American rapper. He is a member of the hip hop Supergroup (music), supergroup The Hrsmn, along with Canibus, Killah Priest, and Kurupt in 2014. He is als ...

, Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E., Ab-Soul, Young Buck, The Game, Tony Yayo and many others.

Personal life

Long married Alicia Long in 1991. The couple has eight children, including Aanisah C. Long, who is a singer signed to Bud E Boy Entertainment, a record label owned by Kokane.

Discography

Studio albums

*'' Addictive Hip Hop Muzick'' (1991) *'' Funk Upon a Rhyme'' (1994) *'' They Call Me Mr. Kane'' (1999) *''Mr. Kane, Pt. 2'' (2005) *'' Back 2 tha Clap'' (2006) *''Pain Killer'z'' (2006) *'' Gimme All Mine'' (2010) *'' The Legend Continues...'' (2012) *''Shut da F Up & Cut da Checc'' (2014) *''Lady Kokane Presents: Kokane Love Songs'' (2015) *''King of GFunk'' (2016) *''Lady Kokane Presents: Kokane Love Songs Vol. 2'' (2017) *''It's Kokane Not Lemonhead'' (2017) *''Finger Roll'' (2019) *''Da White Album'' (2022)

Collaboration albums

*''Gangstarock'' with Chris Gentry (2002) *'' The Hood Mob'' with Contraband & Cricet (2006) *''Raine n Lane n Kokane'' with Raine n Lane (2008) *''The New Frontier'' with Traffik (2012) *''Tha Kemistry!! (Joint Album)'' with Tonik Slam (2018) *''SugaKane'' with Suga Free (2023)

Filmography

*''

The Wash The Wash is a shallow natural rectangular bay and multiple estuary on the east coast of England in the United Kingdom. It is an inlet of the North Sea and is the largest multiple estuary system in the UK, as well as being the largest natural ba ...

'' (2001) *'' Old School'' (2003) *Narco Valley (2018) Soundtrack

References

External links

Kokane's biography
at Bud E Boy Entertainment
Kokane's discography
at

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 ...

{{Authority control 1969 births Living people G-funk artists Rappers from California Ruthless Records artists West Coast hip-hop musicians People from Pomona, California 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians Crips