Corey Smith (born September 18, 1969), better known by his stage name Mr. Serv-On, is an American rapper from

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

. Mr. Serv-On is best known for his time spent with

No Limit Records No Limit Records is an American record company founded by Master P. The label's albums were distributed by Priority Records, Universal and Koch Records. The label included artists such as Snoop Dogg, Mercedes, Silkk the Shocker, Mystikal ...

from 1990 to 2000.

Music career

Music beginnings

A high school friend of

Master P Percy Robert Miller (born April 29, 1967), better known by his stage name Master P, is an American rapper, record producer, record executive, dancer, actor and entrepreneur. He founded the record label No Limit Records in 1991, which was relau ...

, Mr. Serv-On was one of the first

rappers 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 b ...

signed to Master P's

, first appearing on albums by Master P, TRU and

Mia X Mia Young (born January 9, 1970), better known by her stage name Mia X, is an American rapper and songwriter from New Orleans. She enjoyed success in the local " bounce" scene of the early 1990s. She was the first female emcee to get a contr ...

. His first appearance was on

Soulja Slim James Adarryl Tapp Jr. (September 9, 1977 – November 26, 2003), better known by his stage name Soulja Slim, was an American rapper from New Orleans, Louisiana. He is best known for writing Juvenile (rapper), Juvenile's 2004 single "Slow Motion ...

's (then known as Magnolia Slim) album "Soulja fa Lyfe", in 1994.

TRU, No Limit, ''Life Insurance'' and ''Da Next Level''

On August 12, 1997, Mr Serv-On's debut studio album, ''

Life Insurance Life insurance (or life assurance, especially in the Commonwealth of Nations) is a contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typical ...

'' was released. ''Life Insurance'' met with commercial and critical success, peaking at number 23 on the US charts and number 5 on the R&B charts; in 2013, it was ranked 20th on a list of the top 25 No Limit releases. On February 16, 1999, Mr. Serv-On would release his second studio album ''

Da Next Level ''Da Next Level'' is the second album by the American rapper Mr. Serv-On. It was released on February 16, 1999, as planned, through No Limit Records and Priority Records. It was produced entirely by the label's in-house production team, Beats B ...

'' it would be released to a bigger commercial success, making it to number 1 on the R&B charts selling 297,000 copies in its first week. Part of the reason he gained more mainstream attention is because of his featuring of the rapper

Big Pun Christopher Lee Rios (November 10, 1971 – February 7, 2000), better known by his stage name Big Pun (short for Big Punisher), was an American rapper. Emerging from the underground hip hop scene in the Bronx, he came to prominence upon discover ...

on his album. The guest verse from Pun on the first single from the album titled "From N.Y. To N.O." was ranked on a list of his best guest verses. On December 29, 1999, the album had sold 973,000 copies in the U.S. being certified platinum by the RIAA. In 2000, Mr. Serv-On left No Limit and launched his own indepdendent label, Lifetime Entertainment.

''War Is Me, Pt. 1: Battle Decisions'', ''Take a Sip'' and ''No More Questions''

On June 20, 2000, Mr. Serv-On would release his third studio album and first independent album titled '' War Is Me, Pt. 1: Battle Decisions'', it only made it to number 75 on the R&B charts. On October 30, 2001, Mr. Serv-On would release his fourth album titled '' Take a Sip'' via Lifetime, K.O.K., Street Level, the album would fail to make any of the ''Billboard'' charts. On March 18, 2003, Mr. Serv-On released his fifth album and second independent album titled '' No More Questions'' via Lifetime, the album would fail to make any of the Billboard charts.

''Life Insurance 2 (Heart Muzik)'' and ''Gangsta 1 More Time''

On March 18, 2003, Mr. Serv-On would release his sixth album and third independent album titled '' Life Insurance 2 (Heart Muzik)'' via Lifetyme, the album would fail to make any of the ''Billboard'' charts. Mr. Serv-On signed to Killa C's Dirty Thug Recordz in 2009 and would release his seventh album titled '' Gangsta 1 More Time''on November 17, 2009, the album would fail to make any of the Billboard charts. On March 18, 2003, Mr. Serv-On would release his eighth album titled '' Internet Platinum'' via Lifetyme, Hustle Blooc the album would fail to make any of the Billboard charts.

''Street Dreams'' and ''The Fallen Soldier''

On December 20, 2013, he announced the release of his new mixtape "Guaparation Canal", which was slated to be released in February 2014. On March 4, 2014, Revolution Entertainment would release the collaborative album "Known Associates" by SC and Mr. Serv-On. On September 18, Serv-On announced his next release would be Boss Certified with a release date of October 28, 2014. This album will be distributed through Serv-On`s own label, Hot City Music. On December 2, 2014, Mr. Serv-On released his ninth album ''Street Dreams'', this album was released through Timez Up. Ent. and was executive produced by DJ Suckafree. On June 19, 2015 Mr. Serv-On would release his tenth album titled ''The Fallen Soldier'' via Hot City Music and Timez Up.

Other ventures

Acting career

Mr. Serv-On appeared in the movie "I'm Bout It" in 1997, and in a documentary 10 years later called "Grittin 2 Get It In Tha Rock." In 2008, Mr. Serv-On was interviewed for the Underground Kingz Magazine DVD. In 2014, Mr. Serv-On appeared in the documentary "We Are One: Street Music of New Orleans."

Author

In 2008, Mr. Serv-On wrote a dating book for black women.

Philanthropy

In October 2014, Mr. Serv-On participated in a gun buy-back program in New Orleans.

Discography

Studio albums

Independent albums

Extended Play's

Collaboration albums

Soundtrack albums

Mixtapes

Compilation albums

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Guest appearances

Filmography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Serv-On, Mr. African-American male rappers 20th-century American male rappers Living people No Limit Records artists Rappers from New Orleans Gangsta rappers 1969 births 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American musicians