Edward K. Archer (born May 16, 1972), known professionally as Special Ed, is an American rapper and producer. Ed is perhaps best known for the songs "I Got It Made", "Think About It" and "I'm the Magnificent" from his debut album '' Youngest in Charge'', released in 1989 when he was 17 years old.

Biography

Born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

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 ...

to an

Afro-Jamaican ''See also'' Mulattos in Jamaica Afro-Jamaicans are Jamaicans of predominantly African descent. They represent the largest ethnic group in the country. The ethnogenesis of the Black Jamaican people stemmed from the Atlantic slave trade of ...

father and

Indo-Jamaican Indo-Jamaicans are the descendants of people who came from India and the wider subcontinent to Jamaica. Indians form the third largest ethnic group in Jamaica after Africans and Multiracials. They are a subgroup of Indo-Caribbean people. Histor ...

mother, Ed was raised in

Flatbush Flatbush is a neighborhood in the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood consists of several subsections in central Brooklyn and is generally bounded by Prospect Park (Brooklyn), Prospect Park to the nort ...

before moving to

Canarsie Canarsie ( ) is a mostly residential neighborhood in the southeastern portion of Brooklyn, New York City. Canarsie is bordered on the east by Fresh Creek Basin, East 108th Street, and Louisiana Avenue; on the north by Linden Boulevard; on th ...

, and is identified with

East Coast hip-hop East Coast hip-hop is a regional subgenre of hip-hop music that originated in New York City during the 1970s. Hip-hop is recognized to have originated and evolved first in the Bronx borough of New York City. In contrast to other styles, East Co ...

. Ed attended

Erasmus Hall High School Erasmus Hall High School was a four-year public high school located at 899–925 Flatbush Avenue between Church and Snyder Avenues in the Flatbush, Brooklyn, Flatbush neighborhood of the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brookly ...

and Samuel J. Tilden High School. At the age of fifteen, he established a rapport with his neighbor

Howie Tee Hitman Howie Tee (born Howard Thompson) is an English-born hip-hop DJ and producer of Jamaican origin, but raised in Brooklyn. Howie Tee is best known for his work with U.T.F.O, Chubb Rock, Special Ed and The Real Roxanne. Howie got his sta ...

, who worked with him on his demo. Ed's debut album ''Youngest in Charge'' was released in 1989 and included the songs "I Got It Made", "Think About It" and "I'm The Magnificent", which were produced by "Hitman"

. In an interview with

Billboard (magazine) ''Billboard'' (stylized in letter case, lowercase since 2013) is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events and styles re ...

writer James Richliano, Special Ed, who co-wrote his songs, said that he, "used to like writing poetry and creative writing in school," and that he, "wrote a lot of lyrics that amused my teachers. Even when I was younger, I could kick a beat with my hands and rhyme at the same time." ''Youngest in Charge'' sold more than half a million copies. In 1990, Ed released his album ''Legal'', the title a reference to his turning eighteen, with the singles "Come On Let's Move It" and "The Mission". Ed was later a member of

Crooklyn Dodgers The Crooklyn Dodgers were a hip-hop supergroup based in Brooklyn, New York City, consisting of rotating members. They appeared in three separate incarnations in 1994, 1995, and 2007. The first two incarnations recorded for the soundtracks f ...

, a supergroup put together in order to perform songs for the

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and author. His work has continually explored race relations, issues within the black community, the role of media in contemporary ...

films '' Clockers'' and '' Crooklyn'', and he performed "Crooklyn" with Shillz on the 2003

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

''MuskaBeatz''. Ed released a third solo album, ''Revelations'', with the single "Neva Go Back" in 1995, with the track "Freaky Flow" receiving a remix by

DJ Premier Christopher Edward Martin (born March 21, 1966), known professionally as DJ Premier (also known as Preemo), is an American record producer and DJ. He has been frequently lauded as one of hip hop's greatest producers by publications such as '' ...

. In 2004, Ed released the album ''Still Got It Made'' on his own label "Semi." Ed appeared in the film ''Ganked'', alongside

Kel Mitchell Kel Johari Rice Mitchell (born August 25, 1978) is an American actor, comedian, rapper, singer, and TV host. He was an original cast member of the Nickelodeon sketch comedy series '' All That'' for its first five seasons (1994–1999), where he ...

Kenan and Kel ''Kenan & Kel'' is an American sitcom created by Kim Bass that originally aired on Nickelodeon from August 17, 1996, to May 3, 2000. Set in Chicago, the series follows mischievous Kenan Rockmore ( Kenan Thompson) and his happy-go-lucky best frie ...

, and had an uncredited cameo in ''Juice''. He also made an appearance on ''

The Cosby Show ''The Cosby Show'' is an American television sitcom created by (along with Ed. Weinberger and Michael J. Leeson) and starring Bill Cosby that originally aired on NBC from September 20, 1984, to April 30, 1992, with a total of 201 half-hour e ...

'' as fictional rapper JT Freeze and in a

Rick Ross William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper. An influential figure in modern Hip-hop, hip hop music, Rick Ross has become known for his "Wiktionary:booming, booming" vocal perfor ...

music video entitled "Magnificent". He also appeared in the 1992 movie ''Fly By Night''. In 2008, his song "I Got It Made" appeared in the action-adventure video game ''

Grand Theft Auto IV ''Grand Theft Auto IV'' is a 2008 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the sixth main entry in the Grand Theft Auto, ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2004's ''Grand Theft Auto: San And ...

'' on the fictional radio station "The Classics 104.1".

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

As lead artist

References

Notes

Citations

External links

*
Special Ed Myspace
{{DEFAULTSORT:Special Ed 1972 births African-American male rappers 20th-century American male rappers American rappers of Jamaican descent Living people Profile Records artists Rappers from Brooklyn Erasmus Hall High School alumni People from Flatbush, Brooklyn 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians People from Canarsie, Brooklyn 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American musicians Crooklyn Dodgers members East Coast hip-hop musicians