Tab Virgil Jr. (born February 8, 1981) better known by his stage name Turk (sometimes "Young Turk" or "Hot Boy Turk" or "CFOTAB"), 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 ...

. He is best known for his late 1990s run at Birdman's

Cash Money Records Cash Money Records is an American record label founded in 1991 by brothers Ronald "Slim" Williams and Birdman (rapper), Bryan "Baby" Williams. The label gained prominence in the late 1990s for having signed and released albums for New Orleans– ...

with the group the Hot Boys.

Early life

Virgil was born February 8, 1981, in

, to his mother "Gal" and his father Tab Virgil Sr. He grew up in the Magnolia Projects in the Third Ward and attended Fortier High School before dropping out. He was discovered by Birdman rapping with Magnolia Shorty at a block party.

Career

Turk's debut major appearance was on Juvenile's '' 400 Degreez'' (1998) album, guest performing on the songs "Welcome 2 Tha Nolia", " Ha (Hot Boys Remix)", and "Rich Niggaz". Turk's debut studio album, '' Young & Thuggin''' (2001) peaked at number nine on the ''Billboard'' 200. After the split of the Hot Boys in 2001, he departed from Cash Money in 2003 and he signed a recording contract with producer Ke'Noe through his label, Laboratory Recordz. His second and third albums, ''

Raw & Uncut ''Raw & Uncut'' is the second solo studio album by American rapper Turk. It was released on August 12, 2003 via Koch Records, making it his first album for the label after parting ways with Cash Money Records. Production was mainly handled by ...

'' (2003) and ''

Penitentiary Chances Tab Virgil Jr. (born February 8, 1981) better known by his stage name Turk (sometimes "Young Turk" or "Hot Boy Turk" or "CFOTAB"), is an American rapper from New Orleans, Louisiana. He is best known for his late 1990s run at Birdman's Cash Mon ...

'' (2004) were released independently by

Entertainment One Music MNRK Music Group (pronounced "monarch"), formerly known as Koch Records and Entertainment One (eOne) Music/Records, is an American independent record label and music management company based in New York City. It was formed in 1987 as a music div ...

. In 2005, Turk was convicted on federal charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm, a fugitive from justice in possession of a firearm, and an unlawful user addicted to a controlled substance in possession of a firearm. The charges arose from the shooting of a Memphis, Tennessee police officer in early 2004. He was sentenced to 10 years of incarceration. In 2006, he entered an

Alford plea In United States law, an Alford plea, also called a Kennedy plea in West Virginia, an Alford guilty plea, and the Alford doctrine, is a guilty plea in criminal court, whereby a defendant in a criminal case does not admit to the criminal act a ...

in Tennessee state court to second-degree attempted murder, based on the same incident, and was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment. While incarcerated, Ke'Noe released two albums of unreleased Turk recordings titled ''Still A Hot Boy'' and ''Convicted Felons''. The album's profits of were put on Turk's prison books. Turk was released from prison in October 2012 after nine years. In December 2012, Turk released the single "Zip It" featuring

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. He is often regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation, as well as one of the greatest rappers of all ...

. Shortly after, a remix with Juvenile was released. In February 2013, a version with Turk, Wayne, Juvenile and B.G. was released, making it the official Hot Boys reunion song. In 2013, Turk released a mixtape on

SoundCloud SoundCloud is a German audio streaming service owned and operated by SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG. The service enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is ...

, ''Blame It On The System''. In 2023, Turk stated that he changed his stage name to "CFOTAB."

Legal issues

On January 26, 2004, at around 2:00pm local time, dozens of Shelby County Narcotics Officers and

SWAT A SWAT (''Special Weapons and Tactics'') team is a generic term for a police tactical unit within the United States, though the term has also been used by other nations. SWAT units are generally trained, equipped, and deployed to res ...

officers served a search warrant for drugs believed to be inside Turk's apartment in the Hickory Pointe Community in Southeast Memphis. After knocking on the door and identifying themselves led to no response, the officers entered and began searching the apartment. Turk then allegedly shot at them with a 9mm handgun. The officers and SWAT returned fire, engaging in a 15-minute shootout with Turk. Turk finally surrendered to Shelby County officers and the SWAT Team. Turk was charged Wednesday, January 28, 2004, with first-degree attempted murder for allegedly shooting two Memphis, Tennessee Police Officers. In February 2015, Turk filed lawsuit against Cash Money Records for $1.3 million, over unpaid royalties for recordings dating back to 1999, including solo work from his debut ''Young & Thuggin and group, the Hot Boys. The rapper eventually won the suit by default, when Cash Money failed to respond. However, in June 2015, Turk requested that the lawsuit be dismissed after both parties reached an amicable settlement.

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Young & Thuggin''' (2001) * ''

'' (2003) * ''Penitentiary Chances'' (2004) * ''Still A Hot Boy'' (2005) * ''Convicted Felons'' (2006) * ''Rich Thuggin'' (2022)

Collaboration albums

* ''

Get It How U Live! ''Get It How U Live!!'' is the debut album by New Orleans hip-hop group the Hot Boys, released on October 28, 1997, on Cash Money Records. The album sold over 300,000 copies, primarily in New Orleans following B.G.'s success. It peaked at No ...

'' with Hot Boys (1997) * ''

Guerrilla Warfare Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include recruited children, use ambushes, sabotage, terrori ...

'' with Hot Boys (1999) * ''

Baller Blockin' ''Baller Blockin'' is a 2000 Drama (genre), drama film set in New Orleans, Louisiana, New Orleans' Magnolia Projects. It stars Birdman (rapper), Bryan “Birdman” Williams, Ronald "Slim" Williams, Juvenile (rapper), Juvenile, Manuel Vazquez, B. ...

'' with Cash Money Millionaires (2000) * '' Let 'Em Burn'' with Hot Boys (2003)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Turk 1981 births 20th-century American musicians African-American male rappers 20th-century American male rappers American prisoners and detainees Cash Money Records artists Living people Rappers from New Orleans African-American male singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters Gangsta rappers Rap-A-Lot Records artists 21st-century American rappers 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American musicians American rappers Musicians from New Orleans Musicians from Louisiana Hot Boys members 20th-century American singers Cash Money Millionaires members 21st-century American singers