Lamont Jody Hawkins (born November 10, 1970), better known by his stage name U-God, meaning Universal-God, 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 ...

and member of the

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

collective

Wu-Tang Clan Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop collective formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its members include RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and, until his death in 2004, O ...

. He has been with the group since its inception, and is known for his deep voice and rhythmic flow that can alternate between gruff and smooth.

Early life

Hawkins was born in Brownsville,

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 ...

, on November 10, 1970. He moved to

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

as a youth. He was originally a beatboxer for Cappadonna, and was friends with future members

Method Man Clifford Smith, Jr. (born March 2, 1971), known professionally as Method Man, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. He is a member of the East Coast hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan, and is half of the hip hop duo Method Man & R ...

, Inspectah Deck and childhood friend of

Raekwon Corey Woods (born January 12, 1970), better known by his stage name Raekwon ( ), is an American rapper. He rose to prominence as a founding member of the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, which achieved mainstream success following the release of the ...

. Sometime before the members united, U-God was mentored in rap by Cappadonna. He soon became friends with RZA and

Ghostface Killah Dennis David Coles (born May 9, 1970), better known by his stage name Ghostface Killah, is an American rapper and a member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. After the group achieved breakthrough success in the aftermath of ''Enter the Wu-Tang ...

, and he began rhyming under the alias Golden Arms, based on the Kung-Fu movie '' Kid with the Golden Arm''. Later on he changed his name to U-God (which is short for his

Five-Percent Nation The Five-Percent Nation, sometimes referred to as the Nation of Gods and Earths (NGE/NOGE) or the Five Percenters, is an Black nationalism, Afro-American Nationalist movement influenced by the Nation of Islam founded in 1964 in the Harlem secti ...

righteous name "Universal God Allah").

Career

''Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)'' / ''Wu-Tang Forever''

U-God was convicted on the grounds of

firearm A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions). The first firearms originate ...

and

drug possession The prohibition of drugs through sumptuary legislation or religious law is a common means of attempting to prevent the recreational use of certain intoxicating substances. An area has a prohibition of drugs when its government uses the for ...

charges on April 17, 1992, and was paroled in January 1993. His incarceration prevented him from attending the group's debut album '' Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)'' recording sessions for the most part, his input on the seminal LP consisting of only a short

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

on the group's debut single " Protect Ya Neck" as well as the fan-favorite opening verse of "Da Mystery of Chessboxin'". Nevertheless, after his release, he quickly became known to fans for his rugged flow and bass-like voice on Wu tracks such as "Winter Warz", "Knuckleheadz", "Investigative Reports", and "Black Jesus". He was featured heavily on the group's second album '' Wu-Tang Forever'', on which he was one of only four of the group to get a solo track – "Black Shampoo" (the others being Inspectah Deck with "The City", RZA with "Sunshower" and

Ol' Dirty Bastard Russell Tyrone Jones (November 15, 1968 – November 13, 2004), known professionally as Ol' Dirty Bastard (often abbreviated as ODB), was an American rapper. He was one of the founding members of the New York rap group Wu-Tang Clan, which forme ...

with "Dog Shit").

''Golden Arms Redemption''

U-God was the eighth member of the group to record a solo album, releasing '' Golden Arms Redemption'' in 1999 on Priority Records, which displayed a wide variety of sounds from gritty

blaxploitation In American cinema, Blaxploitation is the film subgenre of action movie derived from the exploitation film genre in the early 1970s, consequent to the combined cultural momentum of the black civil rights movement, the black power movement, ...

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

to urgent string sections, and featured guest appearances from several Wu-Tang members and affiliates. It had two singles in "Dat's Gangsta" and "Bizarre". The song "Rumble" was used as the main song for the video game '' Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style''. Bizarre debuted #7 on the ''Billboard''

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 ...

, but soon after Priority Records was on the verge of shutting down. Still, the album managed to go Gold in sales. Based on the initial success, U-God was able to open his own label, Suppa Nigga Productions. He released his second album '' Mr. Xcitement'' in 2005.

''Dopium'' and ''The Keynote Speaker''

In 2009, U-God released the album '' Dopium'' and had the lead single "Wu-Tang" featuring

. The album featured guest appearances by Sheek Louch,

Jim Jones James Warren Jones (May 13, 1931 – November 18, 1978) was an American cult leader, preacher and mass murderer who founded and led the Peoples Temple between 1955 and 1978. Jones and the members of his inner circle planned and orchestrat ...

GZA Gary Eldridge Grice (born August 22, 1966), better known by his stage names GZA ( ) and the Genius, is an American rapper. A founding member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan, GZA is the group's "spiritual head", being both the first member in ...

, Cappadonna, Killah Priest and Scotty Wotty with production by Bloody Beat Roots, Felix Cartel and Large Professor. In 2013 U-God announced a new album '' The Keynote Speaker'' with production by RZA who also served as the albums executive producer. The album was released on July 23, 2013, by RZA's Soul Temple Records with guest appearances from Styles P,

Kool Keith Keith Matthew Thornton (born October 7, 1963), known professionally as Kool Keith, is an American rapper and record producer known for his surreal, abstract, and often profane or incomprehensible lyrics. Kool Keith has recorded prolifically both ...

, RZA,

and Inspectah Deck.

''Venom'' and autobiographical book

On December 13, 2016, U-God released through Babygrande Records'

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 ...

account a song "Venom" and announced that his new album, also called ''

Venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...

'', would be released soon. On September 25, 2017, he added a tweet in which he announced that he had finished his

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

entitled '' Raw: My Journey Into The Wu-Tang'' and it would be released along with his new album in March 2018. On February 2, 2018, he released a free mixtape ''Bring Back God II'' through DatPiff platform. ''Venom'' was released on March 30, 2018 and debuted at #34 on the U.S. Rap Albums Chart.

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Golden Arms Redemption'' (1999) * '' Mr. Xcitement'' (2005) * '' Dopium'' (2009) * '' The Keynote Speaker'' (2013) * ''

'' (2018)

Collaboration albums

* '' UGodz-Illa Presents: The Hillside Scramblers'' with The Hillside Scramblers (2004)

Personal life

Around the time of ''Wu Tang Forever'', his two-year-old son Dontae (now a hip-hop artist as iNTeLL) was struck by a stray bullet while on his way to a birthday party, suffering permanent damage to his kidneys and hands, an ordeal U-God documented on the Wu-Tang Clan track "A Better Tomorrow".

Bibliography

References

External links

*
NPR interview, March 2018
{{Authority control 1970 births Living people 21st-century American rappers African-American male rappers 20th-century American male rappers American people convicted of drug offenses East Coast hip-hop musicians Five percenters Rappers from Brooklyn People from Brownsville, Brooklyn Priority Records artists Wu-Tang Clan members