BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY Lamont Jody Hawkins[1] (born November 11, 1970),[2] better known as U-God (short for Universal God), is an American rapper and member of the hip hop collective, Wu-Tang Clan. He has been wit
h the group since its inception, and is known for having a deep, rhythmic flow that can alternate between being gruff or smooth.
Early life
Hawkins was born in Brownsville, Brooklyn, New York. However he moved to Staten Island as a youth. He was originally a beatboxer for Cappadonna, as well as being well known friends with future members Method Man, Inspectah Deck and childhood friendRaekwon. Sometime before the members united, U-God was mentored in rap by Cappadonna. He soon became friends with RZA andGhostface Killah, 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 "Universal God of Law").[3][4]
Music career
Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) / Wu-Tang Forever
U-God was convicted of criminal possession of controlled substance on April 17, 1992 and was paroled on January 1993.[2] His incarceration prevented him from featuring heavily on the group's debut album Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), his input on the seminal LP consisting of only a short bridge on the groups debut single "Protect Ya Neck" as well as the now-famous 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 groups second album Wu-Tang Forever, on which he was one of only four of the group to get a solo track - "Black Shampoo" (While the others being Inspectah Deck with "The City", RZA with "Sunshower" and Ol' Dirty Bastard with "Dog Shit"). Around this time his young son was accidentally shot and injured, an ordeal the rapper documented on the Wu-Tang Clan track A Better Tomorrow.
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 funk 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, 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 his latest album Dopium and had the lead single "Wu-Tang" featuring Method Man. The album featured guest appearances by Sheek Louch, Jim Jones,Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, GZA, Cappadonna, Method Man, 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, Method Man, RZA, GZA and Inspectah Deck.[5]
Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B | US Rap | |||||||||||
| Golden Arms Redemption |
| 58 | 15 | — | |||||||||
| Mr. Xcitement |
| — | — | — | |||||||||
| Dopium |
| — | 93 | — | |||||||||
| The Keynote Speaker |
| — | 58 | 40 | |||||||||
| "—" denotes a title that did not chart, or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||
Collaborative albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B | US Rap | |||||||||||
| U-Godzilla Presents the Hillside Scramblers (with The Hillside Scramblers) |
| — | — | — | |||||||||
| "—" denotes a title that did not chart, or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||
Singles
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B | US Rap | ||||||||||
| "Dat's Gangsta" | 1999 | — | — | — | Golden Arms Redemption | |||||||
| "Bizarre" | — | — | — | |||||||||
| "Supa Nigga" | 2002 | — | — | — | N/A | |||||||
| "Wildstyle Superfreak" | — | — | — | |||||||||
| "Bump" | 2005 | — | — | — | Mr. Xcitement | |||||||
| "You Don't Want To Dance" | — | — | — | |||||||||
| "Takem Home" | 2007 | — | — | — | N/A | |||||||
| "Train Trussle" (featuring Ghostface Killah and Scotty Wotty) | 2009 | — | — | — | Dopium | |||||||
| "Wu-Tang" (featuring Method Man) | — | — | — | |||||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||
Guest appearances
| Title | Year | Other artist(s) | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Knuckleheadz" | 1995 | Raekwon, Ghostface Killah | Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... |
| "Killa Hill Niggaz" | Cypress Hill, RZA | Cypress Hill III: Temples of Boom | |
| "Investigative Reports" | GZA, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah | Liquid Swords | |
| "Black Jesus" | 1996 | Ghostface Killah, Popa Wu, Raekwon | Ironman |
| "Winter Warz" | Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, Masta Killa, Cappadonna | ||
| "If It's Allright With You" | Cappadonna | The Great White Hype | |
| "Semi-Automatic Full Rap Metal Jacket" | Streetlife | High School High | |
| "Intellectuals" | 1997 | Sunz of Man, 60 Second Assassin, Hell Razah, Raekwon | The Last Shall Be First |
| "Supa Ninjaz" | 1998 | Cappadonna, Method Man | The Pillage |
| "Element Of Surprise" | La the Darkman, Masta Killa | Heist of the Century | |
| "Grand Prix" | 1999 | Inspectah Deck, Streetlife | Uncontrolled Substance |
| "Longevity" | Inspectah Deck | ||
| "Mr. Onsomeothershits" | Methods of Mayhem | Methods of Mayhem | |
| "No Exit" | Blondie, Inspectah Deck, Mobb Deep | No Exit | |
| "Cherchez La Ghost" | 2000 | Ghostface Killah, Madam | Supreme Clientele |
| "Militant" | 2001 | Killarmy | Fear, Love & War |
| "Always NY" | 2003 | Mathematics, Masta Killa, Inspectah Deck, Buddah Bless, Icarus Da Don | Love, Hell & Right |
| "Digi Warfare" | 2004 | Masta Killa, RZA | No Said Date |
| "Rock Steady" | Tony Touch, Method Man, Raekwon | The Piece Maker 2 | |
| "Break That" | 2005 | Mathematics, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Masta Killa | The Problem |
| "Spot Lite" | Mathematics, Method Man, Inspectah Deck, Cappadonna | ||
| "Still Grimey" | Sean Price, Prodigal Sunn, C-Rayz Walz | Wu-Tang Meets the Indie Culture | |
| "No More Tearz" | 2006 | Soular Winds | The Quiet Americans |
| "9 Milli Bros." | Ghostface Killah, Wu-Tang Clan | Fishscale | |
| "Handle That" | Inspectah Deck, Hugh Hef | The Resident Patient | |
| "Iron God Chamber" | Masta Killa, RZA, Method Man, Masta Killa | Made in Brooklyn | |
| "The Glide" | Method Man, Raekwon, La the Darkman | 4:21... The Day After | |
| "Rec Room Therapy" | 2007 | Ghostface Killah, Raekwon | The Big Doe Rehab |
| "Kill Too Hard" | 2009 | Inspectah Deck, Masta Ace | Wu-Tang Chamber Music |
| "Sound The Horns" | Inspectah Deck, Sadat X | ||
| "Cipher Born" | Raekwon, Ghostface Killah | Cuban Revoloution | |
| "Ghetto" | 2010 | Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, Cappadonna | Apollo Kids |
| "Doin' Nothin" | 2011 | Blu | York |
| "Never Feel This Pain" | Inspectah Deck, Tre Williams | Legendary Weapons | |
| "225 Rounds" | Cappadonna, RZA, Bronze Nazareth | ||
| "Rivers of Blood" | 2012 | Wu-Tang Clan, Kool G Rap | The Man with the Iron Fists |
| "Six Directions of Boxing" | Wu-Tang Clan | ||
| "Blood on the Cobblestones" | 2013 | Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck | Twelve Reasons to Die |
| "Murder Spree" | Ghostface Killah, Masta Killa, Inspectah Deck, Killa Sin |
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