Dwight Equan Grant (born March 6, 1974), better known by his stage name Beanie Sigel, is an American rapper from

South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street (Philadelphia), South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south and the Schuylkill River to the west.Jay-Z and

Roc-A-Fella Records Roc-A-Fella Records was an American hip hop record label and music management company founded by record executives and entrepreneurs Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, Damon "Dame" Dash, and Kareem "Biggs" Burke in 1994. History 1994–2000: Formation ...

, releasing his debut studio album ''

The Truth The Truth may refer to: Film * ''The Truth'' (1920 film) starring Madge Kennedy * ''The Truth'' (1960 film) or ''La Vérité'', a French film by Henri-Georges Clouzot starring Brigitte Bardot * ''The Truth'' (1988 film), a Hong Kong trial crim ...

'' through Roc-A-Fella in February 2000 to critical and commercial success. Sigel's second studio album, '' The Reason'', saw similar commercial success, but received mixed reviews from critics. His third album, '' The B. Coming'', was critically acclaimed and peaked at number 3 on the

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of ar ...

. After a short break from music, Sigel returned to Roc-A-Fella in 2007 and released his fourth studio album '' The Solution'' in December 2007 to positive reviews. After leaving Roc-A-Fella once again, Sigel's fifth and sixth studio albums, ''

The Broad Street Bully ''The Broad Street Bully'' is the fifth studio album by rapper Beanie Sigel Dwight Equan Grant (born March 6, 1974), better known by his stage name Beanie Sigel, is an American rapper from South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He first became kn ...

'' and '' This Time'' were released independently in 2009 and 2012, respectively. Sigel is also known for his numerous legal issues, including a trial for attempted murder that took place between 2004 and 2005, and eventually lead to Sigel's acquittal.

Music career

Roc-A-Fella and Def Jam years (1999–2006)

released Beanie Sigel's debut album, ''

'' on February 29, 2000, to critical and commercial success. In 2002, Sigel and much of the Roc-A-Fella roster starred in ''

State Property State ownership, also called government ownership and public ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, or enterprise by the state or a public body representing a community, as opposed to an individual or private party. Public ownershi ...

''. Its release coincided with the creation and promotion of

, a group of Philadelphia artists signed to Roc-A-Fella, who were organized by Sigel and

Freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...

. Its members included

Peedi Crakk Pedro Louis Zayas (born September 25, 1977), known as Peedi Crakk and Peedi Peedi, is an American rapper of Puerto Rican descent. He is a member of State Property and is currently signed to Amalgam Digital and G-Unit Philly. Career The North ...

, the

Young Gunz Young Gunz is an American hip hop duo from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, composed of rappers Young Chris (born Chris Ries in 1983) and Neef Buck (born Hanif Muhammad in 1983). The group is part of Beanie Sigel's State Property collective and wa ...

( Neef Buck &

Young Chris Christopher Francis Ries (born March 9, 1983), known professionally as Young Chris, is an American rapper. He is a member of Philadelphia rap duo Young Gunz alongside his childhood friend, rapper Neef Buck, signed to Roc-A-Fella Records. The duo ...

), Oschino and

Omillio Sparks Kenneth Johnson (born October 17, 1977) better known by his stage name Omillio Sparks is an American rapper from West Philadelphia. Discography Sparks started his career off as a member of State Property and signed a recording contract with Jay ...

. Their first collaboration was for the movie's soundtrack, an eponymous release that featured the original "

Roc the Mic "Roc the Mic" is the first single to be released from the soundtrack of the 2002 crime film '' State Property'' and was performed by Beanie Sigel and Freeway. The single was so far the highest-charting single from both rappers making it to #55 on ...

" by Sigel and Freeway. 2003's ''

The Chain Gang Vol. 2 ''The Chain Gang Vol. 2'' is the second studio album by rap group State Property (group), State Property. It was released in August 2003 to positive reviews. Young Gunz' "Can't Stop, Won't Stop (Young Gunz song), Can't Stop Won't Stop" was later ...

'' followed, featuring the single " Can't Stop, Won't Stop" by the Young Gunz. The record was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. In 2005, before serving a one-year prison sentence stemming from an earlier arrest, Sigel shot multiple videos, directed by Joe Briscella, and finished his third album '' The B. Coming''. During this time, Sigel's label head at Roc-A-Fella, Jay-Z, became president of its parent label, Def Jam, which caused former business partners Damon Dash and Kareem "Biggs" Burke to leave and form the Dame Dash Music Group. Dame Dash Music Group and Def Jam released Sigel's ''The B. Coming'' rather than Roc-A-Fella, but it still contained production from a slew of Roc/Jay Z-affiliated producers including Chad West,

The Neptunes The Neptunes are an American songwriting and production duo composed of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1992. Williams often provides additional vocals on records and appears in the duo's music videos ...

, Just Blaze, Boola, and Buckwild. Sigel recruited cross–label MC talent for his album as well, including Cam'ron and Jay-Z. Sigel's record produced a hit track, " Feel It in the Air", and sold 131,000 copies in its first week. Advertising his friendship with the incarcerated Sigel, Dash publicly claimed that he was leaving the Roc-A-Fella roster to join him. Sigel's group, State Property was thrown into turmoil, but eventually chose to remain at Roc-A-Fella—apparently against Sigel's wishes. On his release, Sigel questioned the loyalty of his group and said that he was signing with Dame and Biggs due to a stronger relationship with the pair than with Jay-Z:

I've never been around Jay on an off day. It ain't like I made a choice of running with Dame and Biggs or 'Dame and Biggs held me down through my whole trial.' It's not that. I would be a sucker if I said I igned with the Damon Dash Music Groupbecause they did that for me. It's love. You see how we chillin' now, this ain't about no business.

Soon after, he clarified his comments, saying he simply did not want to be involved in the conflict, and elected to re-open talks with Roc-A-Fella instead of moving to Dame Dash Music Group. In 2006, Sigel re-signed with Roc-A-Fella Records and started recording for his fourth studio album '' The Solution''.Bill Heinzelman (April 23, 2007)
Beanie Sigel Streets On Lock
'' XXL''. Accessed November 21, 2007. On October 29, 2007, Sigel released the first single from '' The Solution'' titled "All The Above" which featured

R. Kelly Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and sex offender convicted of racketeering and multiple sex offenses. During his recording career, Kelly sold over 75 million records worldwi ...

. It debuted on the U.S. R&B charts at number 83. On May 22, 2007, Sigel released '' The Solution'' which debuted on the

Billboard charts The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in '' Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

at number 37.

Post Roc-A-Fella (2007–present)

In 2009, Sigel released his first independent album ''

'' after his contracts with Roc-A-Fella Records and

Def Jam Records Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The l ...

had expired. Sigel announced in 2010 he was working on his sixth studio album titled ''The Closure'' which was to be released on

Universal Republic Republic Records is a New York City–based American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). It was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially an ...

and

G-Unit Records G-Unit Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group. Founded in 2002 by rapper 50 Cent, for the first eleven years of operation, G-Unit ran in conjunction with, and was distributed by, Interscope Records. In February 2014, ...

. However, on May 31, 2011, Sigel cancelled the album and retired from the music industry for two weeks before deciding to return and work on the album again, re-titling it ''The Classic''. In 2011 Sigel signed with 50 Cent's subsidiary label G-Unit Philly and renewed his 2009 contract with

. On July 13, 2011, Sigel released his first single from the album titled "B-Boy Stance". On March 30, 2012, Sigel told

Statik Selektah Static may refer to: Places *Static Nunatak, a nunatak in Antarctica United States * Static, Kentucky and Tennessee * Static Peak, a mountain in Wyoming **Static Peak Divide, a mountain pass near the peak Science and technology Physics *Static e ...

Shade 45 Shade 45 is American rapper Eminem's hip-hop station on Sirius XM Radio channel 45 and Dish Network channel 6045. History Eminem established his own channel, Shade 45, that plays uncut hip hop. Eminem also established a new morning show, ''Sway ...

that he would be working on a collaborative album with his longtime close friend, the

Southern rap Southern hip hop, also known as Southern rap, South Coast hip hop, or dirty south, is a blanket term for a regional genre of American hip hop music that emerged in the Southern United States, especially in Atlanta, New Orleans, Houston, Memph ...

veteran Scarface; the album was to be entitled ''Mac and Brad''. Scarface tweeted the announcement at the same time via mobile. On that same day, while distribution deals with E1, The Orchard, and

Asylum Asylum may refer to: Types of asylum * Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome * Benevolent Asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute * Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea ...

were on the table, Sigel also decided to sign a distribution deal with

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

after one of his mutual friends garnered the interest of Chris Schwartz. Under Schwartz's guidance, Sigel released a new mixtape, followed by his studio album '' This Time''.

Acting career

Sigel first appeared in the documentary '' Backstage,'' but his first main role was in the movie ''

'' which spawned a sequel ''

State Property 2 ''State Property 2'' is a 2005 American crime film directed by Damon Dash and produced and distributed by Lionsgate Entertainment. A sequel to 2002's '' State Property'', the film stars rap artists and other musicians such as Cam'ron, The Diplo ...

''. He also appeared along with

Kevin Hart Kevin Darnell Hart (born July 6, 1979) is an American comedian and actor. Originally known as a stand-up comedian, he has since starred in Hollywood films and on TV. He has also released several well-received comedy albums. After winning se ...

in the 2002 film ''

Paper Soldiers ''Paper Soldiers'' is a 2002 American urban crime comedy film. This hip-hop comedy from Roc-A-Fella's film division stars Kevin Hart (in his film debut), Beanie Sigel, and Stacey Dash. Rapper Jay-Z appears in a cameo role. Hart plays the charact ...

''. Sigel released a DVD shortly after his third solo release ''The B. Coming'' titled ''The B. Coming of Beanie Sigel'' in 2005. In 2006, Sigel was interviewed in the ''Rap Sheet: Hip-Hop and the Cops'' documentary, which exposed rappers to the dossiers maintained by NYPD as part of their effort to surveil hip-hop artists and executives. He also auditioned for the lead role in the 2009 film '' Notorious''. Sigel appeared in the 2011 film ''Rhyme and Punishment'' a documentary about hip hop artists who have served time in county jail or state/federal prison. The film features an interview with Sigel in which he discusses his conviction and life while incarcerated.

Controversy

Jay-Z

Sigel recorded a song dissing his former boss and mentor Jay-Z on the track "I Go Off" with 50 Cent who had signed him to his G-Unit Records label in 2009. On May 31, 2011, it was reported that Sigel had apologized to Jay-Z. However, in an interview with

DJ Green Lantern James Christopher D'Agostino (born July 7, 1975), professionally known as DJ Green Lantern, is an American hip hop DJ and producer from Rochester, New York. In 2002, D'Agostino was signed by American rapper Eminem, to become the official DJ for S ...

, he said that he had never "apologized" to Jay-Z, and that he was still making music. In 2015, Sigel and Jay-Z reunited at the

Tidal Tidal is the adjectival form of tide. Tidal may also refer to: * ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple * Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim * TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music * Tidal (servic ...

B-Sides Concert and performed together, ending the feud.

Jadakiss

During the beginning of the new millennium, Sigel and various other Roc artists engaged in a conflict with artists from the

Ruff Ryders Ruff Ryders Entertainment is an American hip hop record label and management company founded by siblings and record executives Joaquin "Waah", Darin "Dee" and Chivon Dean. It operated as a subsidiary of Universal, and distributed by Fontana Dist ...

. Sigel publicly decried

Jadakiss Jason Terrance Phillips (born May 27, 1975), better known by his stage name Jadakiss, is an American rapper from Yonkers, New York. He began his career in the 1990s as a member of the rap trio The Lox, managed by Ruff Ryders and signed with B ...

, the rest of

The LOX The Lox (stylized The LOX or The L.O.X.) is an American hip hop group from Yonkers, New York, formed in 1994. The group is composed of East Coast rappers Sheek Louch, Styles P and Jadakiss. They had originally signed to Puff Daddy's Bad Boy ...

and DMX. Although Sigel and Jadakiss both denied any violent intent, they continued to exchange criticism until Sigel put out a freestyle rap over Jadakiss' hit "Put Ya Hands Up".

Meek Mill

On September 26, 2016, Sigel and

Meek Mill Robert Rihmeek Williams (born May 6, 1987), known professionally as Meek Mill, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he embarked on his music career as a battle rapper, and later formed a short-lived rap group, ...

, a former friend and neighbor, got into an altercation when Sigel ridiculed Mill's intelligence as well as claiming to be "the ruler of all of Philly" during a radio interview. Minutes after the interview, someone who was believed to have been one of Meek Mill's affiliates, punched Sigel on the back of his head. Three days later, Mill criticized Sigel via Instagram. He also dissed Sigel again in a freestyle on

Funkmaster Flex Aston George Taylor Jr. (born August 5, 1968), professionally known as Funkmaster Flex, is an American DJ, rapper, record producer, and host on New York City's Hot 97 radio station. In 1992, he became host of the first hip hop radio show on Hot 9 ...

's radio show. Sigel responded by releasing his own diss track titled "I'm Coming".

Personal life

Religion

Sigel is a Muslim.

Legal issues

In 2002, Sigel was arrested and charged with a federal weapons charge in

West Philadelphia West Philadelphia, nicknamed West Philly, is a section of the city of Philadelphia. Alhough there are no officially defined boundaries, it is generally considered to reach from the western shore of the Schuylkill River, to City Avenue to the nort ...

. He would later serve a year in federal prison. Sigel was arrested in January 2003 after allegedly punching a 53-year-old man in the face, fracturing his eye socket. On July 3, 2003, Sigel turned himself in to Philadelphia police and was charged with attempted murder after allegedly firing six shots from a 9 mm handgun at a club door, injuring two people. He was also charged with aggravated assault, simple assault and possession of a criminal instrument. His first trial ended in a

hung jury A hung jury, also called a deadlocked jury, is a judicial jury that cannot agree upon a verdict after extended deliberation and is unable to reach the required unanimity or supermajority. Hung jury usually results in the case being tried again. T ...

. A second trial resulted in a not-guilty verdict. In 2004, Sigel was convicted of federal weapons charges and sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison. Sigel was shot multiple times during a robbery in Philadelphia on May 25, 2006. He was able to flee the scene and drive himself to a local hospital. This was one month after being released from prison after serving a brief stint for child support charges. On August 15, 2009, Sigel was arrested on a drug possession charge while traveling to a concert in New Jersey. He was found in possession of nearly of marijuana in his vehicle. Sigel was charged in 2010 with three counts of failing to file tax returns on income of over $1 million between 2003 and 2005. He pled guilty to the charges and was sentenced to 25 months in prison. On August 29, 2012, two weeks before reporting to prison, Sigel was arrested again in Philadelphia on drug, weapons, and conspiracy charges after being pulled over by police. Officers found a fully loaded .38-caliber

Smith & Wesson Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. (S&W) is an American firearm manufacturer headquartered in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States. Smith & Wesson was founded by Horace Smith and Daniel B. Wesson as the "Smith & Wesson Revolver Company" in 1856 ...

handgun inside the vehicle, as well as $4,500 in cash, an unlabeled bottle of codeine cough syrup, and various pills. Sigel began his 24-month sentence for failing to file tax returns at the

Federal Detention Center, Philadelphia The Federal Detention Center (FDC Philadelphia) is a United States Federal prison in Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania which holds male and female inmates prior to or during court proceedings, as well as inmates serving brief sentences. I ...

on September 12, 2012. Additionally, he was sentenced six to 23 months in county jail for illegal possession of prescription drugs, to be served concurrently with his federal sentence. On August 14, 2014, Sigel was released from

Federal Correctional Institution, Schuylkill The Federal Correctional Institution, Schuylkill (FCI Schuylkill) is a medium-security United States federal prison for male inmates in Pennsylvania. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Ju ...

and was reported to be serving out the rest of his sentence in a

halfway house A halfway house is an institute for people with criminal backgrounds or substance use disorder problems to learn (or relearn) the necessary skills to re-integrate into society and better support and care for themselves. As well as serving as a ...

in Philadelphia. Sigel was wounded in a drive-by shooting outside his Pleasantville, New Jersey home on December 5, 2014. He was rushed to the hospital where he had a lung removed due to complications during surgery. According to police, Sigel was not the intended victim.

Discography

;Studio albums * ''

'' (2000) * '' The Reason'' (2001) * '' The B. Coming'' (2005) * '' The Solution'' (2007) * ''

'' (2009) * '' This Time'' (2012) ;Collaboration albums * '' State Property OST'' (with

) (2002) * ''

'' (with

) (2003) * ''

The Roc Boys ''The Roc Boys'' is a collaborative studio album by State Property members Beanie Sigel and Freeway. The album was released on March 9, 2010. The album features guest appearances from Young Chris, Young Gunz, State Property, Jakk Frost, Wale and ...

'' (with

) (2010)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sigel, Beanie 1974 births Living people African-American male rappers African-American Muslims American people convicted of drug offenses American prisoners and detainees American shooting survivors American Sunni Muslims Def Jam Recordings artists East Coast hip hop musicians Gangsta rappers Rappers from Philadelphia Roc-A-Fella Records artists Ruffhouse Records artists State Property (group) members 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians People acquitted of attempted murder American people convicted of tax crimes 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American people