Vince Edwards (September 9, 1963 – January 12, 2022) professionally known by his

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

CPO Boss Hogg, was an American rapper from

Compton, California Compton is a city in southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, situated south of downtown Los Angeles. Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county and, on May 11, 1888, was the eighth city in Los Angeles County to incorporat ...

. He began his career as a founding member of the hip hop group

Capital Punishment Organization CPO (an abbreviation of Capital Punishment Organization) was an American hip hop group from Compton, California, founded in 1989 by rapper Vince "Lil' Nation" Edwards and DJ Clarence "D.J. Train" Lars, and enlisted producer Daron "Young D" Sa ...

in 1989 under the moniker Lil' Nation. The group released their only album before splitting up in 1991. Afterwards Edwards continued his career as a solo artist, featuring on several high-profile albums.

Career

In a 2016 interview, Edwards stated George Clinton,

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

Barry White Barry Eugene Carter (September 12, 1944 – July 4, 2003), better known by his stage name Barry White, was an American singer and songwriter. A two-time Grammy Award winner known for his bass voice and romantic image, his greatest success came ...

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

(and

The Jackson 5 The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...

Chuck D Carlton Douglas Ridenhour (born August 1, 1960), known professionally as Chuck D, is an American rapper, best known as the leader and frontman of the hip hop group Public Enemy, which he co-founded in 1985 with Flavor Flav. Chuck D helped creat ...

KRS-One Lawrence "Kris" Parker (born August 20, 1965), better known by his stage names KRS-One (; an abbreviation of "Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone") and Teacha, is an American rapper from New York City. He rose to prominence as part of ...

LL Cool J James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, along ...

MC Ren Lorenzo Jerald Patterson (born June 16, 1969), better known by his stage name MC Ren, is an American rapper, songwriter and record producer from Compton, California. He is the founder and owner of the record label Villain Entertainment. MC Ren ...

Ice Cube An ice cube is a small piece of ice, which is typically rectangular as viewed from above and trapezoidal as viewed from the side. Ice cubes are products of mechanical refrigeration and are usually produced to cool beverages. They may be produc ...

, and

The D.O.C. Tracy Lynn Curry (born June 10, 1968), better known as The D.O.C., is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. In addition to a solo career, he was a member of the Southern hip hop group Fila Fresh Crew and later collaborated with ga ...

as his favorite and influential musicians. Edwards was discovered by

, who helped him to make a deal with

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

. Ren also produced

C.P.O. The Congregation of Pious Workers Rural Catechists or Ardorini Missionaries (in Latin ''Congregatio Piorum Operariorum Catechistarum Ruralium'') are a Roman Catholic religious order. They use the post-nominal initials P.O.C.R.''Ann. Pont. 2010'', p ...

's debut album ''

To Hell and Black ''To Hell and Black'' is the debut and only studio album by American hip hop group Capital Punishment Organization. It was released through Capitol Records on August 7, 1990, and featured its two lead singles " Ballad of a Menace" and "This Beat ...

'' and got Eazy and

Dre DRE may refer to: * ''Dre'' (album), 2010 by American rapper Soulja Boy Tell 'Em, 2010 * Dre (name) **Dr. Dre, American rapper and producer * DRE voting machine * Digital rectal examination, in medicine * Director of religious education; for exam ...

featured in the music video for its lead single " Ballad Of A Menace". Edwards made his guest appearance on the song "Findum. Fuckem, And Flee" from

N.W.A N.W.A (an abbreviation for Niggaz Wit Attitudes) was an American hip hop group whose members were among the earliest and most significant popularizers and controversial figures of the gangsta rap subgenre, and the group is widely considered ...

's final album. After C.P.O. and N.W.A. had disbanded, Edwards was signed to

Death Row Records Death Row Records is an American record label that was founded in 1991 by The D.O.C., Dr. Dre, Suge Knight, and Dick Griffey. The label became a sensation by releasing multi-platinum hip-hop albums by West Coast-based artists such as Dr. Dre ('' ...

. He appeared on ''Above The Rim OST'' with "Jus So Ya No" and on '' Murder Was The Case OST'' with Slip Capone "The Eulogy". Edwards' biggest feature was with

Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the Li ...

on the track "Picture Me Rollin" from 'Pac's ''

All Eyez on Me ''All Eyez on Me'' is the fourth studio album by American rapper 2Pac and the last to be released during his lifetime. Released on February 13, 1996, by Death Row and Interscope Records, the album features guest appearances from Dr. Dre, Snoo ...

'' album in 1996. CPO left Death Row for

Priority Records Priority Records is an American distribution company and record label known for artists including N.W.A, Ice-T, Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, Big L, Silkk the Shocker and Westside Connection. It also distributed hip hop record labels including Death Row R ...

and made his guest appearances on Snoop-affiliated ''Tha Eastsidaz'', ''Bones OST'', and ''

The Return of the Regulator ''The Return of the Regulator'' is the fourth studio album by Warren G. The album can be considered a return to G-funk, the roots of West Coast hip hop, west coast gangsta rap, gangsta music, but it sold less than the rapper's two previous album ...

''. In 2012, Edwards founded his independent record label Tilted Brimm Entertainment Group, LLC. Since 2013, CPO Boss Hogg announced that he was working on new material for his sophomore album release titled ''I, Boss.'' He dropped his first single off of it, "Your Body Is Hot!", on August 19, 2014.

Personal life and death

Edwards had a daughter named Mikki. In April 2010, Edwards suffered a heart attack. Edwards died on January 12, 2022, at the age of 58.Vince Edwards
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Discography

* ''

'' (1990)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:CPO Boss Hogg 1963 births 2022 deaths 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American rappers African-American male rappers American male rappers G-funk artists Musicians from Compton, California Priority Records artists Rappers from Los Angeles Songwriters from California Gangsta rappers Death Row Records artists African-American songwriters