Germaine Williams (born December 9, 1974), better known by his stage name Canibus, is an American

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

and actor. He initially gained fame in the 1990s for his ability to freestyle, and eventually released his debut album Can-I-Bus in 1998. Since releasing his debut album, Canibus has gone on to release 13 solo studio albums in total, as well as multiple collaboration albums and EPs with other rappers as a member of

the Four Horsemen The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are figures in the Christian scriptures, first appearing in the Book of Revelation, a piece of apocalypse literature written by John of Patmos. Revelation 6 tells of a book or scroll in God's right hand th ...

, Refugee Camp All-Stars, Sharpshooterz, Cloak N Dagga, the Undergods and one-half of T.H.E.M. About.com placed him at number 32 on their list of the "Top 50 MCs of Our Time (1987–2007)", while in 2012 ''

The Source ''The Source'' is an American hip hop and entertainment website, and a magazine that publishes annually or . It is the world's longest-running rap periodical, being founded as a newsletter in 1988 by Jonathan Shecter. David Mays was the ma ...

'' placed him number 44 on their list of the Top 50 Lyricists of All Time.

Early life

Germaine Williams was born on December 9, 1974, in

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley Inte ...

. He is of Jamaican descent. allmusic ((( Canibus > Biography ))) Allmusic. Accessed February 22, 2008. His father, Basil Williams, was a Jamaican and

West Indian A West Indian is a native or inhabitant of the West Indies (the Antilles and the Lucayan Archipelago). For more than 100 years the words ''West Indian'' specifically described natives of the West Indies, but by 1661 Europeans had begun to use it ...

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

er. The family moved frequently, living in

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...

;

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat, seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County and the second largest city within the New Yo ...

; Washington, D.C.;

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

;

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

; Buffalo; and

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Millner, Denene (September 18, 1998)
The Canndy Canibus Rapper's No Dope, As Rep Goes From Bad To Verser With Release of his First Solo Album
. The ''Daily News''. Accessed February 22, 2008. due to his mother's career requiring constant relocation. Canibus stated that he was an introverted child growing up.Johnson Jr, Billy (February 16, 1999)
A World Wide Phenomenon
Yahoo! Music. Accessed February 22, 2008. After completing high school in 1992, he spent a year working for

AT&T Corporation AT&T Corporation, originally the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is the subsidiary of AT&T Inc. that provides voice, video, data, and Internet telecommunications and professional services to businesses, consumers, and government agen ...

and another year as a data analyst for the U.S. Department of Justice. His interest in computers and the Internet led him to study

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...

at DeKalb College in Atlanta.Strauss, Neil (May 10, 1998)
POP/JAZZ; A Rising Rap Star Puts Content Ahead of Style
''The New York Times''. Accessed February 22, 2008.

Music career

Early career (1992–1996)

He began rhyming in the early 1990s and by 1992 under the name ''Canibus Sativa'', and formed a duo called T.H.E.M. (The Heralds of Extreme Metaphors) with Atlanta rapper Webb (now called C.I., also known as Central Intelligence). In 1996, T.H.E.M. split and Canibus teamed with businessman Charles Suitt. That same year Charles Suitt introduced Canibus to platinum producer

Frankie Cutlass Frank Javiel Malave (born January 16, 1971), better known by his stage name Frankie Cutlass, is an American award- winning platinum DJ, Artist, Producer, Writer and Remixer from Harlem, New York, United States. He is best known for his hits "Pue ...

and the two collaborated on a song. Canibus also appeared on the Music Makes Me High remix by the

Lost Boyz Lost Boyz are an American hip hop group from Queens, New York, consisting of MC Mr. Cheeks, Freaky Tah, and K Chrys. Originally in the early 90's LB consisted of Mr. Cheeks, Freaky Tah, Spigg Nice, and Pretty Lou. Member K Chrys or “K ...

featuring

Tha Dogg Pound Tha Dogg Pound is an American Hip hop music, hip hop duo made up of rappers Kurupt and Daz Dillinger. They were signed to Death Row Records in their early careers and were key to the label's success. Kurupt and Daz went on to release solo albu ...

making it Canibus' first official appearance on a record. In December 1997, Canibus first publicly discussed a verbal confrontation with LL Cool J in an interview with Tourè for ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...

''. Also attending the interview was John Forté, DMX,

Big Pun Christopher Lee Rios (November 10, 1971 – February 7, 2000), better known by his stage name Big Pun (short for Big Punisher), was an American rapper. Emerging from the underground hip hop scene in the Bronx borough of New York City in the e ...

Mos Def Yasiin Bey (; born Dante Terrell Smith, December 11, 1973), previously and more commonly known by his stage name Mos Def (), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. His hip hop career began in 1994, alongside his siblings in the s ...

and Mic Geronimo. The roundtable discussion was recorded by Kurt Nice and featured in Shades of Hip Hop compilation ''Hot 2 Def'' in 1998 and re-released in 2004 on ''Shades of Hip Hop: The Cypher''.

Debut album (1997–1998)

Canibus' debut album '' Can-I-Bus'' was released on September 8, 1998. The song "

Second Round K.O. "Second Round K.O." is a single from rapper Canibus' debut album, ''Can-I-Bus''. The song was produced by Wyclef Jean and his cousin Jerry Wonder and features spoken vocals from boxer Mike Tyson. The song became Canibus's only top 40 single, ...

", produced by

Wyclef Jean Nel Ust Wyclef Jean (; born October 17, 1969) is a Haitian rapper, musician, and actor. At the age of nine, Jean immigrated to the United States with his family. He first achieved fame as a member of the New Jersey hip hop group the Fugees, ...

, was a success, with the video featuring Wyclef and a

cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...

by boxer

Mike Tyson Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 2005. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "The Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson is con ...

. Despite eventually being certified

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

, critics panned the album, criticizing both Canibus's subject matter and Wyclef's beats, most of which were considered inferior to both "Second Round K.O." and the artists' previous collaborations. The album contained a lot of socially-conscious material, such as corruption within the U.S. government,

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ma ...

, and violence in modern America. Canibus had a feud with

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 ...

over a verse that Canibus gave on LL's track " 4,3,2,1" from his album ''

Phenomenon A phenomenon ( : phenomena) is an observable event. The term came into its modern philosophical usage through Immanuel Kant, who contrasted it with the noumenon, which ''cannot'' be directly observed. Kant was heavily influenced by Gottfrie ...

''. The track featured Canibus,

Method Man Clifford Smith, Jr. (born March 2, 1971), better known by his stage name Method Man, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is known as a member of the East Coast hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He is also half o ...

, Redman, and

DMX Earl Simmons (December 18, 1970 – April 9, 2021), known professionally as DMX, was an American rapper and actor. He began rapping in the early 1990s and released his debut album ''It's Dark and Hell Is Hot'' in 1998, to both critical acclaim ...

. Canibus's verse began with the line "Yo LL, is that a mic on your arm? Let me borrow that," referring to the microphone tattoo on LL Cool J's arm which LL Cool J interpreted as Canibus insulting him. When the final cut of the song came out it featured LL Cool J's verse after Canibus's, mocking an unspecified person believed to be Canibus.

Wyclef feud, second album (1999–2000)

Because Wyclef produced the majority of the tracks on ''Can-I-Bus'', Williams blamed him for the general dissatisfaction with ''Can-I-Bus'' and cut ties with him, going as far as to diss Wyclef, most notably on the title track of his second album ("You mad at the last album? I apologize for it / Yo, I can't call it, motherfucking Wyclef spoiled it!"). Said album, '' 2000 B.C.'', was also released to mixed feelings and reviews—the latter once more focusing on the lack of topical variety and uninspired production—and also suffered from very little promotion by Universal Records. ''2000 B.C.'' featured the first collaboration between Canibus and

Kurupt Ricardo Emmanuel Brown (born November 23, 1972), better known by his stage name Kurupt, is an American rapper and record producer who aided gangsta rap's rise via 1990s verses helping set lasting trends. He is one half of the rap duo Tha Dogg Po ...

, Ras Kass and

Killah Priest Walter Reed (born August 16, 1970), better known by his stage name Killah Priest, is an American rapper, member of Sunz of Man and Wu-Tang Clan affiliate who was raised in Bedford-Stuyvesant and Brownsville, Brooklyn. He is known for his int ...

, a rap supergroup collectively known as the Hrsmn (referring to the

Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are figures in the Christian scriptures, first appearing in the Book of Revelation, a piece of apocalypse literature written by John of Patmos. Revelation 6 tells of a book or scroll in God's right hand t ...

), on the track "Horsementality". Though following ''2000 B.C.s release it had been announced that the group would be releasing an album, these plans never materialized, with only an EP of

outtake An outtake is a portion of a work (usually a film or music recording) that is removed in the editing process and not included in the work's final, publicly released version. In the digital era, significant outtakes have been appended to CD and D ...

s from 2001 entitled '' The Horsemen Project'' released by Killah Priest's management in 2003. Since 2000, however, the members of the group have worked together on various songs and rumors of a full-length HRSMN album have persisted and include speculation about collaborations with

Pharoahe Monch Troy Donald Jamerson (born October 31, 1972), better known by his stage name Pharoahe Monch, is an American rapper from South Jamaica, Queens, New York. He is known for his complex lyrics, intricate delivery, and internal and multisyllabic rhy ...

Common Common may refer to: Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts * Clapham Common, originally ...

and

Rakim William Michael Griffin Jr. (born January 28, 1968), better known by his stage name Rakim Allah or simply Rakim (), is an American rapper and record producer. One half of golden age hip hop duo Eric B. & Rakim, he is widely regarded as one of t ...

, among others. Wyclef Jean would respond to Canibus's earlier remark on the track "However You Want It" from his album, '' The Ecleftic: 2 Sides II a Book''. Though much bitterness between Canibus and Wyclef Jean remained for a period of time, the two artists finally settled their differences at the end of 2004; they have since worked together on two

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

es of the

Machel Montano Machel Jesus Montano (born 24 November 1974)Thompson, Dave (2002), ''Reggae & Soca Music'', Backbeat Books, , pp. 300–301. is a Trinidadian soca singer, actor, record producer and songwriter. Known for his high energy, fast-paced, and often un ...

song "Carnival Survivors". In an interview with HipHopsite.com conducted in November 2005, Williams revealed that he had recorded five songs with Wyclef and

Jerry 'Wonder' Duplessis Jerry "Wonda" Duplessis (born 9 August 1975) is a Haitian music producer, film score composer, entrepreneur and philanthropist. His first major success was as a producer for the Fugees' 1996 album '' The Score''. He also played the bass guitar w ...

at Platinum Studios in New York for the upcoming Fugees reunion album. Whether or not those recordings will appear on the album has not been determined yet.

''C True Hollywood Stories'' (2001)

In 2001, Canibus released his third album, '' C True Hollywood Stories'', the title and some of the content deriving from the television show '' E! True Hollywood Story''. It was released on Archives Music, an

independent label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

owned by Williams' future business partner, Louis Lombard III. It was a controversial release due to the album's overall concept, which to this day remains quite unclear to some. Many listeners interpreted it as Canibus' botched attempt at becoming a commercial and mainstream artist and wrote him off as a

one-hit wonder A one-hit wonder or viral hit is any entity that achieves mainstream popularity, often for only one piece of work, and becomes known among the general public solely for that momentary success. The term is most commonly used in regard to music p ...

, while others have called it a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Some ...

in which the rapper

satirized Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...

the mainstream hip-hop scene. Most explanations since the album's release seem to lean towards the latter; when Canibus' new official website, MicClub.net, appeared online towards the end of 2002, the summary of ''C True Hollywood Stories'' in the "Merchandise" section called it "an introspective look into the ultimate fan " Stan's" take on the current state of hip hop". In an interview conducted in 2005, Williams' former promoter, Pak-Man, who worked on over half of the album with the rapper, spoke on the record, with his explanation leaning toward the album being intended as satire: "At that time Canibus was in the studio recording a lot of songs and mean a lot, but he didn't want to make the fans wait no more so he did'' C True Hollywood Stories ''and he wanted to have fun wit, so thats what we did we had fun wit". In an interview on AllHipHop.com posted on April 8, 2005, Williams was asked what direction he was trying to take with that album; in his response, he stated "That album depicts the state of affairs in my life at the time – nothing more, nothing less".

''Mic Club: The Curriculum'' and ''Rip the Jacker'' (2002–2003)

After the critical failure of ''C True Hollywood Stories'', Canibus was subject to criticism and ridicule from the rap industry until the release of '' Mic Club: The Curriculum'', his fourth full-length album, towards the end of 2002. Although the production was handled almost entirely by little-known producers, some of them from

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, the record proved to be a greater critical success than the previous year's release. ''Mic Club'' also saw Canibus return to a more complex rapping style, with a number of concept tracks and few songs with a

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in which all verse ...

. The album was released on Mic Club Music, Canibus' own label, but failed to chart, selling relatively few copies. Following the release of ''Mic Club: The Curriculum'', it was announced that Williams decided to join the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

. Before commencing his work with the military, however, he recorded a number of tracks which he intended to be released on his next album, entitled ''

Rip the Jacker ''Rip the Jacker'' is the fifth studio album by American hip hop recording artist Canibus. Produced by Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind of the group Jedi Mind Tricks, the album was released on July 22, 2003, through Babygrande Records. After the rele ...

''.

Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind Kevin Baldwin, better known by his stage name Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind or simply Stoupe, is an American hip hop producer, DJ, and member of the underground hip hop group Jedi Mind Tricks. Stoupe has worked with only a limited number of artis ...

was given the task of producing the entire record, equipped solely with Canibus' pre-recorded vocals. Due to his military obligations, Canibus himself only managed to review the album after having acquired a copy. Upon release, ''Rip the Jacker'' received rave reviews from the majority of critics, who noted that Williams' largely scientific lyrics and distinctive, rough delivery was finally matched by equally fine production, as Canibus had a history of working with badly selected producers. Unlike ''Mic Club'', ''Rip the Jacker'' charted on both ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

s R&B/hip-hop charts and the ''Billboard'' 200, peaking at #34 and #197, respectively, although commercially, it retained the tendency to sell few copies. Critics highlighted various aspects of ''Rip the Jackers originality, both in terms of beats and lyrics; Stoupe had employed a large number of samples from often obscure compositions, while Canibus himself undertook a variety of topics from various perspectives. Of note was the inclusion of "Poet Laureate II", a song exceeding seven minutes in length and lacking a chorus, with several changes of beat throughout; the track was frequently singled out as one of the strongest in Canibus' career and the album as a whole convinced listeners and the industry alike that the rapper had not lost his potential. His very next album, Mind Control, would receive him no acclaim whatsoever and was seen as a huge step backwards for the rapper, and would be the start of what is considered to be a downward slope for him.

''Mind Control'', Cloak n Dagga and ''Hip-Hop for Sale'' (2005–2006)

Following ''Rip the Jacker'' and Canibus' subsequent discharge from the army, an album entitled ''

Mind Control Brainwashing (also known as mind control, menticide, coercive persuasion, thought control, thought reform, and forced re-education) is the concept that the human mind can be altered or controlled by certain psychological techniques. Brainwashin ...

'' (2005) was released to negative reviews. Canibus had never planned for it to be compiled as a separate record, but agreed to release it through the independent Gladiator Music label as part of a contractual agreement; most of the vocals for ''Mind Control'' had been recorded prior to the release of ''C True Hollywood Stories''. A collection of previously recorded material (with only three of the songs being unreleased) produced entirely by Mark Sparks, the album failed to chart and is rarely considered an official Canibus release by the rapper's fans. Also in 2005, a collaboration between Williams and underground rapper Phoenix Orion, who had also been known for scientific lyrics, yielded the album ''

Def Con Zero ''Def Con Zero'' is an album by Cloak-n-Dagga, a group composed of rappers Canibus and Phoenix Orion, released on October 25, 2005 through Head Trauma Records and First Kut Records. The album features K-Solo, Kool G Rap, and Free among others. ...

'', released on the independent Head Trauma Records label, owned by

K-1 K-1 is a professional kickboxing promotion established in 1993, well known worldwide mainly for its heavyweight division fights and Grand Prix tournaments. In January 2012, K-1 Global Holdings Limited, a company registered in Hong Kong, acquired ...

kickboxer Dewey Cooper. The record featured guest appearances from

Kool G Rap Nathaniel Thomas Wilson (born July 20, 1968), better known by his stage name Kool G Rap (or simply G Rap), is an American rapper from Queens, New York City. He began his career in the mid-1980s as one half of the group Kool G Rap & DJ Polo and a ...

K-Solo Kevin Madison, also known as K-Solo (born April 17, 1968) is an American rapper from Brentwood, New York who, along with Redman, EPMD, Das EFX, and Keith Murray, was part of the Hit Squad in the 1990s. Career K-Solo was a member of EPMD's "Hit S ...

, and former

106 & Park ''106 & Park'' is an American hip hop and R&B music video show, set up in a countdown format, that was broadcast on weekdays at 6:00 pm ET/5:00 pm CT on BET; it aired on a one-day delay on BET International. It was the network's highest- rate ...

host Free, among others. As Cloak N Dagga, the duo briefly toured the United States promoting the release. The following month, after numerous delays, Canibus' seventh solo album, ''

Hip-Hop for Sale ''Hip-Hop for Sale'' (stylized as Hip Hop For $ale) is the seventh studio album by American rapper Canibus, released on November 1, 2005, through his own label Mic Club Music in conjunction with Babygrande Records and Koch Entertainment. The alb ...

'', was released, but was panned by critics, who dismissed it as yet another failed attempt to gain mainstream recognition. Additionally, due to the earlier release of ''Mind Control'' and the leaking of most of the material in the form of a

mixtape A mixtape (alternatively mix-tape, mix tape or mixed tape) is a compilation of music, typically from multiple sources, recorded onto a medium. With origins in the 1980s, the term normally describes a homemade compilation of music onto a cassette ...

entitled ''The Vitruvian Man'', the release date had been pushed back to November, the original date having been May. The production on ''Hip-Hop for Sale'' was handled in part by

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

-based producer Nottz, with several relatively unknown producers handling the remaining tracks after Nottz had cut ties with Canibus due to the appearance of ''The Vitruvian Man''. The day of ''Hip-Hop for Sales release, ''Mic Club Master Volume One'', a separate mixtape, appeared in stores, many of the songs receiving more praise than those present on the full-length album.

''For Whom the Beat Tolls'' (2007)

In January 2007, it was announced that Canibus would release new material in 2007 exclusively on his own imprint, Mic Club Music, in a joint venture with Legion Entertainment and distributed via his former major label,

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch–American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

. A pair of mixtapes, titled ''Nothing to Prove'' and ''Nothing to Lose'', were slated for release in March 2007, but were eventually scrapped; instead, Canibus decided to use the best material from each mixtape to create a new full-length album entitled ''

For Whom the Beat Tolls ''For Whom the Beat Tolls'' (a play on the Ernest Hemingway novel ''For Whom the Bell Tolls'', which itself is drawn from "Meditation XVII" of ''Devotions upon Emergent Occasions'', a series of essays by metaphysical poet John Donne) is the eight ...

''. When the record was originally announced in March, there was only one confirmed track – the third installment in Canibus' "

Poet Laureate A poet laureate (plural: poets laureate) is a poet officially appointed by a government or conferring institution, typically expected to compose poems for special events and occasions. Albertino Mussato of Padua and Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch ...

" series, "Poet Laureate Infinity". The track has 1,000 bars, in the form of five 200 bar verses, and is layered in such a way that "when you mix it and spread it throughout five channels, ou have the abilityto mix the track differently every time". "For Whom the Beat Tolls" was originally set for release in May 2007, but was pushed back one month, and a released on June 12, 2007 (though it was not distributed by Universal as previously reported). The album has 16 tracks and includes contributions from

and Vinnie Paz, among others, and featured two personally made mixes of the "Poet Laureate Infinity" track ("Poet Laureate Infinity v003" and "Poet Laureate Infinity v004"). Following the release of "For Whom the Beat Tolls", Canibus went on a sporadic tour in the U.S. to promote the record. In August 2007, Canibus made an announcement on his Myspace page that he had cut ties with his business partner Louis Lombard: "''To my friends, family and fans, Just wanted everybody to know I no longer do business with Louis Lombard, III & Mic Club Music''.

''Melatonin Magik'' (2010)

In December 2009, it was announced that Canibus was in the process of releasing his 9th studio album ''

Melatonin Magik ''Melatonin Magik'' is the ninth studio album by rap artist Canibus. The album contains a prolonged guest appearance by Professor Griff of Public Enemy who provides introductory or hype vocals on numerous songs. The album also features producti ...

''. ''Melatonin Magik'' was released on February 09, 2010, to relatively positive reviews, being regarded as one of his most focused efforts yet. The album included several guest appearances (DZK~PR~ & Warbux), a marked contrast to many of his previous albums in which he kept features at a minimum.

''C of Tranquility'' (2010)

'' C of Tranquility'' was released on Oct. 5, 2010. Producers include

DJ Premier Christopher Edward Martin (born March 21, 1966), known professionally as DJ Premier (also known as Preemo), is an American record producer and DJ. He is considered one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time. He was half of the hip hop du ...

, Jake One,

Scram Jones Marc Shemer, (born November 5, 1977), better known by his stage name Scram Jones, is a producer, DJ and rapper from New Rochelle, New York. He has produced music for Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Styles P, Tragedy Khadafi, Jadakiss, Saigon, Dip ...

, Tha Bizness and J-Zone. Originally recorded in 2008, it was sent to Interdependent Media for track mastery and release. Many of the beats were changed, and a few of the tracks were shortened.

''Lyrical Law'' (2011)

Originally intended to be a Melatonin Magik remix album, as more and more guests were invited to feature, Canibus decided to also record new material for the album, and it quickly evolved into an official solo album. In April 2011, it was announced that he would be selling the album through his new website, canibuscatalogue.com in order to have more control over promotion and sale. An allegedly fraudulent Twitter account posing to be Canibus began posting inflammatory comments towards

Royce da 5'9" Ryan Daniel Montgomery, known professionally as Royce da 5'9" (or simply Royce 5'9"), is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Montgomery is currently one half of the rap duo Bad Meets Evil with fellow Detroit rapper Eminem, a ...

and the

Shady Records Shady Records is an American record label founded by rapper Eminem and his manager Paul Rosenberg, after the highly successful release of Eminem's ''The Slim Shady LP'' (1999). Shady has seen negative times when being part of the unsuccessful ...

camp in early 2011, inciting verbal rebuttals from Royce, believing that the account had been him. Royce's fulmination continued, even after it had been announced that the account was faked by Canibus himself. This caused Canibus to release snippets from a track in which he has lines directed toward Royce. Royce responded simply by saying that Canibus had "fallen off" and could no longer rap well. Similar comments regarding the track were made by affiliate

Joe Budden Joseph Anthony Budden II (born August 31, 1980) is an American media personality and former rapper. He first gained recognition as a rapper with his 2003 top 40 single " Pump It Up" and as a member of the hip hop supergroup Slaughterhouse. In ...

. Insulted, Canibus decided to release two audio snippets. One titled "Lyrical Law VS Joey Cupcakes" in which he harshly insults Budden; poking fun at his personal life and taking smaller shots at Royce da 5'9". the other, titled "Lyrical Law VS Royce da 5'9"" was a length of audio in which he goes in depth about his perception of the situation and further insults Royce da 5'9". A track entitled "Spring Training" was released by Joe Budden two days after "Lyrical Law VS Joey Cupcakes" containing lines directed towards Canibus. To many, the track appears to be a response. This is untrue however, as the track was recorded prior to having a conflict with Canibus. As of June 2011, an official response from either Royce or Budden (aside from brief messages on Twitter) has yet to surface.

Canibus vs Dizaster (2012)

Canibus completed his first rap battle for King of the Dot on June 9, 2012. Canibus participated in the first two rounds and controversially resorted to pulling out a notepad to read his bars during the third round, after admitting defeat and wishing to recite what he said were "30 pages of rhymes" that he had failed to memorize.
The battle was part of King of the Dot's Fresh Coast division in L.A. An open letter, originally thought to have been written by Canibus on

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, explaining his performance about the battle surfaced online, though it was later debunked by his manager as fake, saying that Canibus will make an official statement when the time is right. Canibus later released an official statement on his

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dust ...

page. About the battle itself, Canibus commented that "Sometimes people need laughter and entertainment at the expense of others embarrassment but hip hop means so much to me I don't care."

Military career

In 2002, Canibus signed up for the

. In a 2005 interview, Canibus stated "I enlisted because I wanted to get away from the music... I wanted to do something that gave me a separate definition from what I had done all through my teens and twenties. I was 28 when I enlisted." In 2004, he was caught smoking cannabis and was subsequently discharged.

Discography

Albums

Solo * '' Can-I-Bus'' (1998) * '' 2000 B.C. (Before Can-I-Bus)'' (2000) * '' C! True Hollywood Stories'' (2001) * '' Mic Club: The Curriculum'' (2002) * ''

'' (2003) (produced by

) * ''

'' (2005) * ''

'' (2007) * ''

'' (2010) * '' C of Tranquility'' (2010) * '' Lyrical Law'' (2011) * ''

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'' (2014) * ''Time Flys, Life Dies... Phoenix Rise'' (2015) (produced by Bronze Nazareth) * ''Kaiju'' (2021) (produced by Body Bag Ben) * ''One Step Closer to Infinity'' (2022) Collaborations * '' The Horsemen Project'' (2003) (with

& Ras Kass, as

The Four Horsemen The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are figures in the Christian scriptures, first appearing in the Book of Revelation, a piece of apocalypse literature written by John of Patmos. Revelation 6 tells of a book or scroll in God's right hand th ...

) * ''

'' (2005) (with Phoenix Orion, as Cloak N Dagga) * ''In Gods We Trust – Crush Microphones to Dust'' (2011) (with

Keith Murray Keith Omar Murray (born May 29, 1974) is an American rapper from New York. Murray grew up on Carleton Ave, in Central Islip, which is located on the South Shore of Long Island in Suffolk County. Murray was a known member of a local rap collec ...

, as The Undergods) * '' Lyrical Warfare'' (2011) (with Webb, as T.H.E.M.; recorded from 1993 to 1995) * ''The 2nd Coming'' (2013) (with Bronze Nazareth,

Cappadonna Darryl Hill, better known by his stage name Cappadonna, is an American rapper. He is a member of the hip-hop collective the Wu-Tang Clan and is a member of the rap group Theodore Unit together with Ghostface Killah. Career Cappadonna (also know ...

, M-Eighty, Nino Grave & Planet Asia, as Almighty) * ''The Last Ride'' (2021) (with Killah Priest, Kurupt & Ras Kass, as HRSMN) * ''Microphone Land'' (2021) (with Jaximus)

EPs

* ''Canibus & Keith Murray Are The Undergods'' (2009) (with Keith Murray, as The Undergods) * ''Historic EP'' (2014) (with Killah Priest, Kurupt & Ras Kass, as HRSMN) * ''Full Spectrum Dominance'' (2018) * ''Full Spectrum Dominance 2'' (2018) * ''Matrix Theory I'' (2018) (with Marty McKay) * ''Full Spectrum Dominance 3'' (2019) * ''Matrix Theory II'' (2019) (with Marty McKay) * ''Full Spectrum Dominance: Repolarization'' (2019) * ''Matrix Theory III'' (2019) (with Marty McKay) * ''Matrix Theory IV'' (2020) (with Marty McKay) * ''Matrix Theory V'' (2021) (with Marty McKay) * ''C'' (2022) (with

Pete Rock Peter O. Phillips (born June 21, 1970), better known by his stage name Pete Rock, is an American record producer, DJ and rapper. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time, and is often mentioned alongside DJ ...

)

Filmography

* ''Eyes on Hip Hop'' (1995) - self * ''

Bamboozled ''Bamboozled'' is a 2000 American satirical dark comedy-drama film written and directed by Spike Lee about a modern televised minstrel show featuring black actors donning blackface makeup and the resulting violent fallout from the show's success ...

'' (2000) - Mo Blak * '' Beef II'' (2004) - self * ''The MC: Why We Do It'' (2005) - self

References

External links

Epic Canibus Interview (CWR Radio)
{{Authority control 1974 births American rappers of Jamaican descent American male rappers AT&T people East Coast hip hop musicians Perimeter College at Georgia State University alumni Hardcore hip hop artists Jamaican emigrants to the United States Living people Male actors from New York City Rappers from the Bronx United States Army soldiers Underground rappers 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians The Hrsmn members