Godfather Don is an American rapper and record producer from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He has been "a creative force within New York City's underground hip-hop scene" since he made his debut in 1991. AllMusic ((( Godfather Don > Biography )))/ref>

Biography

Godfather Don first appeared in 1991 with ''Hazardous'', released by

Select Records Select Records is an American record label. Among its most popular acts were the Real Roxanne, Chubb Rock, AMG, The Jerky Boys, Kid 'n Play, UTFO, Whistle, and Gary Private. From 1990 to 1995, it had a distribution deal with Elektra Records ...

. The album established the Godfather as an MC influenced by the blatant, hard-hitting style of

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 ...

. A few years later, the Don appeared on and produced the

Ultramagnetic MC's The Ultramagnetic MCs is an American hip hop group based in The Bronx, New York City. Founded by Kool Keith, the group also includes Ced Gee, TR Love, and Moe Love. Tim Dog became an unofficial member in 1989. In 1990, DJ Jaycee was added 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 ...

'', which led to a collaboration with that group's standout, Kool Keith. The Don and Keith released their EP

Cenobites Cenobitic (or coenobitic) monasticism is a monastic tradition that stresses community life. Often in the West the community belongs to a religious order, and the life of the cenobitic monk is regulated by a religious rule, a collection of prece ...

in 1995 through

Fondle 'Em Records Fondle 'Em Records was a hip hop record label founded and owned by Robert "Bobbito" Garcia from 1995 to 2001, based in New York, New York. Bobbito formed the label after realizing that the many unsigned rappers making guest appearances on ''Th ...

, which was started by New York b-boy, DJ, and man about town Bobbito Garcia. The material on the EP had originally been recorded as gags or promos for Garcia's underground hip-hop radio show on New York's

WKCR WKCR-FM (89.9 FM) is a radio station licensed to New York, New York, United States. The station is owned by Columbia University and serves the New York metropolitan area. Founded in 1941, the station traces its history back to 1908 with the fir ...

. The Cenobites EP was then reissued by Fondle 'Em as a full-length LP. Throughout the 1990s, Godfather Don continued to work as a producer, working on tracks from Kool Keith, Hostyle, and

Ayatollah Ayatollah ( ; fa, آیت‌الله, āyatollāh) is an Title of honor, honorific title for high-ranking Twelver Shia clergy in Iran and Iraq that came into widespread usage in the 20th century. Etymology The title is originally derived from ...

, among others. In 1999, he released his second album, Diabolique, on which his flow was very similar to the bludgeoning raps of his 1991 debut. The album included cameo appearances from Kool Keith and Sir Menelik, and appeared on the

Hydra Entertainment Hydra Entertainment is a hip hop record label specializing in Instrumental hip hop. They are most notable for their ''Hydra Beats'' series of instrumental albums by prominent hip hop producers. All of its releases are out of print. Hip hop grou ...

imprint, for which Godfather Don continued to record, releasing several 12" singles and

Instrumental hip hop Hip hop production is the creation of hip hop music in a recording studio. While the term encompasses all aspects of hip hop music creation, including recording the rapping of an MC, a turntablist or DJ providing a beat, playing samples and "s ...

albums. In the 2000s, Don was known for his work with

Screwball A screwball is a baseball and fastpitch softball pitch that is thrown so as to break in the opposite direction of a slider or curveball. Depending on the pitcher's arm angle, the ball may also have a sinking action. The pitch is sometimes known ...

, a Queensbridge hip hop group, producing much of their 3 albums. In 2007, Don resurfaced with 'The Slave Of New York E.P.': an EP of previously-unreleased archive material in association with hip-hop website Diggers With Gratitude who tracked him down and worked on putting this project out. 150 copies of this six track vinyl E.P. were released, with the first 45 copies having signed sleeves. The material used was recorded before and during his time with Hydra, with the title track coming directly from a cassette that Don had given to Bobbito to play on

. Due to the resurge in interest, Don was then asked to release a CD compilation of material by another label, titled ''The Nineties Sessions'', out now. On May 21, 2011 Don dropped another EP of previously unreleased material titled "The Reformation Circa. 1999" a collaborative effort between Mic-el The Don, (who featured on tracks from the "Diabolique" album) and Godfather Don. The EP was recorded sometime in the late 1990s, it is one of Godfather Don's last full bodies of work in the hip-hop genre before he moved on to a career in Jazz music with the group The Open Mind. On March 27, 2020 Don dropped a new album of previously unreleased material titled "Osmosis" in collaboration with french beatmaker Parental.

Discography

*1991: ''Hazardous'' *1994: ''

'' (EP & LP) *1997: ''Hydra Beats Vol. 3-7-11-14'' *1998: ''Diabolique'' *2004: ''Hydra Beats The Next Level Vol. 1'' *2007: ''The Slave Of New York EP'' (Limited Edition) *2007: ''The Nineties Sessions'' *2009: ''The Ill Funk Freaker EP'' (Limited Edition) *2010: ''Donnie Brasco'' (Previously Unreleased Third Official Studio Album) *2010: ''Properties of Steel'' (Single Collection) *2011: ''The Reformation Circa. 1999'' *2018: ''Jazz Spastiks Remixes'' *2020: ''Osmosis''

References

External links

On The Go magazine Interview (1997)
*

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

br>Dox: BEAT DIGGIN´The House List
{{DEFAULTSORT:Godfather Don Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Rappers from Brooklyn African-American rappers American hip hop record producers Hydra Entertainment artists Select Records artists Underground rappers Five percenters Horrorcore artists American jazz musicians East Coast hip hop musicians Jazz musicians from New York (state) 21st-century American rappers Record producers from New York (state) 21st-century African-American musicians