Joseph Edwards (born September 13, 1977), professionally known as Jojo Pellegrino, is an American rapper, songwriter and actor from Staten Island, NY. Known for his lyrical abilities and versatility, Pellegrino was formally managed by

Chris Lighty Darrel Steven "Chris" Lighty (May 8, 1968 – August 30, 2012) was an American music industry executive. He co-founded Violator, a record label, management and marketing company, which represented hip hop and R&B artists such as Busta Rhymes, ...

as a member of the legendary Violator imprint. Pellegrino made his name in the New York Hip hop scene with his debut singles “Fogedaboudid” and “Where I'm from”, "Fogedaboudid" becoming popular on local radio stations.

Early life

Joseph Edwards (JoJo Pellegrino) was raised in a loving household, in Staten Island New York, by both parents along with his younger sister Jennifer. Throughout most of his childhood and teenage years, Edwards studied various styles of martial arts and also played baseball and basketball. He began writing and recording at the age of 15 years old and through his father's relationship with a colleague, who was managing a few artists at the time, Edwards formed a close bond with local hip-hop sensation

Shyheim Shyheim Dionel Franklin (born November 14, 1977) is an American rapper from New York better known simply as Shyheim. He initially gained fame as a teenager, releasing his debut album ''AKA the Rugged Child'' at the age of 16 in 1994. He has sp ...

The Rugged Child, spending most of his time working on his craft in the Stapleton Projects located on the North Shore of Staten Island. He attended New Dorp High School, but during freshman year was removed from the school for fighting, and transferred to Tottenville High School where he graduated in 1995. As of 2023, JoJo still continues to make music and plans to continue releasing more albums and features.

Career

Pellegrino began his professional career in the music business in 1998 on the mix tape circuit with DJ's such as

Dj Clue Ernesto Shaw (born January 8, 1975), better known as DJ Clue, is an American disc jockey (DJ), record producer, radio personality and record executive. Early life DJ Clue was born in Queens, New York City to Panamanian and Jamaican immigran ...

DJ Kay Slay Keith Grayson (August 14, 1966 – April 17, 2022), professionally known as DJ Kay Slay, was an American disc jockey (DJ) from New York City. He is referred to by ''The New York Times'' as "Hip Hop's One-Man Ministry of Insults". He released fou ...

DJ Skribble Scott Ialacci, professionally known as DJ Skribble (born October 10, 1968) is an American DJ, producer, remixer, radio personality and actor. In the early 1990s, he teamed up with Kamron, ATA, Firstborn and Tommy Never in Young Black Teenagers ...

and many more. He was soon noticed and recruited by

into the Violator management team where he appeared on the Violator V2.0 compilation album (the second and final installment in the Violator Hip Hop compilations) in 2001. He continued to make regular appearances on various mixtapes and compilations eventually dropping the “Hitman for hire” mixtape hosted by Hot 97's

which received some praise in

XXL magazine ''XXL'' is an American hip hop magazine, published by Townsquare Media, founded in 1997. History In August 1997, Harris Publications released the first issue of ''XXL''. It featured rappers Jay-Z and Master P on a double cover. In December 2006 ...

and was given

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

mixtape of the month on MTV news. In 2021 he released the full length lp entitled “Hitman for hire V2” featuring

Wu-Tang Clan Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop group formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its original members include RZA, GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa. Close affili ...

Ghostaface Killah and

Raekwon Corey Woods (born January 12, 1970), better known by his stage name Raekwon The Chef, or simply Raekwon (), is an American rapper. He rose to prominence as a founding member of the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, which achieved mainstream success ...

as well as

Conway The Machine Demond Price (born February 16, 1982), known professionally as Conway the Machine (or simply Conway), is an American rapper. Alongside his paternal half-brother Westside Gunn and cousin Benny the Butcher, Conway was a member of Griselda Records ...

. JoJo Pellegrino has appeared as well on

Rockstar Games Rockstar Games, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in New York City. The company was established in December 1998 as a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive, using the assets Take-Two had previously acquired from BMG Interactive. Foun ...

well known successful game

Grand Theft Auto III ''Grand Theft Auto III'' is a 2001 action-adventure game developed by DMA Design and published by Rockstar Games. It is the third main entry in the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 1999's ''Grand Theft Auto 2'', and the fifth instalment o ...

Discography and Features

traffic jams album (compilation) Release date: 1999 Track 19: Badah Bing Badah boom by

Jojo Pellegrino Joseph Edwards (born September 13, 1977), professionally known as Jojo Pellegrino, is an American rapper, songwriter and actor from Staten Island, NY. Known for his lyrical abilities and versatility, Pellegrino was formally managed by Chris Lighty ...

VIOLATOR V2.0 (compilation) Release date: July 24, 2001 Label

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

/ Loud/ Violator

JOJO PELLEGRINO Joseph Edwards (born September 13, 1977), professionally known as Jojo Pellegrino, is an American rapper, songwriter and actor from Staten Island, NY. Known for his lyrical abilities and versatility, Pellegrino was formally managed by Chris Lighty ...

features on track 1: “Intro” Track 8: “Fiend” Track 14: Grind season ft. Corrupt of the dog pound Track 16: “Next generation” Ft.

Fabolous John David Jackson (born November 18, 1977), better known by his stage name Fabolous, is an American rapper. Raised in Brooklyn, he first gained recognition while still a senior in high school, when he performed live on American music executive ...

Red Cafe Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...

Remy Ma Reminisce Mackie ( Smith; born May 30, 1980), known professionally as Remy Ma, is an American rapper. Discovered by Big Pun, she came to prominence for her work as a member of Fat Joe's group, Terror Squad. In 2006, she released her debut stu ...

, Cadillac Tah Hitman for hire (

mixtape hosted by Kay Slay) Release date: March 2003 Label PellaVision/Grain PellaFreestyles Vol 1 Release date: July 2007 Label PellaVision Hitman for hire V2 (

album) Release date: May 21, 2021 Label: PellaVision Track List: 1.Spiked Bat 2.Let me kno 3.Threat (feat. RJ Payne and Dave Goode) 4.Flojo 5.3 Kings (feat.

Ghostface Killah Dennis Coles (born May 9, 1970), better known by his stage name Ghostface Killah, is an American rapper and a member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. After the group achieved breakthrough success in the aftermath of ''Enter the Wu-Tang (36 C ...

) 6.It's working (feat. Fryday Knyte) 7.Shootaz (feat.

Conway the Machine Demond Price (born February 16, 1982), known professionally as Conway the Machine (or simply Conway), is an American rapper. Alongside his paternal half-brother Westside Gunn and cousin Benny the Butcher, Conway was a member of Griselda Records ...

) 8.One Shot (feat. Carlton Fisk) 9.Fly (Fly Italians Live Abundantly) 10.1a (feat.

) 11.Rocket Launcha (feat. Carlton Fisk & DAINJA MENTAL) 12.Nightmares (feat. Ot the Real & Mowe) 13.Bada Fu$King Bing (feat. Gorilla Nems) 14.Long Winter (feat. Dave Goode)

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pellegrino, JoJo Wu-Tang Clan affiliates Italian hip hop musicians Italian rappers American people of Italian descent 1977 births Living people