Nathaniel Glover (born February 19, 1960), also known as Nate or Danny Glover and better known by the

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 ...

Kidd Creole, is a former

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 ...

. He was a member of the pioneering

old school hip hop Old-school hip hop (also spelled old skool) is the earliest commercially recorded hip hop music and original style of the genre. It typically refers to the music created around 1979 to 1983, as well as any hip hop that does not adhere to contem ...

group

Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five were an American hip hop group formed in the South Bronx of New York City in 1978. The group's members were Grandmaster Flash, Melle Mel, Kidd Creole (not to be confused with Kid Creole), Keef Cowboy, S ...

with his brother

Melle Mel Melvin Glover (born May 15, 1961 in The Bronx), better known by his stage name Grandmaster Melle Mel (or simply Melle Mel) () is an American hip hop recording artist who was the lead vocalist and songwriter of Grandmaster Flash and the Furiou ...

. In August 2017, Glover stabbed a homeless man to death in an altercation in Manhattan, New York City. In May 2022, he was sentenced to 16 years in prison for manslaughter.

Biography

Early life

Glover was born in

The Bronx, New York 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 York ...

in 1960 as the third of five children to a working-class family. In July 1977, Nate and his brother Melvin met Joseph Saddler, a local DJ who went by the name

Grandmaster Flash Joseph Saddler (born January 1, 1958), popularly known by his stage name Grandmaster Flash, is an American DJ and rapper. He is considered to be one of the pioneers of Hip Hop DJing, cutting, scratching and mixing. Grandmaster Flash and the Fur ...

. The brothers and Keef Cowboy (Keith Wiggins) joined Grandmaster Flash's budding group the Three MC's in 1978. Melvin took the name

while Nate took the name Kidd Creole, a reference to the Elvis Presley film

King Creole ''King Creole'' is a 1958 American musical drama film directed by Michael Curtiz and based on the 1952 novel '' A Stone for Danny Fisher'' by Harold Robbins. Produced by Hal B. Wallis, the film stars Elvis Presley, Carolyn Jones, Walter Matthau, ...

.The Fall of Kidd Creole: Inside a Rap Pioneer's Tragic Descent
/ref>

Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five

Two more MCs would join the group: Scorpio (originally Mr. Ness, aka Ed Morris) and Raheim (Guy Williams). The group recorded two singles (one as the Younger Generation and one as Flash & the Five) before they took the name

and recorded the ''Superappin''' EP for

Enjoy Records Enjoy Records was a record label owned and operated by Bobby Robinson from 1962 through the mid-1980s, and was run out of his record shop at 125th Street and 8th Ave. in Harlem. Starting with blues, R&B, and rock and roll, the label recorded many ...

, owned by R&B record producer Bobby Robinson. Kidd Creole participated in the recording of several records with the group between 1980 and 1983. Tensions developed between Nate and his more successful brother Melvin; Melle Mel became the frontman and main songwriter for the band and was the singer in the band's most popular work, the 1982 song "The Message". Melle Mel was also on better terms with the recording label Sugar Hill and its managers, the Robinsons, than Creole. Flash, Rahiem, and Creole left The Furious Five in 1983. They continued to record together for

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the 1 ...

from 1983–1987, later rejoining Melle Mel and the others for a brief reunion in 1987. The later years of the group and its members were less successful; they produced no hits, and audiences shrank as tastes turned to new groups such as

Run DMC Run-DMC (also spelled Run-D.M.C.) was an American hip hop group from Hollis, Queens, New York City, founded in 1983 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizell. Run-DMC is regarded as one of the most influential acts in the history ...

in the mid-1980s. Creole disputed with Sugar Hill over a lack of royalty payments on earlier work. Creole eventually was unable to continue a full-time career as a musician, and took various temporary jobs while continuing to do occasional concert tours on the side.

Legal charges and 2017 killing of John Jolly

Glover had been arrested for firearm possession in 1982 and 1995, and possession of a knife in 2007. In 2017, Glover was living in Mount Hope 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 Y ...

and had been working as a handyman and security guard in midtown

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. According to security camera footage, on the night of August 2, 2017, he had a conversation with John Jolly, a local homeless man. The two left the field of view, and Jolly was stabbed to death. Glover admitted that he had stabbed Jolly with a knife he kept on his person, although he claimed he was provoked; in his initial confession, he said he thought that Jolly was making sexual advances on him. Glover was arrested and charged with murder. At trial, the judge instructed the jury to disregard his legal defense's claims of self-defense, as Jolly was unarmed and thus not capable of posing a deadly threat to Glover by New York law, weakening Glover's case. The jury found Glover guilty of first degree manslaughter on April 6, 2022. On May 4, he was sentenced to 16 years in prison plus 5 years supervision.

Discography

Albums

*''The Message'' (1982), Sugar Hill *''On the Strength'' (1988), Elektra

Singles

*"Superrappin’" (1979), Enjoy -

12-inch single The twelve-inch single (often written as 12-inch or 12″) is a type of vinyl ( polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a 'single' or a few related sound tracks on each surfac ...

*"Freedom" (1980), Sugar Hill *"Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel" (1981), Sugar Hill - 12-inch single

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Creole, Kid 1960 births Living people American people convicted of manslaughter Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five members Prisoners and detainees of New York (state) Rappers from the Bronx