Knightowl (sometimes styled as Mr. Knightowl) (May 13, 1966 – February 11, 2022), born Ramon Corona, was a Mexican-born 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 ...

. He began recording in 1993. His fame came with the hit singles ''Daddy I'm In Love With a Gangsta'' and ''Here Comes The Knightowl''.

Career

Knightowl originally signed with

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

, but quickly decided to start his own record label, calling it "Sawed Off Records." His own label gave him the

artistic freedom Artistic freedom (or freedom of artistic expression) can be defined as "the freedom to imagine, create and distribute diverse cultural expressions free of governmental censorship, political interference or the pressures of non-state actors." Gener ...

to do what he wanted. His first artist he brought on board was Mr. Shadow. In 1994,

Eazy-E Eric Lynn Wright (September 7, 1964 – March 26, 1995), known professionally as Eazy-E, was an American rapper who propelled West Coast rap and gangsta rap by leading the group N.W.A and its label, Ruthless Records. He is often referred t ...

, founder of Ruthless Records and member of

NWA NWA or Nwa most commonly refers to: * N.W.A ("Niggaz Wit Attitudes"), a hip hop group from Compton, California, US * National Wrestling Alliance, a professional wrestling organization NWA or Nwa may refer to: Music * New Weird America, a subgenr ...

was going to sign Knightowl, DJ Mikeski and Mr. Lil One from

South San Diego South San Diego is a district within the City of San Diego, and is in the larger South Bay region of southwestern San Diego County, California. South San Diego is a practical exclave of San Diego, having no land connection with the rest of the c ...

as a weapon against DeathRow Records,

Suge Knight Marion Hugh "Suge" Knight Jr. (; born April 19, 1965) is a American former music executive, convicted felon, and the co-founder and former CEO of Death Row Records. Knight is considered a central figure in gangsta rap's commercial success in ...

and

Dr. Dre Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper and record producer. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and previously co-founded, co-owned, and ...

. Due to the sudden death of Eazy-E, this did not happen. Knightowl, one of the biggest names in

Chicano rap Chicano rap is a subgenre of hip hop that embodies aspects of Southwest Mexican American or Chicano culture. It is typically performed by rappers and musicians of Mexican descent. History Early years The first widely recognized Chicano rap artis ...

, worked with prominent artists throughout his career:

Big Syke Tyruss Gerald Himes (November 22, 1968 – December 5, 2016), better known by his stage names Big Syke and Mussolini, was an American rapper best known for his work with the American hip-hop groups Thug Life and Outlawz. His stage name "Big Syk ...

Daz Dillinger Delmar Drew Arnaud (born May 25, 1973), known professionally as Daz Dillinger (formerly Dat Nigga Daz and commonly Daz), is an American rapper and record producer. In the 1990s at Death Row Records, aided the catapult of West Coast rap and ga ...

Kid Frost Arturo Molina Jr. (born May 31, 1962), better known as Frost (originally Kid Frost), is an American rapper, songwriter and record producer from Los Angeles. He is the father of record producer Scoop DeVille. Early life Molina was born and rai ...

, Eazy-E,

Lil Rob Roberto L. Flores (born September 21, 1975), better known by his stage name Lil Rob, is an American rapper, producer, and actor. Biography Flores was born in San Diego and raised in La Colonia de Eden Gardens, a Mexican American neighborhood in ...

, Mr Criminal, David Salas. Knightowl raps in

Caló (Chicano) Caló (also known as Pachuco) is an argot or slang of Mexican Spanish that originated during the first half of the 20th century in the Southwestern United States. It is the product of zoot-suit pachuco culture that developed in the 1930s and '40s ...

and

Spanglish Spanglish (a portmanteau of the words "Spanish" and "English") is any language variety (such as a contact dialect, hybrid language, pidgin, or creole language) that results from conversationally combining Spanish and English. The term is mos ...

, although English is the most prominent language in his raps. In 2000, Knightowl formed a duo with "Mr. Lil' One" for the Hollow-point collaborative venture, which released ''The Little & The Owl'' album. He was considered one of the West Coast's top

gangsta rappers Gangsta rap or gangster rap, initially called reality rap, emerged in the mid- to late 1980s as a controversial hip-hop subgenre whose lyrics assert the culture and values typical of American street gangs and street hustlers. Many gangsta rappe ...

. He changed his name to Mr. Knightowl in 2004.Birchmeier, Jason
Knightowl Biography
, ''

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 ...

'', Macrovision Corporation

Personal life

Knightowl died from complications of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

on February 11, 2022.Knightowl aka Ramon Corona’s death shocks chicano rap community
/ref> Although reported that Mr. Knightowl was 62 at the time of his death, Mr. Shadow, a close associate of Knightowl, stated that he was 55 and that his real birth date was May 13, 1966.

Discography

*''The Knightowl'' - 1995 *''Wicked West'' - 1998 *''Shot Caller'' - 1999 *''Hollowpoint (With Mr. Lil One)'' - 2000 *''Knightmares'' - 2000 *''Bald Headed Kingpin'' - 2001 *''Knightowl Presents The Untouchables'' - 2002 *''Most Requested'' - 2002 *''Mr. Knightowl Presents Episode 13'' - 2002 *''619 HoodLumz'' - 2003 *''Mr. Knightowl Presents Out The Birds Nest'' - 2003 *''Ghetto Bird'' - 2004 *''El Gran Pelon'' - 2004 *''Mr. Knightowl Presents Only The Strong Survive'' - 2004 *''Mr. Knightowl Presents Blue Rag Soldiers'' - 2005 *''Jail Bird'' - 2005 *''King Of The West'' - 2006 *''Classics For The O.G.'s'' - 2007 *''El Padrino De Las Calles'' - 2007 *''No Regrets'' - 2007 *''Mr. Knightowl Presents Armed & Dangerous'' - 2008 *''Code Of Silence'' - 2008 *''Mr. Knightowl Southside Affiliates'' - 2008 *''Konvicted Felon'' - 2010 *''El Pajaro Loko''- 2012 *''The Chronicles of Knight Owl'' - 2014 *''Return of the Kingpin'' - 2017 *''The Untouchable Owl Pacino'' - 2019

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knightowl 1960 births 2022 deaths American rappers of Mexican descent Mexican emigrants to the United States Rappers from San Diego Gangsta rappers Underground rappers West Coast hip hop musicians 21st-century American rappers Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in California