O.G. Style (not to be confused with DJ Alejandro R. "O.G. Style" Martinez from

Delinquent Habits Delinquent Habits is an American hip hop group, formed in Norwalk in 1991. They are known for their Latin-tinged rap, which is both melodic and hardcore. Their first album was executive produced by Cypress Hill member Sen Dog and featured gues ...

) was an American hip hop duo from

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

. It was formed in 1989 by

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 ...

Eric "Original E" Woods and his cousin, producer J. 'Big Boss' Brown. In 1991 the duo released their debut album ''

I Know How To Play 'Em ''I Know How To Play 'Em!'' is the one and only album by American hip hop recording artists Eric 'Original E' Woods and DJ Big Boss, released as a duo O.G. Style from Houston, Texas. It was peaked at #69 on Billboard charts, ''Billboard'' Top R&B/H ...

'' on

Rap-a-Lot Records Rap-A-Lot is a hip hop record label co-founded by James Prince and Cliff Blodget in 1986. Smoke-a-Lot Records is a subsidiary. Rap-A-Lot was first distributed by A&M Records with the release of Raheem's 1988 debut ''The Vigilante''. The label w ...

and enjoyed some moderate success with their 1990 single "Catch 'Em Slippin". After the duo broke up in 1992, Eric Woods kept the name O.G. Style as a solo artist.

Original E

Career

Eric Woods was born on July 5, 1970, in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. He began his career in 1986 as Prince Ezzy-E. He was a known local

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

celebrity due to his local

college radio Campus radio (also known as college radio, university radio or student radio) is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively created or produced ...

hits and his MC battles at area high school and

block parties A block party or street party is a party in which many members of a single community congregate, either to observe an event of some importance or simply for mutual solidarity and enjoyment. The name comes from the form of the party, which ofte ...

. In 1989, Woods changed his name to 'The Original E' (or just 'The E') after meeting and forming the O.G. Style duo with his cousin, DJ Boss. However, after DJ Big Boss left the group, Woods continued to record as a solo artist under O.G. Style brand, and in 2001 he released the album ''I Still Know How To Play ‘Em!!!'' on Zone Entertainment, which featured Big Boss on one track. In 2004, Woods dropped ''Return Of Da Game'' via Hard Edge Entertainment.

Death

Woods was working on O.G. Style fourth album when, on January 2, 2008, he was rushed to

St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center (BSLMC) is the private adult teaching hospital of Baylor College of Medicine jointly owned with CHI St. Luke's Health. The medical staff at the hospital includes full-time Baylor faculty, as well as community ph ...

with a severe brain aneurysm. He died on January 3, 2008, from a brain hemorrhage at age of 37. Woods is survived by his estranged wife Shelley, including one child from their union, his remaining seven children, his father, and his three siblings. His son Eric plans to complete the album that Woods' left unfinished.

DJ Big Boss

Big Boss parted ways with Eric Woods and left

Rap-A-Lot Records Rap-A-Lot is a hip hop record label co-founded by James Prince and Cliff Blodget in 1986. Smoke-a-Lot Records is a subsidiary. Rap-A-Lot was first distributed by A&M Records with the release of Raheem's 1988 debut ''The Vigilante''. The label w ...

to form another hip hop group called 4 Deep, which was consisted of rapper Chad 'Klass One' White, DJ Boss under his new alias as The Big Boss Man, and his brother Rodney 'Koo Rod' Brown. The trio released five full-length albums from 1993 to 1998. He also had some side projects such as Funky Products and Hyjnx during the years. Big Boss started his own record label called Power Move Music, and followed up with a solo album titled ''Respect Due'' in 2000. Big Boss died of kidney failure in late 2006. In 2010, 4 Deep came back with their sixth and final studio album, ''Foreclosure!'', released with posthumous audio production from Big Boss via Power Move Music.

Discography

O.G. Style as a duo

* 1991: ''

I Know How to Play 'Em ''I Know How To Play 'Em!'' is the one and only album by American hip hop recording artists Eric 'Original E' Woods and DJ Big Boss, released as a duo O.G. Style from Houston, Texas. It was peaked at #69 on Billboard charts, ''Billboard'' Top R&B/H ...

Eric Woods as O.G. Style

* 2001: ''I Still Know How To Play Em'' * 2004: ''Return Of Da Game''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Style, O.G. 1970 births 2008 deaths People from Houston Rappers from Houston American rappers