Shabazz Ford (born February 17, 1980), known by his stage name Fatt Father, is an 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 ...

from

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. He is a one fourth part of the Fat Killahz (with Marv Won, Bang Belushi and

King Gordy Waverly Walter Alford III (born August 18, 1977), known professionally by his stage name King Gordy, is an American horrorcore singer/rapper from Detroit, Michigan. He is one-fourth of underground hip hop group the Fat Killahz (with Fatt Fathe ...

) and one half of Twin Towers (with Marv Won).

Early life

Shabazz grew up in Detroit with his mother and two brothers, Sammie and Jerry. The oldest, Shabazz was forced at a young age to become the leading male role model he and his brothers never really had. Shabazz found himself with many different roles in the household, which he was not comfortable with at first. He said, "I grew up and I found my niche, which was music". Studying at Denby High School, music was his way to escape his home problems. He said, "Without that, I would have been out on the streets hustling, and doing what I needed to do in order to survive".

Career

Fatt Father made his appearance on the Teamstaz debut album ''Don't Cross The Line'' (2000, No Tyze Entertainment). Widely recognized as a core-member of the Detroit hip hop collective Fat Killahz (formed in 2001), Fatt Father has built a strong fan base via his work with the group, coupled with his own mixtapes and street projects ranging from the classic '' Tales of the Childless Father'' to ''Father's Day'' on to '' You Are The Father'' and ''Fatherly Advice''; all of which garnered Fatt Father a lot of support and praise within the underground hip hop community. ''Guess Who's Coming To Dinner?'', Fat Killahz debut album, allowed Fatt Father and his group to share the stage with hip hop icons like Ice Cube, 50 Cent,

Method Man Clifford Smith, Jr. (born March 2, 1971), better known by his stage name Method Man, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is known as a member of the East Coast hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He is also half of ...

& Redman as well as Detroit's Royce Da 5'9",

Danny Brown Daniel Dewan Sewell (born March 16, 1981), better known by his stage name Danny Brown, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He has been described by MTV as "one of rap's most unique figures in recent memory". In 2010, after amassing ...

, Slum Village,

D12 D12 (an initialism for The Dirty Dozen) was an American hip hop collective from Detroit, Michigan. Formed in 1996, the group achieved mainstream success with its lineup of ''de facto'' leader Eminem, Proof, Bizarre, Mr. Porter, Kuniva and Swift ...

and Trick-Trick. His debut

self-titled An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

album, executive produced by himself and Trick-Trick, enabled Fatt Father to be recognized even without his friends. Over the years he released music such as ''My Kids Need A Coat'' which not only showcased his lyrical skill but also shined a light on his loyalty to his children. It was his sophomore album, ''

Fatherhood A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fathe ...

'', that solidified his place as a hip hop heavy-weight. Fatt Father has also collaborated on records with rappers such as Kuniva,

Denmark Vessey Denmark Martin Vessey (born August 28, 1984) is an American rapper and record producer from Detroit, Michigan. He is also a member of hip hop duo Crown Nation with Quelle Chris. He was named after Denmark Vesey, leader of a slave revolt planned ...

Guilty Simpson Byron Dwayne “Guilty” Simpson is an American rapper and songwriter from Detroit, Michigan whose recording career spans more than 20 years. He is signed to Stones Throw Records, and is known for being one of the late producer J Dilla’s favo ...

Sean Price Sean Duval Price (March 17, 1972August 8, 2015) was an American rapper and member of the hip hop collective Boot Camp Clik. He was one half of the duo Heltah Skeltah, performing under the name Ruck, along with partner Rock. Early life and educa ...

, Black Milk,

Roc Marciano Rahkeim Calief Meyer (born February 11, 1978), better known by his stage name Roc Marciano, is an American rapper, songwriter, and producer. Career Roc Marciano started his career in 1999 when he joined Busta Rhymes' collective the Flipmode ...

Elzhi Jason Powers (born May 12, 1978), better known by his stage name Elzhi (stylized as eLZhi), is an American rapper from Detroit, Michigan. He is a former member of Slum Village and now records as a solo artist. In his youth, he made numerous vis ...

, and more. Fatts stated Scarface, Notorious B.I.G., Royce Da 5'9",

The Temptations The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top ...

and the Fat Killahz as his biggest influence.

Personal life

Shabazz Ford is married and has two children. In 2003, Shabazz’s younger brother Sam was killed at the age of 19, he died on their mother's birthday in 2003. He was a friend of now deceased rappers Chris Cobb and Proof. In 2014, he started a cartoon project "Storytime With Fattfather" with graphics by Auxiliary Cinema, but only one episode has been released. In addition to his rap career, Shabazz Ford is a real estate investor and CEO of Fueled By Life Media Group and co-founder of Early Ventures LLC along with his younger brother Jerry Ford.

Discography

Studio albums

* 2008 - ''Fatt Father'' * 2012 - ''Fatherhood'' * 2016 - ''Veterans Day'' *2020 - ''King Father'' *2021 - ''Soccer Dad''

Street albums

* 2010 - ''Fatherly Advice (The Legend of James Evans Sr.)''

Mixtapes

* 2006 - '' Tales of the Childless Father'' * 2008 - '' You are the Father'' * 2008 - ''Christmas With Fatt Father''

Non-album songs

* 2007 - ''Father's Day'' * 2008 - ''Letter To Barack Obama'' * 2009 - ''B.U.M.S. (Being Underground Makes Sense)'' * 2010 - ''The Corner'' * 2015 - ''My Kids Need A Coat'' * 2016 - ''They Know'' * 2016 - ''Daddy Dearest'' * 2016 - ''Slow Down''

Guest appearances

References

External links

* * {{authority control Living people Underground rappers Rappers from Detroit American male rappers Midwest hip hop musicians 1980 births 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians