Tab Virgil Jr. (born February 8, 1981) better known by his

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 ...

Turk (sometimes "Young Turk" or "Hot Boy Turk"), 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

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. He is best known for his late 1990s run at Birdman's

Cash Money Records Cash Money Records is an American record label founded in 1991 by brothers Ronald "Slim" Williams and Bryan "Birdman" Williams. Distributed by Republic, formerly known as Universal Republic, the label has been home to a roster of mostly hip h ...

with the group the

Hot Boys The Hot Boys (often styled as Hot Boy$) are an American hip hop group formed in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1997. The group is made up of B.G., Lil Wayne, Juvenile and Turk. The group was originally formed in 1997, and released their debut rec ...

Early life

Virgil was born February 8, 1981 in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

to his mother "Gal" and his father Tab Virgil Sr. He grew up in the

Magnolia Projects The Magnolia Projects, officially the C. J. Peete Public Housing Development, was one of the Housing Projects of New Orleans. As part of the ongoing redevelopment, the area has been renamed Harmony Oaks. The project was among the largest, hous ...

in the Third Ward and attended

Fortier High School Fortier may refer to: People with the surname * Alcée Fortier, professor of language and folklore, New Orleans * Charles Fortier, hockey player * Chris Fortier, DJ * Claude Fortier, physiologist * Donald Fortier, member of U.S. intelligence commun ...

before dropping out. He was discovered by Birdman rapping with

Magnolia Shorty Renetta Yemika Lowe-Bridgewater (September 30, 1982 – December 20, 2010), known by the stage name Magnolia Shorty, was an American rapper in the New Orleans-based bounce music scene.Cadogan, Garnette (August 2007). Bounce Back: Not even Katrina ...

at a block party.

Career

His debut album '' Young & Thuggin''' became a Top 10 hit on the ''Billboard'' 200. After the split of the Hot Boys in 2001 and his departure from Cash Money in 2003, he signed a deal with producer Ke'Noe at Laboratory Recordz and released two albums ''

Raw & Uncut ''Raw & Uncut'' is the second solo studio album by American rapper Turk. It was released on August 12, 2003 via Koch Records, making it his first album for the label after parting ways with Cash Money Records. Production was mainly handled by Ke' ...

'' and ''

Penitentiary Chances ''Penitentiary Chances'' is the third album released by rapper, Turk. It was released on April 27, 2004 through Koch Records and was produced by Ke'Noe, Virgil and Howard McToyer. ''Penitentiary Chances'' was released while Turk was in jail and i ...

''. In 2005, Turk was convicted on federal charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm, a fugitive from justice in possession of a firearm, and an unlawful user addicted to a controlled substance in possession of a firearm. The charges arose from the shooting of a Memphis, Tennessee police officer in early 2004. He was sentenced to 10 years of incarceration. In 2006, he entered an

Alford plea In United States law, an Alford plea, also called a Kennedy plea in West Virginia, an Alford guilty plea, and the Alford doctrine, is a guilty plea in criminal court, whereby a defendant in a criminal case does not admit to the criminal act and ...

in Tennessee state court to second-degree attempted murder, based on the same incident, and was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment. While incarcerated Ke'Noe released two albums of unreleased Turk verses called ''Still A Hot Boy'' and ''Convicted Felons''. The albums profits of the last two releases were put on Turk's prison books. Turk was released from prison in October 2012 after almost nine years of incarceration. In December 2012, Turk made a hit single titled "Zip It" featuring

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September 27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. His career began in 1995, at the age of 12, when he was signed by rapper Birdman (rapper), ...

. Weeks later, a remix with Juvenile was made and released. In February 2013, a version with Turk,

, Juvenile and B.G. was made, making an official

reunion song. Turk released a mixtape under SoundCloud called "Blame It On The System".

Legal issues

On January 26, 2004 at around 2:00pm local time, dozens of Shelby County Narcotics Officers and

SWAT In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...

officers served a search warrant for drugs believed to be inside Turk's apartment in the Hickory Pointe Community in Southeast

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

. After knocking on the door and identifying themselves led to no response, the officers entered and began searching the apartment. Turk then allegedly shot at them with a 9mm handgun. The officers and SWAT returned fire, engaging in a 15-minute shootout with Turk. Turk finally surrendered to Shelby County officers and the SWAT Team. Turk was charged Wednesday, January 28, 2004 with first-degree attempted murder for allegedly shooting two Memphis, Tennessee Police Officers. In February 2015, Turk filed lawsuit against Cash Money Records for $1.3 million, over unpaid royalties for recordings dating back to 1999, including solo work from his debut ''Young & Thuggin and group, the

. The rapper eventually won the suit by default, when Cash Money failed to respond. However, in June 2015, Turk requested that the lawsuit be dismissed after both parties reached an amicable settlement.

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Young & Thuggin''' (2001) * ''

'' (2003) * ''

'' (2004) * '' Still A Hot Boy'' (2005) * ''

Convicted Felons ''Convicted Felons'' is the fifth studio album from Turk Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic grou ...

'' (2006)

Collaboration albums

* ''

Get It How U Live! ''Get It How U Live!!'' is the debut album by New Orleans hip-hop group the Hot Boys, released on October 28, 1997, on Ca$h Money. The album sold over 400,000 copies, primarily in New Orleans following B.G.'s success. It peaked at No. 37 on t ...

'' with Hot Boys (1997) * ''

Guerrilla Warfare Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or Irregular military, irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, Raid (military), raids ...

'' with Hot Boys (1999) * ''

Baller Blockin' ''Baller Blockin'' is a 2000 drama film set in New Orleans' Magnolia Projects. It stars Bryan “Birdman” Williams, Ronald "Slim" Williams, Juvenile, Manuel Vazquez, B.G., Lil Wayne, Turk, and Mannie Fresh with cameos by comedians Anthony ...

'' with Cash Money Millionaires (2000) * '' Let 'Em Burn'' with Hot Boys (2003)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Turk 1981 births 20th-century American musicians African-American male rappers American prisoners and detainees Cash Money Records artists Living people Rappers from New Orleans African-American male singer-songwriters African-American male singers Gangsta rappers Rap-A-Lot Records artists 21st-century American rappers 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American musicians American rappers Musicians from New Orleans People from Louisiana Hot Boys members American singers Cash Money Millionaires members