Lamont Jody Hawkins (born November 10, 1970), better known as U-God, is an American rapper and member of the hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He has been with the group since its inception, and is known for his deep voice and rhythmic flow that can alternate between gruff and smooth.

Early life

Hawkins was born in Brownsville,

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York City. He moved to

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey b ...

as a youth. He was originally a beatboxer for Cappadonna, and was friends with future members

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 o ...

Inspectah Deck Jason Richard Hunter (born July 6, 1970), better known by his stage name Inspectah Deck, is an American rapper, producer, and actor. He is a member of the groups Wu-Tang Clan and Czarface. He has acquired critical praise for his intricate lyr ...

and childhood friend of

Raekwon Corey Woods (born January 12, 1970), better known by his stage name Raekwon The Chef, or simply Raekwon (), is an American rapper. He rose to prominence as a founding member of the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, which achieved mainstream succes ...

. Sometime before the members united, U-God was mentored in rap by Cappadonna. He soon became friends with RZA and

Ghostface Killah Dennis Coles (born May 9, 1970), better known by his stage name Ghostface Killah, is an American rapper and a member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. After the group achieved breakthrough success in the aftermath of '' Enter the Wu-Tang (36 ...

, and he began rhyming under the alias Golden Arms, based on the Kung-Fu movie '' Kid with the Golden Arm''. Later on he changed his name to U-God (which is short for his Five-Percent Nation righteous name "Universal God Allah").

Career

''Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)'' / ''Wu-Tang Forever''

U-God was convicted on the grounds of

firearm A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...

and drug possession charges on April 17, 1992, and was paroled in January 1993. His incarceration prevented him from attending the group's debut album '' Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)'' recording sessions for the most part, his input on the seminal LP consisting of only a short

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually someth ...

on the group's debut single "

Protect Ya Neck "Protect Ya Neck" is the debut single by American hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan, originally released December 14, 1992 through Wu-Tang Records and later re-released May 3, 1993 through Loud Records. The song appears on the group's debut studio album ...

" as well as the fan-favorite opening verse of "Da Mystery of Chessboxin'". Nevertheless, after his release he quickly became known to fans for his rugged flow and bass-like voice on Wu tracks such as "Winter Warz", "Knuckleheadz", "Investigative Reports", and "Black Jesus". He was featured heavily on the group's second album '' Wu-Tang Forever'', on which he was one of only four of the group to get a solo track – "Black Shampoo" (the others being

with "The City", RZA with "Sunshower" and Ol' Dirty Bastard with "Dog Shit").

''Golden Arms Redemption''

U-God was the eighth member of the group to record a solo album, releasing ''

Golden Arms Redemption ''Golden Arms Redemption'' is the debut solo studio album by American rapper U-God. It was released on October 19, 1999 via Wu-Tang/Priority Records. Recording sessions took place at Quad Recording Studios, at Studio 57, at Unique Recording Studio ...

'' in 1999 on Priority Records, which displayed a wide variety of sounds from gritty blaxploitation funk to urgent string sections, and featured guest appearances from several Wu-Tang members and affiliates. It had two singles in "Dat's Gangsta" and "Bizarre". The song "Rumble" was used as the main song for the video game '' Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style''. Bizarre debuted #7 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Rap Singles, but soon after Priority Records was on the verge of shutting down. Still, the album managed to go Gold in sales. Based on the initial success, U-God was able to open his own label, Suppa Nigga Productions. He released his second album '' Mr. Xcitement'' in 2005.

''Dopium'' and ''The Keynote Speaker''

In 2009 U-God released the album ''

Dopium ''Dopium'' is the third solo studio album by Wu-Tang Clan member U-God. The album was released on June 23, 2009. The album features guest appearances from Method Man, Ghostface Killah, GZA, Killah Priest, Raekwon, Cappadonna, Jim Jones, Large ...

'' and had the lead single "Wu-Tang" featuring

. The album featured guest appearances by Sheek Louch, Jim Jones,

, GZA, Cappadonna,

, Killah Priest and Scotty Wotty with production by Bloody Beat Roots, Felix Cartel and Large Professor. In 2013 U-God announced a new album ''

The Keynote Speaker ''The Keynote Speaker'' is the fourth studio album by American rapper and Wu-Tang Clan member U-God. The album was released on July 23, 2013, by Soul Temple Records. The album features guest appearances from GZA, Method Man, Styles P, Inspectah Dec ...

'' with production by RZA who also served as the albums executive producer. The album was released on July 23, 2013, by RZA's Soul Temple Records with guest appearances from Styles P,

Kool Keith Keith Matthew Thornton (born October 7, 1963), better known by his stage name Kool Keith, is an American rapper and record producer from The Bronx, New York City, known for his surreal, abstract and often profane or incomprehensible lyrics. Koo ...

, RZA, GZA and

''Venom'' and autobiographical book

On December 13, 2016, U-God released through Babygrande Records'

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...

account a song "Venom" and announced that his new album, also called '' Venom'', would be released soon. On September 25, 2017, he added a tweet in which he announced that he had finished his

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

entitled '' Raw: My Journey Into The Wu-Tang'' and it would be released along with his new album in March 2018. On February 2, 2018, he released a free mixtape ''Bring Back God II'' through DatPiff platform. ''Venom'' was released on March 30, 2018 and debuted at #34 on the U.S. Rap Albums Chart.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

'' (1999) * '' Mr. Xcitement'' (2005) * ''

'' (2009) * ''

'' (2013) * '' Venom'' (2018)

Collaboration albums

* '' UGodz-Illa Presents: The Hillside Scramblers'' with The Hillside Scramblers (2004)

Personal life

Around the time of ''Wu Tang Forever'', his two-year-old son Dontae (now a hip-hop artist as iNTeLL) was struck by a stray bullet while on his way to a birthday party, suffering permanent damage to his kidneys and hands, an ordeal U-God documented on the Wu-Tang Clan track "A Better Tomorrow".

Bibliography

References

External links

*
NPR interview, March 2018
{{Authority control 1970 births Living people 21st-century American rappers African-American male rappers American people convicted of drug offenses East Coast hip hop musicians Five percenters Musicians from Brooklyn People from Brownsville, Brooklyn Priority Records artists Rappers from New York City Wu-Tang Clan members