Trevell Gerald Coleman (born November 19, 1974), better known by his stage name G. Dep (which stands for "Ghetto Dependent"), 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

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He joined

Bad Boy Records Bad Boy Records (or Bad Boy Entertainment) is an American record label founded in 1993 by rapper Sean "Puffy" Combs. It operates as an imprint of Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment. It has been home to many artists, including ...

in 1998 and released his debut album '' Child of the Ghetto'' in 2001. He released his second album Ghetto Legend on September 7, 2010 with Famous Records.

Early life

Trevell Coleman was born on November 19, 1974. He was raised by his grandmother in the James Weldon Johnson

Housing Projects Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, d ...

Music career

He started rap with the label Tape Kingz and released 2 vinyls in 1995 and 1996. After meeting with

Sean Combs Sean Combs (born Sean John Combs; November 4, 1969), also known by his stage names Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Puffy, or Diddy, is an American rapper, actor, record producer, and record executive. Born in New York City, he worked as a talent directo ...

in 1998, G. Dep was signed to a $350,000, five-album deal with Bad Boy Records. In the next year, he appeared on two songs on

Black Rob Robert Ross (June 8, 1968 – April 17, 2021), known professionally as Black Rob, was an American rapper who was signed to Bad Boy Records. He was best known for his 1999 single " Whoa!", which peaked at number 43 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. ...

's 1999 debut album ''

Life Story Life story work is a social work intervention with children and adults designed to recognise their past, present, and future. It is prominently used with children who will be adopted, and older adults as part of reminiscence therapies. Life stor ...

''. G. Dep released his debut solo album '' Child of the Ghetto'' in 2001. ''Child of the Ghetto'' peaked at #106 on ''Billboard'' 200 and #23 on

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated ...

. Single "Special Delivery" from the album peaked at #59 on

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

and #3 on

Hot Rap Singles Hot Rap Songs (formerly known as Hot Rap Tracks and Hot Rap Singles) is a chart released weekly by ''Billboard'' in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio stati ...

. G. Dep was subsequently dropped from Bad Boy Records. G. Dep and

Loon Loons ( North American English) or divers ( British / Irish English) are a group of aquatic birds found in much of North America and northern Eurasia. All living species of loons are members of the genus ''Gavia'', family Gaviidae and order ...

released independent album '' Bad Boy'' in 2007. He released his second album ''Ghetto Legend'' on September 7, 2010 with Famous Records.

Personal life

Coleman stated in an interview that he has been convicted of robbery and served time in

Rikers Island Rikers Island is a island in the East River between Queens and the Bronx that contains New York City's main jail complex. Named after Abraham Rycken, who took possession of the island in 1664, the island was originally under in size, but has ...

. Coleman's criminal record includes arrests for drug offenses, burglary and grand larceny more than 25 times since 2003. After the release of ''Child of the Ghetto'', Coleman had a long-time struggle with PCP addiction. In 2008, Coleman told XXL about his

substance abuse Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods which are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder. Differing definitions of drug abuse are used in public health, ...

problems and

rehabilitation Rehabilitation or Rehab may refer to: Health * Rehabilitation (neuropsychology), therapy to regain or improve neurocognitive function that has been lost or diminished * Rehabilitation (wildlife), treatment of injured wildlife so they can be retur ...

. At the time of his latest arrest Coleman was in

Narcotics Anonymous Narcotics Anonymous (NA), founded in 1953, describes itself as a "nonprofit fellowship or society of men and women for whom drugs had become a major problem." Narcotics Anonymous uses a 12-step model developed for people with varied subst ...

twelve-step program Twelve-step programs are international mutual aid programs supporting recovery from substance addictions, behavioral addictions and compulsions. Developed in the 1930s, the first twelve-step program, Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), aided its memb ...

. Coleman is currently married to Laticia Evans Coleman. The two have been married for six years now and have exchanged vows at Elmira Correctional Facility. Coleman's wife is also a Hip-Hop artist whose rap moniker is Hustle Bunny. The two met in 1999 and both were previously married. The two have five grandchildren.

Murder case

On December 15, 2010, Coleman walked into 25th Precinct to turn himself in. He confessed to a

cold case A cold case is a crime, or a suspected crime, that has not yet been fully resolved and is not the subject of a current criminal investigation, but for which new information could emerge from new witness testimony, re-examined archives, new or r ...

crime, a murder of a Queens man in 1993. Coleman had attempted to confess twice before, but was previously considered to be under the influence of drugs and incoherent. On October 19, 1993, John Henkel was shot in the chest by a .40-caliber

handgun A handgun is a short-barrelled gun, typically a firearm, that is designed to be usable with only one hand. It is distinguished from a long gun (i.e. rifle, shotgun or machine gun, etc.), which needs to be held by both hands and also braced ag ...

outside of James Weldon Johnson Houses on Park Avenue and East 114th Street. Coleman stated that he ambushed and shot Henkel during an attempted robbery and fled the scene throwing his weapon into the

East River The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough of Quee ...

. Coleman's information matched with the case and he was charged with murder. Coleman told in an interview that he confessed because the case weighed on him and he was "just trying to get things right between himself and God". Coleman claimed that he did not know that his victim died. Sean Combs commented on G. Dep's situation on Sirius' Shade 45 radio show, saying Coleman did the "right thing" by confessing. Coleman pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder at his appearance in

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in the New York State Unified Court System. (Its Appellate Division is also the highest intermediate appellate court.) It is vested with unlimited civ ...

on January 13, 2011. He was convicted of the second-degree murder charge on April 17, 2012 and was sentenced to 15-years to life in prison on May 8, 2011. He is housed at

Fishkill Correctional Facility Fishkill Correctional Facility is a multi-security level prison in New York, United States. The prison is located in both the Town of Fishkill and the City of Beacon in Dutchess County. Fishkill was constructed in 1896. It began as the Mattea ...

, in Beacon, NY and will be eligible for parole in 2025.

Discography

*'' Child of the Ghetto'' (2001) *''Ghetto Legend'' (2010)

References

External links

G. Dep
on Myspace
G. Dep Discography
on

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:G. Dep 1974 births Living people African-American Christians African-American male rappers American people convicted of murder American prisoners and detainees American robbers Bad Boy Records artists People from East Harlem Prisoners and detainees of New York (state) Rappers from Manhattan Underground rappers Hardcore hip hop artists 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American people