Anthony H. Forté (born March 2, 1968), 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 ...

Rappin' 4-Tay, is an American rapper from

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

Early life

Anthony Forte was born March 2, 1968 and grew up in San Francisco's

Fillmore District The Fillmore District is a historical neighborhood in San Francisco located to the southwest of Nob Hill, west of Market Street and north of the Mission District.Oaks, Robert F. San Francisco's Fillmore District. lectronic resource n.p.: Char ...

. He has a twin sister. He has a son as well as three daughters.

Music career

Right after high school, 4-Tay made his debut on the

Too Short Todd Anthony Shaw (born April 28, 1966), better known by the stage name Too Short (stylized as Too $hort), is an American rapper and record producer. He became famous in the West Coast hip hop scene in the late 1980s, with lyrics often based on ...

album '' Life Is...Too Short''. He was later convicted on drug charges and served ten months in prison. Upon his release from prison he released his debut album ''Rappin' 4-Tay Is Back'' in 1991, and followed up in 1994 with ''

Don't Fight the Feelin' ''Don't Fight the Feelin is the second studio album by American rapper Rappin' 4-Tay from San Francisco, California. It was released on July 26, 1994 via Chrysalis Records and Rag Top Records. Recording session took place at Graffiti Tunez in We ...

'', which included the hits " Playaz Club" (which sampled the song " Private Number" by William Bell and Judy Clay and hit number 36 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100), the "Dank Season" featuring Seff Tha Gaffla, and " I'll Be Around" (which hit number 39 on the US Hot 100, number 59 in Australia, and number one in New Zealand ). In 1995, two Rappin' 4-Tay songs—"Problems" and "A Message for Your Mind"—were featured on the ''Dangerous Minds'' soundtrack. "A Message For Your Mind" sampled "

I Want You Back "I Want You Back" is the first national single by the Jackson 5. It was released by Motown on October 6, 1969, and became the first number-one hit for the band on January 31, 1970. It was performed on the band's first television appearances, on ...

" by

The Jackson 5 The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...

. Rappin' 4-Tay's mainstream success has been scarce since then, but he was featured on

2Pac Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the b ...

's ''

All Eyez on Me ''All Eyez on Me'' is the fourth studio album by American rapper 2Pac and the last to be released during his lifetime. Released on February 13, 1996, by Death Row and Interscope Records, the album features guest appearances from Dr. Dre, Snoop ...

'' album on the track " Only God Can Judge Me" in 1996 and

Master P Percy Robert Miller Sr. (born April 29, 1967), known by his stage name Master P, is an American rapper, record executive, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur. He is the founder of the record label No Limit Records, which was relaunched as ...

's ''West Coast Bad Boyz II'' compilation in 1997. 4-Tay was also an original member of

Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...

supergroup T.W.D.Y. in 1999. In 2003 Rappin' 4-Tay released the album ''Gangsta Gumbo'' with the single "Burning, Burning", followed up by the album ''That's What You Thought'' in 2007. In 2010 He was featured on R&B Artist E. Broussard's song titled Big Game Droppin'. He was featured on the song "My Alphabets" on fellow Bay Area rap veteran Mac Dre's 2004 album '' The Genie of the Lamp''. Dec 06 2011 Rappin' 4-Tay, E-40 and

Playalitical Playalitical (born Dustin Robbins; March 7, 1982 – September 15, 2020) was an American rapper and producer and owner Illuminated Entertainment Group. He's done songs with Snoop Dogg, E-40, Rappin' 4-Tay, Young Joc, Lil' Flip and Chino XL as ...

collaborated on a song entitled "Bounce It Like a Bad Check" which was featured on the ''Political Playboy Music'' album released by

. In 2012 Rappin' 4-Tay collaborated on the song "Picture a Nigga" with Lil' Gang$ta, as well as helping with his debut album. In 2013, he headlined the main stage of Seattle Hempfest with artists Ditch, Tony Tag, Brian Meyers and more. In May 2014, he appeared with E Bone415 in a music video about

Alcatraz Island Alcatraz Island () is a small island in San Francisco Bay, offshore from San Francisco, California, United States. The island was developed in the mid-19th century with facilities for a lighthouse, a military fortification, and a military pri ...

"Playaz Club" Controversy

In 2014 4-Tay was embroiled in controversy, after putting

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name ...

on blast for stealing the lyrics and flow of his 1994 song "Playaz Club" for the Toronto rapper's collaboration "Who Do You Love?" with YG. The artists settled out of court with 4-Tay being promised $100k and future credits for the song. It was later revealed that Drake never actually paid 4-Tay $100k, although he did eventually receive royalties for his contributions to "Who Do You Love?". In 2018, the royalties to both the YG single and "Playaz Club" were auctioned on Royalty Exchange and at one time had bids of upward of $38,250 with the seller reportedly being 4-Tay.

Discography

Studio albums

*''Rappin' 4-Tay Is Back'' (1991) *''

'' (1994) #174 ''Billboard'' 200; #52 R&B/Hip-Hop *''

Off Parole ''Off Parole'' is the third studio album by American rapper Rappin' 4-Tay, released March 19, 1996 on Chrysalis Records. The album features production by The Enhancer, G-Man Stan, Lil' Fly, Mike Dean, Rappin' 4-Tay and Too Short. It peaked at nu ...

'' (1996) #38 ''Billboard'' 200; #10 R&B/Hip-Hop *'' 4 Tha Hard Way'' (1997) *''Bigga Than Da Game'' (1998) *''Introduction to Mackin (1999) *''Gangsta Gumbo'' (2003) *''That's What You Thought'' (2007) *''The World Is a Ghetto'' (2008) *''Still Standing, Vol. 1'' (2011) *''Strictly Enforced'' (2011) *''Where Is the Love?'' (2011) *''Dlk Enterprise Presents Rappin 4-Tay "Dlk Collabs", Vol. 5'' (2022)

Collaboration albums

*'' Derty Werk'' with T.W.D.Y. (1999) *''Ghetto Visa'' with Squirrel (2007) *''Ghetto Visa, Vol. 2'' with Squirrel (2010) *''Exported Game'' with Big Willie & Spike2ms (2011)

Charted singles

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rappin 4-Tay 1968 births Living people 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American rappers African-American Christians African-American male rappers Chrysalis Records artists Gangsta rappers G-funk artists Hip hop musicians from San Francisco Rappers from the San Francisco Bay Area Twin musicians American twins Virgin Records artists West Coast hip hop musicians 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American people