Godfather Don is an American rapper and record producer from

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He has been "a creative force within New York City's

underground hip-hop Underground hip hop (also known as underground rap or simply underground) traditionally refers to hip hop music that is outside the general mainstream canon or counter-cultural in nature, usually with a heavy emphasis on emotion, lyricism, and/or ...

scene" since he made his debut in 1991. AllMusic ((( Godfather Don > Biography )))/ref>

Biography

Godfather Don first appeared in 1991 with ''Hazardous'', released by

Select Records Select Records was an American record label. Among its most popular acts were the Real Roxanne, Chubb Rock, AMG, The Jerky Boys, Kid 'n Play, UTFO, Whistle, and Gary Private. From 1990 to 1995, it had a distribution deal with Elektra Reco ...

. The album established the Godfather as an MC influenced by the blatant, hard-hitting style of

Chuck D Carlton Douglas Ridenhour (born August 1, 1960), known professionally as Chuck D, is an American rapper, best known as the leader and frontman of the hip hop group Public Enemy, which he co-founded in 1985 with Flavor Flav. Chuck D is also a me ...

. A few years later, the Don appeared on and produced the

Ultramagnetic MC's The Ultramagnetic MCs is an American hip hop group based in the Bronx, New York City. Founded by Kool Keith, the group also includes Ced Gee, TR Love, and Moe Love. Tim Dog became an unofficial member in 1989. In 1990, DJ Jaycee was added as a ...

' '' The Four Horsemen'', which led to a collaboration with that group's standout, Kool Keith. The Don and Keith released their EP Cenobites in 1995 through

Fondle 'Em Records Fondle 'Em Records was a hip hop record label founded and owned by Bobbito Garcia from 1995 to 2001, based in New York City. Garcia formed the label after realizing that the many unsigned rappers making guest appearances on ''The Stretch Armstr ...

, which was started by New York b-boy, DJ, and man about town Bobbito Garcia. The material on the EP had originally been recorded as gags or promos for Garcia's underground hip-hop radio show on New York's

WKCR WKCR-FM (89.9 FM) is a radio station licensed to New York, New York. The station is owned by Columbia University and serves the New York metropolitan area. Founded in 1941, the station traces its history back to 1908 with the first operations o ...

. The Cenobites EP was then reissued by Fondle 'Em as a full-length LP. Throughout the 1990s, Godfather Don continued to work as a producer, working on tracks from Kool Keith, Hostyle, and

Ayatollah Ayatollah (, ; ; ) is an Title of honor, honorific title for high-ranking Twelver Shia clergy. It came into widespread usage in the 20th century. Originally used as a title bestowed by popular/clerical acclaim for a small number of the most di ...

, among others. In 1999, he released his second album, Diabolique, on which his flow was very similar to the bludgeoning raps of his 1991 debut. The album included cameo appearances from Kool Keith and Sir Menelik, and appeared on the

Hydra Entertainment Hydra Entertainment is a hip hop record label specializing in Instrumental hip hop. They are most notable for their ''Hydra Beats'' series of instrumental albums by prominent hip hop producers. All of its releases are out of print. Hip hop grou ...

imprint, for which Godfather Don continued to record, releasing several 12" singles and

Instrumental hip hop Hip hop production is the creation of hip hop music in a recording studio. While the term encompasses all aspects of hip hop music creation, including recording the rapping of an MC, a turntablist or DJ providing a beat, playing samples and "sc ...

albums. In the 2000s, Don was known for his work with

Screwball A screwball is a baseball and fastpitch softball pitch that is thrown so as to break in the opposite direction of a slider or curveball. Depending on the pitcher's arm angle, the ball may also have a sinking action. The pitch is sometimes known ...

, a Queensbridge hip hop group, producing much of their 3 albums. In 2007, Don resurfaced with 'The Slave Of New York E.P.': an EP of previously unreleased archive material in association with hip-hop website Diggers With Gratitude who tracked him down and worked on putting this project out. 150 copies of this six track vinyl E.P. were released, with the first 45 copies having signed sleeves. The material used was recorded before and during his time with Hydra, with the title track coming directly from a cassette that Don had given to Bobbito to play on

. Due to the resurge in interest, Don was then asked to release a CD compilation of material by another label, titled ''The Nineties Sessions'', out now. On May 21, 2011, Don dropped another EP of previously unreleased material titled "The Reformation Circa. 1999" a collaborative effort between Mic-el The Don, (who featured on tracks from the "Diabolique" album) and Godfather Don. The EP was recorded sometime in the late 1990s, it is one of Godfather Don's last full bodies of work in the hip-hop genre before he moved on to a career in Jazz music with the group The Open Mind. On March 27, 2020, Don dropped a new album of previously unreleased material titled "Osmosis" in collaboration with French beatmaker Parental.

Discography

*1991: ''Hazardous'' *1995: '' Cenobites'' (EP & LP) *1997: ''Hydra Beats Vol. 3-7-11-14'' *1998: ''Diabolique'' *2004: ''Hydra Beats The Next Level Vol. 1'' *2007: ''The Slave Of New York EP'' (Limited Edition) *2007: ''The Nineties Sessions'' *2009: ''The Ill Funk Freaker EP'' (Limited Edition) *2010: ''Donnie Brasco'' (Previously Unreleased Third Official Studio Album) *2010: ''Properties of Steel'' (Single Collection) *2011: ''The Reformation Circa. 1999'' *2018: ''Jazz Spastiks Remixes'' *2020: ''Osmosis'' *2020: ''Beats, Bangers & Biscuits at 535 E 55th St'' *2021: ''Exotic Essentials'' *2024: ''The Ill Tone Generator'' *2024: ''Thesis'' *2025: ''Writer's Delight''

References

External links

On The Go magazine Interview (1997)
*

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Godfather Don Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Rappers from Brooklyn African-American rappers American hip-hop record producers Hydra Entertainment artists Select Records artists Underground rappers East Coast hip-hop musicians 21st-century American rappers Record producers from New York (state) 21st-century African-American musicians