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Schoolly D
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
Schoolly D, real name Jesse Bonds Weaver Jr., is an American rapper from Philadelphia. He was born in 1962 in West Philadelphia and also grew up in Georgia. In the mid-1980s he worked with DJ Code Money. His lyrics dealt with urban realism, violence and sexual bravado. The music was sparse and hard, with electronic, economical rhythms. His first records appeared in the 1980s, including Schoolly D, Saturday Night! The Album and Smoke Some Kill.
Music and breakthrough
His song P.S.K. is often cited as one of the first records of what later came to be called gangsta rap. Ice-T described in his autobiography how that record influenced him in writing 6 in the Mornin'. For that reason Schoolly D is regarded as one of the inventors of the genre. Later he embraced an Afrocentric style and, together with KRS-One, brought Afrocentric culture into hip hop.
Influence
His music is also heard in films by the director Abel Ferrara, including King of New York and Bad Lieutenant. The song Signifying Rapper from Smoke Some Kill was removed from the soundtrack of Bad Lieutenant because Led Zeppelin won a lawsuit over an uncleared reference to Kashmir. He also wrote music for the animated series Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Schoolly D shows that hip hop was already finding a hard voice of its own in the streets of Philadelphia in the early 1980s.
Listening
Discography
Studio albums
- 1985Schoolly D
- 1986Saturday Night! The Album
- 1988Smoke Some Kill
- 1989Am I Black Enough for You?
- 1991How a Black Man Feels
- 1994Welcome to America
- 1995Reservoir Dog
- 2000Funk 'N Pussy
- 2010International Supersport
- 2024'cuz That Nixxers Crazy That's Why
Mentioned in other articles
- Gangsta rap Genre
After forerunners such as Schoolly D of Philadelphia and Ice-T of Los Angeles, N.W.A.