Earl Tywone Stevens Sr. (born: November 15, 1967), better known online as E-40, is an American rapper. He is a founding member of the rap group The Click and the founder of Sick Wid It Records.[1]
History[]
Earl Tywone Stevens Sr. was born on November 15, 1967, in Vallejo, California.[2] He grew up with his siblings raised by a divorced mother, and he became interested in hip hop after hearing Rapper's Delight by the Sugarhill Gang. Beginning in fourth grade, Stevens played the snare and bass drum.[3] He graduated from Hogan High School in Vallejo in 1985. Stevens played baseball in high school, recorded music with his siblings, and sold their recordings from the back of a car.[4] After high school, Stevens enrolled at Grambling State University in 1986 with his cousin Brandt Jones and attended the school for one year.[5]
Stevens made his rap debut as E-40 in 1986, with B-Legit, Suga-T, and D-Shot in the group Most Valuable Players. After impressing fellow students with a rap remix of the school song and a Grambling State talent show, Most Valuable Players released a single, "The King's Men".[6] The group later became The Click and released the EP Let's Side in 1990. The EP was co-produced by Mike Mosley and Al Eaton and was released on Sick Wid It Records.[7]
In 1993, the Click had mainstream hit, "Captain Save a Hoe." They moved back to Vallejo and teamed up with D-Shot to form the group MVP or Most Valuable Players. Saint Charles helped them put out the record.[8] Suga-T was then added to the group to form the Click.[9]
Although having a large following on the West Coast, Stevens did not have a large mainstream audience, so only two of his songs released under Jive Records, "1-Luv" featuring Levitti and "Things'll Never Change" featuring Bo-Roc, charted on the Billboard Hot 100.[10] He had been working nearly exclusively with rappers from the Bay Area until 1997, when he released the double disc compilation Southwest Riders featuring exclusively rap acts from the Bay Area and the south. His collaboration with southern rappers continued in 1998, when he was given guest appearances on albums including Lost by Eightball, and MP da Last Don by Master P.[11][12]
Stevens opened a Fatburger franchise in Pleasant Hill, California, which has now been shut down.[13] He had promoted a forthcoming publication, E-40's Book of Slang, since 1998.[14] He is also a spokesperson for Landy Cognac, and he opened the now-defunct Ambassador's Lounge, a nightclub in Downtown San Jose.[15]
Stevens is also an investor and has his own investment company. He was an early investor in social media apps Clubhouse and Convoz.[16]
In 2003, Stevens began hosting E-Feezy Radio, a weekly program on San Francisco hip-hop radio station KMEL that showcased Bay Area hip hop.[17]
In late 2007, Stevens announced a new line of energy drinks called "40 Water."[18] He also has a number of other ventures in the beverage industry, including the wine industry, where he has released three wines including a red blend called "Function," a moscato and high-alcohol fortified wine called "Mangoscato."[19] The wines are branded using the rapper's real name, Earl Stevens. In December 2014, he released a premixed cocktail beverage called Sluricane Hurricane, inspired by the 1995 hit song "Hurricane" from his group the Click.[20]
Discography[]
Albums[]
- Federal (1992)
- In a Major Way (1995)
- The Hall of Game (1996)
- The Element of Surprise (1998)
- Charlie Hustle: The Blueprint of a Self-Made Millionaire (1999)
- Loyalty and Betrayal (2000)
- Grit & Grind (2002)
- Breakin' News (2003)
- My Ghetto Report Card (2006)
- The Ball Street Journal (2008)
- Revenue Retrievin': Day Shift (2010)
- Revenue Retrievin': Night Shift (2010)
- Revenue Retrievin': Overtime Shift (2011)
- Revenue Retrievin': Graveyard Shift (2011)
- The Block Brochure: Welcome to the Soil 1 (2012)
- The Block Brochure: Welcome to the Soil 2 (2012)
- The Block Brochure: Welcome to the Soil 3 (2012)
- The Block Brochure: Welcome to the Soil 4 (2013)
- The Block Brochure: Welcome to the Soil 5 (2013)
- The Block Brochure: Welcome to the Soil 6 (2013)
- Sharp On All 4 Corners: Corner 1 (2014)
- Sharp On All 4 Corners: Corner 2 (2014)
- The D-Boy Diary: Book 1 (2016)
- The D-Boy Diary: Book 2 (2016)
- The Gift of Gab (2018)
- Practice Makes Paper (2019)
- Rule of Thumb: Rule 1 (2023)
Collaborative Albums[]
- Down and Dirty (w/ The Click) (1992)
- Game Related (w/ The Click) (1995)
- Money Muscle (w/ The Click) (2001)
- History: Mob Music (w/ Too Short) (2012)
- History: Function Music (w/ Too Short) (2012)
- Connected and Respected (w/ B-Legit) (2018)
- Snoop Cube 40 $hort (w/ Mount Westmore) (2022)
Compilation Albums[]
- Southwest Riders (w/ B-Legit) (1997)
- The Best of E-40: Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow (2004)
- The Bay Bridges Compilation Vol. 1 (2005)
- The Year of the Pig (w/ Sick Wid It) (2019)
- Ain't Gone Do It/Terms and Conditions (w/ Too Short) (2020)
- Abundance (w/ Sick Wid It) (2023)
- Hoggish Nights (w/ Sick Wid It) (2023)
Extended Plays[]
- Mr. Flamboyant (1991)
- The Mail Man (1993)
- Poverty and Prosperity (2015)
- The Curb Commentator Channel 1 (2020)
- The Curb Commentator Channel 2 (2020)
Mixtapes[]
- Hyphy Movement (2007)
Singles[]
Filmography[]
Film[]
- Rhyme & Reason (1997)
- The Breaks (1999)
- 3 Strikes (2000)
- Obstacles (2000)
- Malibooty (2003)
- Hair Show (2004)
- Survival of the Illest (2004)
- Dead Heist (2007)
- The Adventures of Tha Blue Carpet Treatment (2008)
- Ghostride the Whip (2008)
- What Are the Chances? (2016)
- Don't Get Caught (2018)
- 16 Bars the Movie (2023)
- 88 Fresh (2023)
Television[]
- The Jamie Foxx Show (2001)
- Hell's Kitchen (2005)
- Incredible Crew (2011)
- Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives (2018)
- Blindspotting (2018)
References[]
- ↑ https://www.npr.org/2021/03/11/976229350/e-40-rap-legend
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20071121151847/http://www.timesheraldonline.com/ci_7492056
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20150721005558/http://www.timesheraldonline.com/arts-and-entertainment/20150603/vallejo-ae-source-unique-spotlight-e-40
- ↑ https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/article/Hardest-working-man-in-rap-E-40-s-blueprint-for-2824145.php
- ↑ https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/s/instagram/BcCvabaFvkz
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20150721005558/http://www.timesheraldonline.com/arts-and-entertainment/20150603/vallejo-ae-source-unique-spotlight-e-40
- ↑ https://www.allmusic.com/artist/e-40-mn0000150793/biography
- ↑ http://www.thefader.com/blog/articles/2005/10/10/left-side
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20030224015315/http://www.westcoast2k.net/interviews/blegit.htm
- ↑ https://www.billboard.com/artist/E-40/chart-history/HSI
- ↑ https://www.discogs.com/release/557359-Eightball-Lost
- ↑ https://www.discogs.com/release/1737117-Master-P-MP-Da-Last-Don
- ↑ https://www.sohh.com/e-40-says-goodbye-to-fatburger-franchise-re-launching-40-water-brand-in-09/
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20121018005922/http://www.mtv.com:80/news/articles/500244/e-40-authors-slang-dictionary.jhtml
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20070526085227/http://www.odeo.com/audio/594729/view
- ↑ https://www.revolt.tv/article/2021-03-20/57431/e-40-was-an-early-investor-in-clubhouse/
- ↑ https://archive.today/20130105185730/http://www.xlr8r.com/features/2006/04/e-40-tell-me-when-blow
- ↑ http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.5915/title.e-40-creates-40-water-health-drink
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20140929052608/http://www.sacbee.com/2014/08/03/6596624/nor-cal-rapper-e-40-has-become.html
- ↑ https://archive.today/20150416145218/http://www.ballerstatus.com/2014/11/08/e-40-readies-sluricane-hurricane-premixed-cocktail/
