Celly Cel

Vallejo beginnings

Celly Cel was born on December 1, 1970, in Vallejo, California. He made his recording debut in 1992 with the single “Lifestyle of a Mack,” released on his own independent imprint, Realside Records, in the same city where E-40 and The Click were selling their own records to build a following.

Sick Wid' It and Jive

He joined E-40's Sick Wid' It Records for his debut album, “Heat 4 Yo Azz,” released in 1994 and reissued the same year through Jive Records. Produced by Mike Mosley, Sam Bostic and Studio Ton, with guests including E-40 and B-Legit, it reached number 34 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and number 26 on Heatseekers. His second album, “Killa Kali,” followed on April 30, 1996, and became his commercial peak at number 26 on the Billboard 200 and number 4 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Its singles included “4 tha Scrilla” and “It's Goin' Down,” the latter later certified Gold by the RIAA.

Later albums

“The G Filez” (1998) reached number 53 on the Billboard 200 and number 17 on the R&B/Hip-Hop chart, and “Deep Conversation” (2000) charted at number 94 on the R&B/Hip-Hop list. He also recorded as part of the group Criminalz, whose album “Criminal Activity” came out in 2001, and he kept releasing solo work, including “It'z Real Out Here” (2005), “Slaps, Straps and Baseball Hats” (2006), “Morphine X” (2013), “Dirty Mind” (2017) and “Focused” (2020).

Collaborations

Across his career he has worked with E-40, B-Legit, Spice 1 and San Quinn, and with artists outside the Bay such as Fat Joe, Biz Markie and the Wu-Tang Clan. In 1996 he appeared on the Red Hot Organization's compilation “America Is Dying Slowly,” which addressed the AIDS epidemic among African American men.