E-40
E-40 biography and full discography: Vallejo’s Sick Wid It founder, The Click, Federal, In a Major Way, “Tell Me When to Go” and three decades of independent Bay Area rap.
Family business in Vallejo
Earl Stevens grew up in Vallejo, raised by a mother who worked three jobs. Hearing “Rapper's Delight” hooked him on rap, and he played drums from the fourth grade. After graduating from Hogan High in 1985 he spent a year at Grambling State, then came home and went into business with his family.
In 1986 he formed a group with his cousin B-Legit, his sister Suga-T and his brother D-Shot. They became The Click, and they sold homemade tapes out of the back of a car across the Bay.
Sick Wid It
In 1989 he founded Sick Wid It Records, working with producers Mike Mosley and Al Eaton, and later Studio Ton. The Click's Let's Side EP (1990) and Down and Dirty (1992) came first, then his solo debut Federal (1992), which Spin later described as a self-released debut that “invented a hustle, a sound, a new rap language.”
The Click's “Captain Save a Hoe” broke through in 1993, and Jive signed a distribution deal that let E-40 keep control of his label. In a Major Way (1995) went platinum with “1-Luv” and “Sprinkle Me,” The Click's Game Related went gold, and Tha Hall of Game (1996) reached No. 4 on the Billboard 200.
Hyphy and beyond
In 2006, on Lil Jon's BME Recordings with Reprise, My Ghetto Report Card became his highest-charting album, reaching No. 3. “Tell Me When to Go” with Keak da Sneak carried the Bay's hyphy movement nationwide, and “U and Dat” hit No. 13 on the Hot 100.
He then went fully independent again on Heavy on the Grind, releasing volume sets like Revenue Retrievin' and The Block Brochure. He joined Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg and Too $hort in Mount Westmore, built wine, spirits and food businesses, and is known for a fast, inventive way with slang that spread far beyond the Bay.
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Discography
Studio albums 28
Collaborative albums 10
EPs & mixtapes 6
Compilations 2
Albums on Breakbeat Archive
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