Special Ed

Origins

Special Ed was born Edward Archer on May 16, 1972, in Brooklyn, to Jamaican parents. He grew up in Flatbush and later moved to Canarsie, attending Erasmus Hall and Samuel J. Tilden high schools. Around age 15 he linked up with producer Howie Tee, known as the Hitman, an East Flatbush-raised beatmaker known for his work with the Real Roxanne and Chubb Rock, and the two began shaping his demo.

"I Got It Made"

The partnership produced Youngest in Charge, released on Profile Records in 1989 when Ed was still a teenager. The lead single, "I Got It Made," set a loping Howie Tee groove under a relaxed but razor-precise flow, as Ed rattled off his wealth and talents with a straight face and a lot of wit. The record's confidence belied his age and made him an instant name in New York. Howie Tee's production gave the album a consistent sound, and three of its tracks became the songs Ed is still most associated with. The album reached No. 73 on the Billboard 200 and No. 8 on the R&B albums chart, with follow-up singles "Think About It" and "I'm the Magnificent" keeping him on radio; sources credit it with sales above half a million. The Source later named it one of its 100 best rap albums.

Later Career

Ed returned with Legal in 1990, timed to his 18th birthday, with singles that played on his arrival at legal age, and in 1994 joined the original Crooklyn Dodgers with Buckshot and Masta Ace for the Q-Tip-produced "Crooklyn," the title track to Spike Lee's film. His third album, Revelations, followed in 1995 with a DJ Premier remix of "Neva Go Back." He also acted, with parts in the films Juice and Ganked and a guest spot on The Cosby Show, and in 2004 released Still Got It Made independently on his own label.

Legacy

"I Got It Made" remains one of the defining boasts of the late-1980s Brooklyn scene and later reached a new audience on the Grand Theft Auto IV soundtrack. Special Ed is often remembered as proof that a teenager could hold his own with the era's most technical MCs, and his run with Howie Tee stands among the strongest artist-producer pairings of the golden age.