Germaine Williams, better known by his stage name Canibus, is a Jamaican-born
American rapper. He is a part of supergroup The HRSMN. Canibus rose
to fame in the mid nineties. Canibus is well known for his extensive
vocabulary and vivid imagery, he's also well known for creating intricate
rhyme schemes, complex phrases and concepts that he uses in order
to provide an artistic depth to his music.
Germaine Williams was born on December 9, 1974 in Kingston, Jamaica.
He is of African and Jamaican descent.[1][2] His father, Basil Williams,
is a former Jamaican cricketer.[3] The family moved frequently, living
in The Bronx, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Miami, Buffalo, and London[4]
due to his mother's career requiring constant relocation.[1] Canibus
stated that he was an introverted child growing up.[5] After completing
high school in 1992, he spent a year working for AT&T and another
year as a data analyst for the U.S. Department of Justice.[5] His
interest in computers and the Internet led him to study computer
science at DeKalb College in Atlanta.[4][6]
[edit] Music career
[edit] Early career (1995–1996)
He began rhyming in the mid-'90s and by 1995 formed a duo called
T.H.E.M. (The Heralds of Extreme Metaphors) with Atlanta rapper Webb
(now called C.I., also known as Central Intelligence). While he was
with Webb, he took part in a legendary cypher with the Wu Tang Clan
family in Buffalo, New York, which earned him respect from the rap
veterans. In 1996, T.H.E.M. split and Canibus teamed with businessman
Charles Suitt.
[edit] Debut album, Wyclef Jean feud and second album (1997–2000)
Canibus' debut album Can-I-Bus came out in September 1998. The song "Second
Round K.O.", produced by Wyclef Jean, was a success, with the
video featuring Wyclef and a cameo appearance by boxer Mike Tyson.
Despite eventually being certified Gold, critics panned the album,
criticizing both Canibus' subject matter and Wyclef's beats, most
of which were considered inferior to both "Second Round K.O." and
the artists' previous collaborations.
The original album contained a lot of socially concerned material.
Some songs talked about the corruption within the U.S. government,
AIDS, and the modern-American homicide issues. [7]
Because Wyclef produced the majority of the tracks, Williams blamed
him for the general dissatisfaction with Can-I-Bus and cut ties with
him, going as far as to diss Wyclef, most notably on the title track
of his second album ("You mad at the last album? I apologize
for it / Yo, I can't call it, motherfucking Wyclef spoiled it!").
Said album, 2000 B.C., was also released to mixed feelings and reviews – the
latter once more focusing on the lack of topical variety and uninspired
production – also suffering from very little promotion by Universal
Records. ll 2000 B.C. featured the first collaboration between Canibus
and Kurupt, Ras Kass and Killah Priest, a rap supergroup collectively
known as The HRSMN (referring to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse),
on the track "Horsementality". Though following 2000 B.C.'s
release it had been announced that the group would be releasing an
album, these plans never materialized, with only an EP of outtakes
from 2001 entitled The Horsemen Project released by Killah Priest's
management in 2003. Since 2000, however, the members of the group
have worked together on various songs and rumors of a full-length
HRSMN album are rampant to this day and include speculation about
collaborations with Pharoahe Monch, Common and Rakim, among others.
Though much bitterness between Canibus and Wyclef Jean remained
for a period of time, the two artists finally settled their differences
at the end of 2004; they have since worked together on two remixes
of the Machel Montano song "Carnival Survivors". In an
interview with HipHopsite.com conducted in November 2005, Williams
revealed that he had recorded five songs with Wyclef and Jerry 'Wonder'
Duplessis at Platinum Studios in New York for the upcoming Fugees
reunion album. Whether or not those recordings will appear on the
album hasn't been determined yet.
[edit] C True Hollywood Stories (2001)
In 2001, Canibus released his third album, C True Hollywood Stories,
the title and some of the content deriving from the television show
E! True Hollywood Story. It was released on Archives Music, an independent
label owned by Williams' future business partner, Louis Lombard III.
It was a controversial release due to the album's overall concept,
which to this day remains quite unclear to some. Many listeners interpreted
it as Canibus' botched attempt at becoming a commercial and mainstream
artist and wrote him off as a one-hit wonder, while others have called
it a concept album in which the rapper satirized the mainstream hip-hop
scene. Most explanations since the album's release seem to lean towards
the latter; when Canibus' new official website, MicClub.net, appeared
online towards the end of 2002, the summary of C True Hollywood Stories
in the "Merchandise" section called it "an introspective
look into the ultimate fan "Stan's" take on the current
state of hip hop".
In an interview conducted in 2005, Williams' former promoter, Pak-Man,
who worked on over half of the album with the rapper, spoke on the
record, with his explanation leaning toward the album being intended
as satire: "At that time Canibus was in the studio recording
a lot of songs and [I] mean a lot, but he didn't want to make the
fans wait no more so he did C True Hollywood Stories and he wanted
to have fun wit, so thats what we did we had fun wit". In an
interview on AllHipHop.com posted on April 8, 2005, Williams was
asked what direction he was trying to take with that album; in his
response, he stated "That album depicts the state of affairs
in my life at the time - nothing more, nothing less".
[edit] Mic Club: The Curriculum and Rip the Jacker (2002–2003)
After the critical failure of C True Hollywood Stories, Canibus
was subject to criticism and ridicule from the rap industry until
the release of Mic Club: The Curriculum, his fourth full-length album,
towards the end of 2002. Although the production was handled almost
entirely by little-known producers, some of them from Europe, the
record proved to be a greater critical success than the previous
year's release. Mic Club also saw Canibus return to a more scientific
and complex rapping style, with a number of concept tracks and few
songs with a chorus. The album was released on Mic Club Music, Canibus'
own label, but failed to chart, selling relatively few copies.
Following the release of Mic Club: The Curriculum, it was announced
that Williams decided to join the United States Army. Before commencing
his work with the military, however, he recorded a number of tracks
which he intended to be released on his next album, entitled Rip
the Jacker. Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind was given the task of producing
the entire record, equipped solely with Canibus' pre-recorded vocals.
Due to his military obligations, Canibus himself only managed to
review the album after having acquired a copy.
Upon release, Rip the Jacker received rave reviews from the majority
of critics, who noted that Williams' largely scientific lyrics and
distinctive, rough delivery was finally matched by equally fine production,
as Canibus had a history of working with badly selected producers.
Unlike Mic Club, Rip the Jacker charted on both Billboard's R&B/hip-hop
charts and the Billboard 200, peaking at #34 and #197, respectively,
although commercially, it retained the tendency to sell few copies.
Critics highlighted various aspects of Rip the Jacker's originality,
both in terms of beats and lyrics; Stoupe had employed a large number
of samples from often obscure compositions, while Canibus himself
undertook a variety of topics from various perspectives. Of note
was the inclusion of "Poet Laureate II", a song exceeding
seven minutes in length and lacking a chorus, with several changes
of beat throughout; the track was frequently singled out as one of
the strongest in Canibus' career and the album as a whole convinced
listeners and the industry alike that the rapper hadn't lost his
potential.
[edit] Mind Control, Cloak n Dagga and Hip-Hop for Sale (2005–2006)
Following Rip the Jacker and Canibus' subsequent discharge from
the army, an album entitled Mind Control (2005) was released to negative
reviews. Canibus had never planned for it to be compiled as a separate
record, but agreed to release it through the independent Gladiator
Music label as part of a contractual agreement; most of the vocals
for Mind Control had been recorded prior to the release of C True
Hollywood Stories. A collection of previously recorded material (with
only three of the songs being unreleased) produced entirely by Mark
Sparks, the album failed to chart and is rarely considered an official
Canibus release by the rapper's fans.
Also in 2005, a collaboration between Williams and underground rapper
Phoenix Orion, who had also been known for scientific lyrics, yielded
the album Def Con Zero, released on the independent Head Trauma Records
label, owned by K-1 boxer Dewey Cooper. The record featured guest
appearances from Kool G Rap, K-Solo, and former 106 & Park host
Free, among others. As Cloak N Dagga, the duo briefly toured the
United States promoting the release.
The following month, after numerous delays, Canibus' seventh solo
album, Hip-Hop for Sale, was released, but was panned by critics,
who dismissed it as yet another failed attempt to gain mainstream
recognition. Additionally, due to the earlier release of Mind Control
and the leaking of most of the material in the form of a mixtape
entitled The Vitruvian Man, the release date had been pushed back
to November, the original date having been May. The production on
Hip-Hop for Sale was handled in part by Virginia-based producer Nottz,
with several relatively unknown producers handling the remaining
tracks after Nottz had cut ties with Canibus due to the appearance
of The Vitruvian Man.The day of Hip-Hop for Sale's release, Mic Club
Master Volume One, a separate mixtape, appeared in stores, many of
the songs receiving more praise than those present on the full-length
album.
[edit] For Whom the Beat Tolls (2007)
In January 2007, it was announced that Canibus would release new
material in 2007 exclusively on his own imprint, Mic Club Music,
in a joint venture with Legion Entertainment and distributed via
his former major label, Universal Music Group. A pair of mixtapes,
titled Nothing to Prove and Nothing to Lose, were slated for release
in March 2007, but were eventually scrapped; instead, Canibus decided
to use the best material from each mixtape to create a new full-length
album entitled For Whom the Beat Tolls.
When the record was originally announced in March, there was only
one confirmed track – the third installment in Canibus' "Poet
Laureate" series, "Poet Laureate Infinity". The track
has 1,000 bars, in the form of five 200 bar verses, and is layered
in such a way that "when you mix it and spread it throughout
five channels, [you have the ability] to mix the track differently
every time".[8] On April 8, 2007, the track was uploaded, by
Canibus himself, to a website where the listener could mix the track
differently on a digital mixing board. The website is now down, but
the fansite Canibus-Central.com provided a backup.
"For Whom the Beat Tolls" was originally set for release
in May 2007, but was pushed back one month, and a released on June
12, 2007 (though it wasn't distributed by Universal as previously
reported). The album has 16 tracks and includes contributions from
Killah Priest and Vinnie Paz, among others, and featured two personally
made mixes of the "Poet Laureate Infinity" track ("Poet
Laureate Infinity v003" and "Poet Laureate Infinity v004").
Following the release of "For Whom the Beat Tolls", Canibus
went on a sporadic tour in the U.S. to promote the record. In August
2007, Canibus made an announcement on his Myspace page that he had
cut ties with his business partner Louis Lombard: "To my friends,
family and fans, Just wanted everybody to know I no longer do business
with Louis Lombard, III & Mic Club Music.
[edit] Melatonin Magik (2010)
In December 2009, it was announced that Canibus was in the process
of releasing his 9th studio album Melatonin Magik.[9] Melatonin Magik
was released on February 09, 2010, to relatively positive reviews,
being regarded as one of his most focused efforts yet. The album
included several guest appearances, a marked contrast to many of
his previous albums in which he kept features at a minimum.
[edit] C of Tranquility (2010)
His long awaited album C of Tranquility was released on Oct. 5,
2010. Producers include DJ Premier, Jake One, Scram Jones, The Bizness
and J-Zone.[10]
[edit] Military career
In 2002, Canibus signed up for the United States Army. In a 2005
interview, Canibus stated "I enlisted because I wanted to get
away from the music.... I wanted to do something that gave me a separate
definition from what I had done all through my teens and twenties.
I was 28 when I enlisted". [11]
[edit] Discography
Main article: Canibus discography
[edit] Solo Albums
* 1998: Can-I-Bus
* 2000: 2000 B.C. (Before Can-I-Bus)
* 2001: C True Hollywood Stories
* 2002: Mic Club: The Curriculum
* 2003: Rip the Jacker
* 2005: Mind Control
* 2005: Hip-Hop for Sale
* 2007: For Whom the Beat Tolls
* 2010: Melatonin Magik
* 2010: C of Tranquility
* 2011: Lyrical Law [12]
* TBA: Rip the Jacker II: Infinity
[edit] Collaboration Albums
* 2003: The Horsemen Project with Killah Priest, Kurupt & Ras
Kass as The HRSMN
* 2005: Def Con Zero with Phoenix Orion as Cloak-n-Dagga
* 2011: Untitled Album with Killah Priest, Kurupt & Ras Kass as The HRSMN
* TBA: Untitled Album with Kool G Rap
* TBA: Untitled Album with Keith Murray as The Undergods
[edit] EPs
* 2003: The Brainstream EP
* 2009: Canibus and Keith Murray Are the Undergods with Keith Murray as The
Undergods
* 2009: The Paranoid Chillin EP with Sick Since, Presto & Prince EA
* 2010: Children of The Indigo EP
[edit] Official Mixtapes
* 2003: My Name Is Nobody
* 2005: Mic Club Master Volume One
* 2005: The Vitruvian Man
[edit] Filmography
* 2000: Bamboozled
* 2004: Beef II
* 2004: The MC: Why We Do It