Jevon Jones (born October 11, 1973 in Dallas, Texas) is an American
rapper better known by his stage name Tha Realest, and formerly Tenkamenin
The Vigilante (or simply Tenkamenin). His debut album, Witness Tha
Realest, was released on July 14, 2009, following numerous delays.
Tha Realest is also known, often in a negative light, for his strikingly
similar appearance and voice to that of the deceased rapper and former
label-mate, Tupac Shakur. Tha Realest is also a member of The
Regime.
Jevon Jones was born in Dallas, Texas. His father worked as a preacher.
As an Oak Cliff native, Jones started rapping in the early 1980s
at the age of 10 and competed in rap battles on the local circuit.
In the early 1990s, Jones and former Dallas Cowboys player, Kevin
Smith, formed their first record label called Puppy Dog Unlimited
Records. Tha Realest got married at July 7, 2011. He's got a son
from a previous relationship, which he's allowed to see once a month.
Tha Realest's hobbies include watching baskbetball. During the 2011
NBA playoffs he was supporting Miami Heat, despite being from Dallas.
Jones began his association with Death Row Records in March 1996
when he auditioned for Tupac Shakur in Las Vegas. Following Shakur's
death in September 1996, Suge Knight offered Jones a contract with
the label. He made his musical debut on the Gang Related soundtrack,
appearing in two songs with rapper J-Flexx under the pseudonym Tenkamenin,
sharing his name with a 11th century African Emperor of the Ghana
Empire. In 1999 he performed several tracks on the Death Row collaboration
Suge Knight Represents: Chronic 2000 alongside fellow Death Row artists
Swoop G and Lil' C-Style. These songs had been written by Tha Realest
for his solo project which was to be called Inside Out. He would
again collaborate with them on yet another Death Row compilation
titled Too Gangsta for Radio, appearing on the tracks "Fuck
Dre" and "Fuck Hollywood". "Fuck Dre", seemingly
a response to the Dr. Dre single "Forgot About Dre", insults
many former Death Row artists and their affiliates, primarily Dr.
Dre, Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg, N.W.A and Eminem, who is an artist on
Dr. Dre's Aftermath Records.
On October 17, 1999,[5] while working on Suge Knight Represents:
Chronic 2000, Tha Realest sustained relatively serious injuries to
the foot, having been shot in a drive-by shooting after leaving the
studio in which he had just finished recording a song with Tha Dogg
Pound (Kurupt and Daz Dillinger).[3] Dwayne "Draws" Dupree,
a security officer working in the area, was also shot, but died shortly
after.[6]
[edit] After Death Row Records
Following Suge Knight's release from prison, Tha Realest left Death
Row Records in late 2001 to pursue a record deal in order to release
his debut album, for which he had recorded approximately 150 songs.[2]
Tha Realest had difficulty obtaining a contract as labels were unwilling
to associate with a former artist of Death Row Records and the notoriety
it accumulated over the years.[2] In 2002, Tha Realest formed his
own record label, 2 Real Entertainment (later Omertà Entertainment).
In 2004, he recorded a mixtape at Can-Am Studios with Mob Life Records
artist 730 entitled From East 2 West which featured musical performances
by Swoop G and New Child of Outlawz. It was released in early 2007.[7]
Tha Realest was signed to Tru 'Dat' Entertainment in 2006, a company
founded by Hysear Randell to seek and recruit talented individuals
in film, music, fashion and sports. The music video for his debut
single, "Eurry Now and Then" was released shortly thereafter.
It features cameo appearances by C-Bo, Yukmouth, Nutt-So, Young Hogg,
Big C-Style and Ray J.[8] In 2007, Hysear was accused of embezzling
millions of dollars worth of tax payers money through fraudulent
money transfers. Tru 'Dat' Entertainment was subsequently forced
to discontinue the label.[9]
On July 14, 2009, Tha Realest released his album Witness Tha Realest,
which had been delayed substantially due to the demise of Tru 'Dat'
Entertainment. It is distributed by E1 Music (formerly KOCH Records)
via RBC Records and Team Dime Entertainment.[1][10] Witness Tha Realest
features guest appearances from Yukmouth, Fat Joe, Dru Down, C-Bo,
WC, E.D.I., Napoleon, Devin The Dude and Swoop G among others. The
albums contains 17 tracks, close to his initial goal of 18 when he
told interviewers:
“
They say: 'good things come to those who wait,' the position I was
in at Death Row wasn't right for me. I didn't always get the due
credit I believe I deserved and I finally got out of that deal. I
put so many songs on Witness Tha Realest because so many people have
been waiting so long for my CD to drop. You won't have to fast forward
through any of the songs on the CD. You're gonna' have to give me
an hour and ten minutes of your time when you listen to this CD.
I'm not about to give you only three songs worth listening to. $15
is lunch money for a lot of kids. With Witness Tha Realest, I'm a
holla at you. I'm going to give you something that you can knock
for a while man ... value for your dollar is long overdue in today's
music market.[6] ”
Witness Tha Realest Mixtape, was released in November 2006 which
consisted of some leftovers from the original Witness Tha Realest
studio album scheduled for release on July 15, 2004. This, however,
changed due to the absence of a distribution company.[4]
Tha Realest is currently working on his second studio album Remember
My Name which most likely will be released early 2012. There are
going to be 2 music videos for his upcoming album, one confirmed
to be directed by Tha Razor, who also the directed Peep 'N' Game
and Thug Lova music video. He is also working on albums with long-time
associate C-Bo and underground artist Don Twizzi as well as a debut
studio album by The Regime.
[edit] Films
Tha Realest, like many other rappers such as G-Unit and Ice-T, has
appeared in several hip-hop themed pornographic productions including
a few alongside other rappers such as Snoop Dogg who, himself, has
produced several pornographic films. His main productions are titled
Tha Realest #1 and #2 and feature original music by Tha Realest[11]
and many popular pornographic actresses such as Mika Tan, Lyla Lei
and Brooke Haven.[12] The films were produced by Antiqua Pictures
and Fatt Entertainment. The Realest also appeared in a low-budget
film titled Slumber Party which was released in 2005 and also featured
several former Death Row Records performers such as Daz Dillinger
and Crooked I.[13]
[edit] Discography
Main article: Tha Realest discography
[edit] Studio albums
Witness Tha Realest (2009)
[edit] Compilations
Suge Knight Represents: Chronic 2000 (1999)
Too Gangsta for Radio (2000)
[edit] Filmography & TV Series
Year Title Role Notes
2005 Slumber Party Himself Cameo
2008 Triloquist Himself Performer
2008 Keeping Up with the Kardashians Himself S02E11
2011 Old Skool with Terry & Gita Himself S01E05
[edit] Pornographic movies
Year Title Role Notes
2005 Tha Realest - The Party's Just Getting Started! Himself Host
2006 Tha Realest - Volume 2: The Party Continues! Himself Host
[edit] Music Videos
Year Title Director Notes
1999 Unconditional love Deathrow Records Tha Realest plays 2pac's
part
1999 Because of you, girl Deathrow Records
2000 Cindafella Deathrow Records Tha Realest appears on Top Dogg's
music video, through the introduction
2006 Get wild Jewlz Bailey All Out War Vol. 3
2006 Alkohol keeps callin' (Remix) Fatt Entertainment Promotional
Video
2006 Apple bottom anthem T.T. Boy Evasive Angels
2007 Eurry now and then Ryda Tru Dat Entertainment
2008 Tainted love Mark Jones Clip from Triloquist
2010 Peep 'n' game Tha Razor Dp: Jesse Dana
2010 Thug lover Tha Razor