Bay Area Rapper E-40, 20 Years in the Game

Bay Area rapper E-40 (born Earl Stevens) is celebrating the 20th anniversary of his musical career. To commemorate this special occasion, E-40 is working on a sweet gift to all his fans: “The Ball Street Journal”, which is the 12th solo album in the artist’s career.

The album, not due out until October 28, 2008, already has two confirmed tracks, including the dance floor hit “Wake It Up” (featuring Akon) and “Turf Drop” (featuring Lil’ Jon). The two singles were chart-friendly; the former reached #5 on the Billboard Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles and the latter outperformed its peer by jumping to number 4 on the same chart.

This is not the first time, however, that the Bay Area rapper has had reason to celebrate.

On March 14, 2006, E-40 released album “My Ghetto Report Card”, which debuted at #3 on the Billboard 200 and #1 on the Hip-Hop/R&B charts and eventually went on to become officially platinum. This album is considered to be a milestone in the artist’s career, not only because of the platinum certification but also because of the part it played in putting the Hyphy genre on the map.

“My Ghetto Report Card” includes the Hyphy-inspired hit “Tell Me When To Go” (featuring Keak da Sneak) and the smash hit “U and Dat”, which peaked at #13 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Over the years, the Bay Area ambassador has been featured on many fellow rappers’ albums, including his most recent appearance on V.I.C.’s single “Get Silly (Remix)”. He was also featured on Unk’s dance tune “2 Step (Remix) in 2007 and in “Snap Yo Fingers” in 2006.

With the Hyphy style now becoming a mainstream genre, the entrepreneur E-40 is poised to reap the benefits of the new wave in Hip-Hop music.

Tell Me When To Go - E-40

Sources: E-40 MySpace, Biography, E-40, My Ghetto Report Card, Tell Me When To Go.