Z-Ro
| Z-Ro | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Joseph Wayne McVey |
| Also known as | Rother Vandross, The Mo City Don[1] |
| Born | January 19, 1977 [2][3] Houston , Texas, U.S. |
| Origin | Missouri City, Texas, U.S. |
| Genres | Hip hop |
| Occupation(s) | |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Labels | Asylum, Rap-a-Lot, King of the Ghetto Entertainment, One Deep Entertainment |
| Associated acts | |
| Website | www |
Joseph Wayne McVey (born January 19, 1977),[2][3] better known by his stage names Z-Ro and The Mo City Don, is an American rapper from Houston, Texas. He was named one of America's most underrated rappers by the New York Times.[4]
Early Life and Career
Z-Ro was born Joseph Wayne McVey in Houston’s notorious South Park neighborhood on January 19, 1977.[5] At age six his mother died, and he was shuttled from household to household in search of stability, eventually settling in the Ridgemont area of Missouri City in Southwest Houston.[5] When Z-Ro reached his late teens he was unemployed and resorted to drug dealing and hustling on the streets.[5] According to Z-Ro, listening to the music of 2Pac, Geto Boys, Street Military, K-Rino and Klondike Kat inspired him to work harder for his goal of leaving the streets.[5] Z-Ro discovered his talent of freestyle rapping and after going through a couple of recording studios to make a demo,[5] the CEO of a local label discovered and signed him.
Z-Ro released his critically acclaimed Rap-a-Lot debut titled The Life of Joseph W. McVey.[5] The record was a huge success and helped expand Z-Ro’s fan base beyond the South.[5] In 2005, Z-Ro released Let the Truth Be Told, which was well received.[5] Z-Ro's 2006 album I'm Still Livin' was released while he was imprisoned for drug possession, to positive reviews.[6][7] It was called "a great album... powerful" but "relentlessly bleak" by The Village Voice[6] and "one of the best rap albums to come out of Houston" by the Houston Chronicle.[8] In 2010 he released his next album titled Heroin, which was followed by another new album titled Meth in 2011 and then Angel Dust in 2012.
Z-Ro released his first EP under The Mo City Don titled Tripolar on August 25, 2013 via One Deep Ent.[1] Z-Ro then followed up with The Crown in June 2014.[9] In February 2015, Z-Ro released his first proper studio album in three years, entitled Melting the Crown.
Discography
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| Year | Title | Chart positions[10] | |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. | U.S. R&B | ||
| 1998 | Look What You Did to Me | - | - |
| 2000 | Z-Ro vs. the World | - | 90 |
| 2001 | King of da Ghetto | - | - |
| 2002 | Screwed Up Click Representa | - | 58 |
| 2002 | Z-Ro | - | - |
| 2002 | Life | - | 57 |
| 2003 | Z-Ro Tolerance | - | - |
| 2004 | The Life of Joseph W. McVey | 170 | 27 |
| 2005 | Let the Truth Be Told | 69 | 14 |
| 2006 | I'm Still Livin' | 75 | 14 |
| 2007 | King of tha Ghetto: Power | 197 | 32 |
| 2008 | Crack | 48 | 12 |
| 2009 | Cocaine | 147 | 19 |
| 2010 | Heroin | 142 | 29 |
| 2011 | Meth | 90 | 12 |
| 2012 | Angel Dust | 120 | 17 |
| 2014 | The Crown | - | - |
| 2015 | Melting the Crown | - | 16 |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Rother Vandross, The Mo City Don - Tripolar. Amazon. Retrieved on 2013-12-28.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Z-Ro Biography. Rapartists.com (1977-01-19). Retrieved on 2011-06-21.
- ↑ Sanneh, Kelefa. (2007-05-27) A Hip-Hop Hurricane and Other Phenomena – New York Times. Nytimes.com. Retrieved on 2011-06-21.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Z-Ro - The Crown. Amazon. Retrieved on 2014-10-12.
- ↑ allmusic ((( Z-Ro > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))
