Rappin' 4-Tay Explained

Rappin' 4-Tay
Birth Name:Anthony H. Forté[1]
Alias:4-Tay
Birth Date:March 2, 1968
Origin:San Francisco, California, U.S.
Occupation:Rapper
Years Active:1988–present

Anthony H. Forté (born March 2, 1968), better known by his stage name Rappin' 4-Tay, is an American rapper from San Francisco, California.[2]

Early life

Anthony Forte was born March 2, 1968, and grew up in San Francisco's Fillmore District. He has a twin sister. He has a son as well as three daughters.[3]

Music career

Right after high school, 4-Tay made his debut on the Too Short album Life Is...Too Short. He was later convicted on drug charges and served ten months in prison.[4] Upon his release from prison he released his debut album Rappin' 4-Tay Is Back in 1991, and followed up in 1994 with Don't Fight the Feelin', which included the hits "Playaz Club" (which sampled the song "Private Number" by William Bell and Judy Clay and hit number 36 on the Billboard Hot 100), the "Dank Season" featuring Seff Tha Gaffla, and "I'll Be Around" (which hit number 39 on the US Hot 100, number 59 in Australia,[5] and number one in New Zealand[6]).

In 1995, two Rappin' 4-Tay songs—"Problems" and "A Message for Your Mind"—were featured on the Dangerous Minds soundtrack. "A Message For Your Mind" sampled "I Want You Back" by The Jackson 5.

Rappin' 4-Tay's mainstream success has been scarce since then, but he was featured on 2Pac's All Eyez on Me album on the track "Only God Can Judge Me" in 1996 and Master P's West Coast Bad Boyz II compilation in 1997. 4-Tay was also an original member of Bay Area supergroup T.W.D.Y. in 1999.

In 2003 Rappin' 4-Tay released the album Gangsta Gumbo with the single "Burning, Burning", followed up by the album That's What You Thought in 2007. In 2010 He was featured on R&B Artist E. Broussard's song titled Big Game Droppin'.[7]

He was featured on the song "My Alphabets" on fellow Bay Area rap veteran Mac Dre's 2004 album The Genie of the Lamp. Dec 06 2011 Rappin' 4-Tay, E-40 and Playalitical collaborated on a song entitled "Bounce It Like a Bad Check" which was featured on the Political Playboy Music album released by Playalitical. In 2012 Rappin' 4-Tay collaborated on the song "Picture a Nigga" with Lil' Gang$ta,[8] as well as helping with his debut album.

In 2013, he headlined the main stage of Seattle Hempfest with artists Ditch, Tony Tag, Brian Meyers and more.

In May 2014, he appeared with E Bone415 in a music video about Alcatraz Island.[9]

"Playaz Club" controversy

In 2014, 4-Tay spoke out against Drake for using lyrics from 4-Tay's 1994 song "Playaz Club" in the collaboration "Who Do You Love?" with YG.[10] The artists settled out of court with 4-Tay being promised $100,000[11] [12] and future credits for the song. However, it was later revealed that Drake had not actually paid 4-Tay the $100,000.[13]

4-Tay eventually received royalties for his contributions to "Who Do You Love?". In 2018, the royalties to both the YG single and "Playaz Club" were auctioned on Royalty Exchange and at one time had bids of upward of $38,250 with the seller reportedly being 4-Tay.[13]

Discography

Studio albums

Collaboration albums

Mixtapes

Charted singles

TitleReleasePeak chart positionsAlbum
US
US
R&B/HH
AUS
[14]
FRA
[15]
NZ
UK
[16]
"Playaz Club"199436 54 63Don't Fight the Feelin
"I'll Be Around"
199539 37 59 44 1 30
"Ain't No Playa (Playaz Shit)"199673 55 Off Parole

Soundtrack appearances


Title

ReleaseOther artist(s)Soundtrack
"Problems"1996Dangerous Minds
"A Message for Your Mind"
"Where I'm From (Don't Fight the Clean Mix II)"Passion, Too Short, Soul DepotBulletproof
"Holla"2000Celly Cel, 2-TonHeld Up
"Win or Lose"Baller Blockin'

Guest appearances


Title

ReleaseOther artist(s)Album
"Don't Fight the Feelin'"1988Too ShortLife Is...Too Short
"Did You Get the Dank"1993JT The Bigga FiggaPlayaz N the Game
"You Do Your Thang"1994West Coast Bad Boyz, Vol. 1
"Root of All Evil"1995JT The Bigga Figga, San QuinnDwellin' in tha Labb
"Only God Can Judge Me"19962PacAll Eyez on Me
"Don't Fight the Remix"Passion, Too Short, Soul DepotBaller's Lady
"Up's and Down's" 1997West Coast Bad Boyz II
"Playa Paraphernalia"Ant Banks, J-DubbBig Thangs
"Urban Rapsody"Rick JamesUrban Rapsody
"World Famous"A Lighter Shade of BrownA Lighter Shade of Brown
"360°"1998Eightball, Spice 1, E-40, Otis & ShugLost
"It's Goin' Down" (Remix)Celly Cel, E-40, B-Legit, Mack 10The G Filez
"Dogghouse"2000Tha Eastsidaz, TwinzTha Eastsidaz
"Candi Coated"Latino Velvet, CandiVelvet City
"Das OK"2002Spice 1Spiceberg Slim
"Get High with Me"2003Frost, Shorty BSomethin' 4 the Riderz

Videography

Music videos


Title

ReleaseOther artist(s)Album
"Where I'm From (Don't Fight the Clean Mix II)"1996Passion, Too Short, Soul DepotBaller's Lady & Bulletproof OST
"Dogghouse"2000Tha Eastsidaz, TwinzTha Eastsidaz

Notes and References

  1. California Births, 1905–1995, Anthony H. Forté
  2. Web site: On Stage . Tahoe . October 13, 2016 . Rappin' Forte arrested again in San Francisco . https://web.archive.org/web/20230529194738/https://tahoeonstage.com/stories/rappin-4-tay-2/ . May 29, 2023 . May 20, 2024 . tahoeonstage.com . en-US.
  3. Web site: LiL 4 TaY OF B.I.G | Listen and Stream Free Music, Albums, New Releases, Photos, Videos. Myspace.
  4. allmusic (((Rappin' 4-Tay > Biography)))
  5. Web site: The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart – Week Ending 15 Oct 1995. Imgur.com (original document published by ARIA). July 6, 2017. N.B. The HP column displays the highest peak reached.
  6. Web site: Rappin' 4-Tay feat. The Spinners - I'll Be Around (Song). charts.nz. October 13, 2013.
  7. https://musicbrainz.org/release/aa3aabc1-1220-45cc-8e9a-821a4689ae9d Big Game Droppin' E. Broussard (feat. Rappin' 4-Tay
  8. http://www.emusic.com/listen/#/album/lil-gangsta/picture-a-nia-feat-rappin-4-tay/13413470/ Picture A Nigga (ft Rappin' 4-Tay)
  9. Web site: THE ROCK Rappin 4 Tay & E Bone415. May 30, 2014. YouTube.
  10. Web site: Rappin' 4-Tay Blasts Drake Over Verse On YG's "Who Do You Love". Baker. Soren. HipHopDX. Cheri Media Group. 2 January 2014. 30 January 2023.
  11. Web site: Gordon . Jeremy . Drake Pays $100,000 to Rappin' 4-Tay for Ripping Off "Playaz Club" Lyrics on YG's "Who Do You Love" . . 30 January 2023 . 16 July 2014.
  12. Web site: DRAKE 'Playaz Club' Beef Settled PAYS $100K FOR BORROWED LYRICS . . 30 January 2023 . 16 July 2014.
  13. News: Voynovskaya . Nastia . Drake Never Paid Rappin' 4-Tay For Stolen Lyrics, Manager Says . 30 January 2023 . . 30 November 2018.
  14. 230.
  15. Web site: Rappin' 4-Tay feat. The Spinners – I'll Be Around. lescharts.com. fr. September 9, 2022.
  16. Web site: Rappin' 4-Tay full Official Chart History. Official Charts Company. September 9, 2022.