Redman

East Coast rap legend Redman merges tough street talk with wacky humor over beats that blend funk, reggae and jazz influences. • The New Jersey-born MC was discovered in 1987 in a Newark club by Erick Sermon of the legendary rap duo EPMD. Sermon was so impressed with the charismatic youngster that he brought him on stage. Redman then moved into Sermon’s house. • After touring with EPMD, Redman made his recording debut on the group’s 1990 album Business As Usual, delivering standout verses on the songs “Hardcore” and “Brothers on My Jock”. • His 1992 debut, Whut? The Album, features dense, complicated rhymes and funk-heavy production from Pete Rock and Erick Sermon. It’s regarded as a hip-hop classic. • From 1994’s Dare Iz a Darkside to 2001’s Malpractice, Redman reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart with four consecutive solo LPs. • Redman often collaborates with Wu-Tang Clan member Method Man. In 1995, they released their first joint single, “How High”. They’ve since dropped two albums—Blackout! and Blackout! 2—and the soundtrack to 2001 stoner comedy How High, which they also starred in. • His biggest brush with pop fame came in 2002, when he guested on Christina Aguilera’s “Dirrty”, which was inspired by his own high-energy 2001 single “Let's Get Dirty (I Can't Get in da Club)”. Aguilera’s song earned Redman a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. • Redman was the subject of a legendary 2000 episode of MTV Cribs, where instead of a palatial home, he revealed his modest Staten Island duplex, replete with a shoe box filled with cash.