Z-ro
Posted: February 5th, 2007, 4:48 pm
Z-Ro (born Joseph Wayne McVey on June 6, 1976) is an American rapper known for his "up-from-nothing" rise to fame, flexibility in rhyme and extensive collaboration with other rap artists and musicians. Z-Ro's popularity has increased rapidly recently, as has been featured on Bun B's single "Get Throwed" with Pimp C Jay-Z, and Young Jeezy.
Z-Ro was born in Missouri City, Texas and was raised in the "Ridgemont 4" neighborhood on the Southside of Houston -- an area notorious for being rife with both gang violence and drug dealing. Z-Ro became involved in such activities at an early age after his mother's death due to complications from cancer.
It was through hip-hop that Z-Ro found a channel for his experiences in the hood. By this time he had moved to Missouri City (an area in Houston known to locals as 'Mo City'), and befriended a local rap group, Street Military, who were signed to EMI. Now a member of Street Military's Killa Klan collective, Z-Ro found himself inducted into DJ Screw's infamous Screwed Up Click in 1997. However, Screw wasn't the only one to pick up on Z-Ro's talent, and what followed over the next five years were a string of independent albums, which were considered by fans and critics around the world to be Down South classics.
Z-Ro's first solo release, Look What You Did to Me, was described by Murder Dog magazine in 1998 as a "ground-breaking record" and a "masterpiece". Z-ro has been compared to 2PAC. 1999 saw the release of the equally lauded Rise by the Guerilla Maab, a group Z-Ro formed with his cousin Trae, and brother Dougie-D. In 2000 Z-Ro vs. the World, Ro's first album to crack the Billboard charts, was released, followed by King of the Ghetto in 2001. With the release of three solo albums in 2002 - Screwed Up Click Representa, Z-Ro and Life - and a new Guerilla Maab album, Resurrected, Z-Ro became very well known in Texas as well as around the Southern United States.
In 2004, Z-Ro Tolerance was released by a record company that Z-Ro was no longer affiliated with, but had the rights to publish what material of his they had, and pieced together an album. Less than a month later Z-Ro's first wide release album, The Life of Joseph W. McVey was released on Rap-A-Lot records. Although the album cracked the Top 200 on the Billboard Charts, it failed to meet sales expectations. Unfortunately, that was the least of Z-Ro's problems, as the first of many arrests to follow occurred. He was subsequently released during the summer of 2004.
Asylum records, an independent subsidiary of Warner Bros. Records, struck up a deal with Houston-based Rap-A-Lot Records after seeing major success from fellow Houston-ite rappers Mike Jones and Paul Wall, and Z-Ro's Let the Truth Be Told was released in early 2005. Once again, the release failed to meet sales expectations, but Z-Ro's national appeal was growing as it debuted at #69. Since, Z-Ro has been arrested multiple times, and his newest album, I'm Still Livin' was released on November 21. He was also featured on Bun B's single "Get Throwed" with Pimp C, Jay-Z, and Young Jeezy, and also made an appearance in the music video.
Z-Ro is currently incarcerated In The Byrd unit in Huntsville, Texas, for possession of a controlled substance, and will be released in Mid-2007.
Z-Ro was born in Missouri City, Texas and was raised in the "Ridgemont 4" neighborhood on the Southside of Houston -- an area notorious for being rife with both gang violence and drug dealing. Z-Ro became involved in such activities at an early age after his mother's death due to complications from cancer.
It was through hip-hop that Z-Ro found a channel for his experiences in the hood. By this time he had moved to Missouri City (an area in Houston known to locals as 'Mo City'), and befriended a local rap group, Street Military, who were signed to EMI. Now a member of Street Military's Killa Klan collective, Z-Ro found himself inducted into DJ Screw's infamous Screwed Up Click in 1997. However, Screw wasn't the only one to pick up on Z-Ro's talent, and what followed over the next five years were a string of independent albums, which were considered by fans and critics around the world to be Down South classics.
Z-Ro's first solo release, Look What You Did to Me, was described by Murder Dog magazine in 1998 as a "ground-breaking record" and a "masterpiece". Z-ro has been compared to 2PAC. 1999 saw the release of the equally lauded Rise by the Guerilla Maab, a group Z-Ro formed with his cousin Trae, and brother Dougie-D. In 2000 Z-Ro vs. the World, Ro's first album to crack the Billboard charts, was released, followed by King of the Ghetto in 2001. With the release of three solo albums in 2002 - Screwed Up Click Representa, Z-Ro and Life - and a new Guerilla Maab album, Resurrected, Z-Ro became very well known in Texas as well as around the Southern United States.
In 2004, Z-Ro Tolerance was released by a record company that Z-Ro was no longer affiliated with, but had the rights to publish what material of his they had, and pieced together an album. Less than a month later Z-Ro's first wide release album, The Life of Joseph W. McVey was released on Rap-A-Lot records. Although the album cracked the Top 200 on the Billboard Charts, it failed to meet sales expectations. Unfortunately, that was the least of Z-Ro's problems, as the first of many arrests to follow occurred. He was subsequently released during the summer of 2004.
Asylum records, an independent subsidiary of Warner Bros. Records, struck up a deal with Houston-based Rap-A-Lot Records after seeing major success from fellow Houston-ite rappers Mike Jones and Paul Wall, and Z-Ro's Let the Truth Be Told was released in early 2005. Once again, the release failed to meet sales expectations, but Z-Ro's national appeal was growing as it debuted at #69. Since, Z-Ro has been arrested multiple times, and his newest album, I'm Still Livin' was released on November 21. He was also featured on Bun B's single "Get Throwed" with Pimp C, Jay-Z, and Young Jeezy, and also made an appearance in the music video.
Z-Ro is currently incarcerated In The Byrd unit in Huntsville, Texas, for possession of a controlled substance, and will be released in Mid-2007.
