The Click had clicked the rapping life of Earl Stevens, better known by the acquired name, E-40. His Sick Wid lt Records had also enhanced his popularity in the hip-hop rapping industry. Since 1990 this rapper had earned a massive fan base with his excellent entrepreneurial proficiency encouraging rap in and around his native place Vallejo and some other areas as Oakland. Originating from the Bay Area he is the rapper of his king to sign under a major label.
After his advent in the rapping world and through the nineties till the recent day, his efforts have been highly acknowledged by the West Coast and Southern areas as well. The HiFi sound system brought in by this eminent rapper had rejuvenated the hip-hop scenario.
His series of albums which were widely distributed by Jive is well accepted by the music world. His album ‘In a Major Way’ in 1995 had made a huge success and got the platinum. His work is characterized by the regular flow of worthy music instead of any topsy-turvy hits and failures. It is quite evident that the entrepreneur rapper had made enough success through his rapping endeavor mingled with the entrepreneurial expertise. His fulfilling career has come up with 17 singles, 69 music videos, and 22 studio albums. He had also collaborated to release two albums and had appeared as a celebrity guest in more than 150 events.
To sum up, he had accumulated not less than 10 million dollars as his estimated net worth which would rise in the future days.
Early life
Earl Stevens was born on 15th November 1967 in Vallejo, California, United States of America. Earl as his other siblings were inspired by the hard labor put down by his mother after their parents failed to stay together. The children could only see their father on his occasional visits. Mother used to return on the weekend. Their father was an aspirant musician, and the mother was forced to work hard to maintain her children. These two qualities of music and hard labor worked as a motivating tool in Earl and sibling’s life. The children wanted to help their mother formed local rap band and started selling homemade tapes around Bay Areas. E-40 along with his siblings got engaged in the small family clothing store. Even he went for the job in an oil refinery.
The house was mostly filled with young children. The siblings formed a rap band ‘Most Valuable players’. The member of the band includes Danell Stevens who was named as D-Shot his brother and his sister Suga T who is Tanina Stevens and himself. They got another group member Brandt Jones, their cousin who is called as B-Legit, who grew up in the same family. In 1986 the group was highly appreciated at a talent show by the Grambling State University. The appreciation made them more serious on their endeavor. Soon there renamed their band and named it ‘The Click.’
Career
The group was working hard to take their abilities to some height which would impress the world of music. Their endeavor was limited in the underground act only. E-40 went in for debut in 1990 with the EP “Let’s Side” by the label The Click. The EP was jointly produced by Al Eaton and Mike Mosley. The real initiation came when they got under the label ‘Sick Wid It.’ Under Sick Wid, It E-40 released his debut solo album titled ‘Federal’ consisting of nine track LP produced by Studio Ton. The distribution was looked after by the local Solar Music Group. In 1994 a single “Captain Save a Hoe” released from Mail Man encouraged Jive Records to approach the talent. Jive re-released Mail Man with “Captain Save a Hoe” and two more tracks which include “Ballin’ out of Control.” The added tracks were produced by Sam Bostic, and Mike Mosley and the previous tracks were taken care by Studio Ton.
In 1995 to bring out the most Jive came out with 4 E-40 albums. ‘Down & Dirty’ and ‘Federal’ was released again. The Click recorded another new album ‘Game Related’ which is re-released by Jive. With these three ‘In a Major Way’ was also released. The last one was produced by Studio Ton, Func Dayy, Sam Bostic and Mike Mosley. With the release of ‘In a Major Way’ E-40 musical career got a major momentum. “Dusted ‘n’ Disgusted” made him very popular in the rapper’s world and his musical endeavor got the coveted encouragement. Mac Mall, 2Pac and Spice 1 collaborated for the album, and more than a million copies were sold.
By then E-40 had become one of the inevitable parts of Jive coming out one album after the other. In 1996 the rapper released ‘Tha Hall of Game’ which got gold, then after a year in 1998 Jive released ‘The Element of Surprise’ which also got gold certification. The fans are always expecting new from their rapper and the next year E-40 released ‘Charlie Hustle: The Blueprint of a Self-Made Millionaire.’ In 2000 ‘Loyalty and Betrayal’ was released. Then in honoring the sentiments of his early recording label, in 2001 E-40 released ‘Money and Muscle’ from The Click. Then he released ‘Grit & Grind’ and ‘Breakin News’ in 2002 and 2003 respectively from Jive. What is most appreciable is that in growing popularity nationwide E-40 had never turned back from his regional fans and followers.
The only complain remains that after 1996 he was rather busy in releasing one after the other instead of putting more effort in compositions. Resultantly, only two singles got an entry in the Billboard Hot 100. One in 1995 which is “1-Luv” and “Things’ll Never Change” in 1996. While releasing his albums, E-40 had appeared in the creation of albums by fellow rappers. He was featured in ‘Lost’ of 8ball, ‘MP da Last Don’ of Master P and ‘My Homies’ of Scarface. After completing the tenure with Jive he joined hand with Lil Jon and BME Recordings. The album ‘My Ghetto Report Card’ was released by Warner Bros, and E-40 again got into the Billboard Hot 100. The album was featured by Bosko, Rick Rock, Studio Ton, Droop-E and Lil Jon. “Tell Me When to Go” and “U and Dat” reached #35 and #13 on the chart. In 2008 he brought out another album ‘The Ball Street Journal’ and of this two single ‘Break Ya Ankles” and “Wake It Up” was appreciated by the followers.
Personal life
E-40 is married to Tracy Stevens, and they exchanged rings in 1991. The couple is blessed by a child whom they named Droop-E. Along with musical journey, E-40 had also appeared in several movies. To name few, he was cast in “The Breaks,” “3 Strikes”, “Hair Show,” “Survival of the Illest,” “Dead Heist” and some more.
Along with Chester McGlockton, who is a former NFL player, E-40 had tried a franchise of Fatburger in California. E-40 is a keen investor and put his dollars for Microsoft or other prominent companies. He also owns enterprises as 40 Water, Sluricane Hurricane and Function and Mangoscato.
Quick summary:
Full Name: Earl Stevens
Date of Birth: 15th November 1967
Birth Place: Vallejo, California, United States of America
Age: 51 Year Old
Profession: Rapper, Investor, Entrepreneur
Height: 6 Feet 1 Inch / 185 cm
Weight: 115 Kg / 254 Pounds
Net worth: $10 Million
