Lil Zane | |
---|---|
Birth name | Zane R. Copeland Jr. |
Also known as | Lil Zane, Lil' Zane, Zane, LZ Stunna, Life I Live Zane |
Born |
Yonkers, New York, United States |
July 11, 1982
Origin | Atlanta, Georgia, United States |
Genres | Hip hop |
Occupation(s) | rapper, actor |
Instruments | vocals |
Years active | 1993–present |
Labels |
Worldwide Entertainment, EMI, Priority Records (2001-2003) Priority Records, Capitol Music Group (2003-2004) U.S. Entertainment, Hollywood Fame Records (2008-2009) Money Making Muzik (2010-Present) |
Associated acts | 112, Romeo Miller, Sammie, Chris Brown, Bow Wow, Dolla, Lil Wayne, Next |
Website | www |
Zane R. Copeland Jr. (born July 11, 1982), better known as Lil Zane, is an American rapper and actor born in Yonkers, New York and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. He is best known for his debut album Young World: The Future, released in 2000, which featured the single "Callin' Me" featuring 112.
At age 10, Zane was inspired by Another Bad Creation and Kris Kross, and he got more serious about his eventual career and started rehearsing with his cousin E.Greene. He was first recognized by his fans when he was in a group called Kronic signed to RCA Records. They were signed from 1993 to 96. They never put out any projects. Then 1996 he went solo and started entering local Atlanta talent shows. Then in 1999 he started touring with 112 while recording his debut album.
In 1999, his first ever single, "Money Stretch", was included in the Next Friday soundtrack. In 2000 Lil' Zane released his debut album Young World: The Future which featured his smash single "Callin Me". The album debut at #25 on the Billboard 200 with 300,000 copies sold in the first week. The album also hit at #4 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. In 2001 he made appearance on the Hardball soundtrack on the track of the same name with Bow Wow, Lil Wayne and Sammie. He later stated in an interview that he was working on an album titled It Ain't Over but later decided to change the title to The Big Zane Theory.
In 2003 Lil Zane released his second album, The Big Zane Theory With it, he formally changed his stage name from Lil’ Zane to simply Zane. Copeland explained "Zane is my real name, that’s the name that’s on my birth certificate and my mom likes that name" for changing his name in a BallerStatus.net interview. The album failed to match the success of Zane's previous album, as it charted at #15 on the Billboard 200's chart It also charted at #10 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. The only single that was released on the album was "Tonite I'm Yours" which peaked at #8 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. Soon afterwards Zane would leave Priority Records due to lack of financial compensation, artist support, and promotion to go on a 5-year hiatus from music to focus on his acting career.