T-Bone (rapper)
| T-Bone | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Rene Francisco Sotomayor |
| Also known as | Boney Bone Corleone, Bone Soprano, T |
| Born |
August 11, 1973 San Francisco, California, US |
| Genres | Christian hip hop |
| Occupation(s) | Rapper |
| Instruments | Rapping, Beatboxing |
| Years active | 1989 – present |
| Labels | Metro One, Flicker/Boneyard Records, Sony Provident |
| Website | www |
Rene Francisco Sotomayor, better known by the stage name T-Bone, is a conscious/inspirational Christian rapper. His father is Nicaraguan and his mother is Salvadoran. His name came from being called 'Bones' as a youngster because he was very skinny. The 'T' was "added to give the name a little slang edge."
According to published interview, he started rapping at the age of seven at parties and in rap battles. He was close to getting a gangsta rap record but, after changing his life, he opened for a noted rock group at that time which led him to getting signed to his first inspirational record deal that very night.
His first three albums: Redeemed Hoodlum in 1991, Tha Life of a Hoodlum in 1993 and Tha Hoodlum's Testimony in 1995 were released on the independent Metro One record label. All three albums were characterized by being gangsta rap albums, which was rare in the inspirational music scene at the time.
In 1997, he released History of a Hoodlum, a three-disc compilation set of the hits from his first three albums released on the Diamante record label.
After a brief hiatus, T-Bone released his fourth album, and first on the Flicker Records music label, Tha Last Street Preacha, in 2000, to critical acclaim. Tha Last Street Preacha was nominated for the Rock Gospel Album Grammy Award. and saw T-Bone break into the Christian Contemporary Music market. It was the first rap album to debut at No. 7 on the Christian Contemporary Music charts.
2002 saw an increased exposure of T-Bone to both Christian and mainstream markets with the release of his fifth album, titled Gospelalphamegafunkyboogiediscomusic. The album was characterised by the guest appearance of hip-hop legend KRS-One on the title track - returning the favour of the controversial guest spot T-Bone had made on KRS-One's Spiritual Minded album earlier in the year.
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Wikipedia