E-40 facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Earl Stevens
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E-40 in 2007
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Earl Tywone Stevens |
| Born | November 15, 1967 Vallejo, California, U.S |
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| Years active | 1986–present |
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Earl Tywone Stevens Sr. (born November 15, 1967), known as E-40, is an American rapper. He helped start the rap group The Click. He also founded his own record label, Sick Wid It Records. E-40 has released many studio albums and appeared in movies. He also featured on many other rap songs. He first became popular in the underground music scene. His 1995 album, In a Major Way, helped him reach more people. In 2006, his song "Tell Me When to Go" became a big hit.
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Early Life and Music Start
Earl Tywone Stevens was born in Vallejo, California. He grew up with his brothers and sisters. His mom worked hard at three jobs to raise them. Earl became interested in hip hop music after hearing "Rapper's Delight". This famous song was by the Sugarhill Gang.
From fourth grade, Stevens played the snare and bass drum. He finished high school in Vallejo in 1985. In high school, he played baseball. He also recorded music with his siblings. They would sell their music from the back of a car. After high school, Stevens went to Grambling State University for one year. This was in 1986, and his cousin Brandt Jones went with him.
E-40's Music Journey
Early Career and The Click
E-40 started his rap career in 1986. He formed a group called Most Valuable Players. This group included his cousin Brandt Jones (known as B-Legit), his sister Suga T, and his brother D-Shot. They impressed students at Grambling State University with their music. They even made a rap remix of the school song.
The group later changed its name to The Click. In 1990, they released their first music, an EP called Let's Side. E-40's own independent label, Sick Wid It Records, released this EP. In 1992, The Click released another album, Down and Dirty. E-40 then released his first solo album in 1993. It was called Federal.
In 1993, The Click had a popular song called "Captain Save a Hoe". They moved back to Vallejo. E-40's uncle, who sang gospel music, helped them release their records.
Reaching a Wider Audience
For a while, E-40 was very popular on the West Coast. But he was not as well known across the whole country. Only a couple of his songs, "1-Luv" and "Things'll Never Change", appeared on the Billboard charts.
Until 1997, he mostly worked with rappers from the San Francisco Bay Area. Then, he released an album called Southwest Riders. This album featured rappers from both the Bay Area and the southern U.S. He continued to work with southern rappers in 1998. He appeared on albums by artists like Eightball and Master P.
From 2003 to 2008, E-40 hosted a radio show called E-Feezy Radio. It played Bay Area hip hop music on a San Francisco radio station. After leaving Jive Records, he signed with Lil Jon's BME Recordings. He then appeared on Lil Jon's hit song "Snap Yo Fingers". This song reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
After that, E-40's song "Tell Me When To Go" became very popular. He appeared on TV shows like MTV's Direct Effect and BET's 106 & Park. His album My Ghetto Report Card was a big success in 2006. It reached #1 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. His son, Droop-E, helped produce this album.
E-40 continued to release many albums. In 2010 and 2011, he released two albums each year. In 2012, he released three solo albums called The Block Brochure: Welcome to the Soil 1, 2, and 3. He also released two albums with fellow rapper Too Short. One of his songs, "Function", became very successful.
He has continued to release new music. In 2018, he announced a series of three albums. He released The Gift of Gab in 2018 and Practice Makes Paper in 2019. The third album, Rule of Thumb, came out in 2023.
Beyond Music
E-40 is also a smart businessman. He once owned a Fatburger restaurant. He has also been a spokesperson for Landy Cognac. He also opened a nightclub in San Jose, California, called Ambassador's Lounge.
In 2007, E-40 launched his own energy drink called "40 Water." He also has his own line of wines under his real name, Earl Stevens. These include a red blend called "Function." In 2014, he released a premixed drink inspired by his group's 1995 song "Hurricane."
E-40 is also an investor. He has his own investment company. He was one of the first investors in social media apps like Clubhouse and Convoz.
Personal Life
E-40 lives in Danville, California, with his wife, Tracey. They got married in 1991. They have two children, Earl Jr. (known as Droop-E) and Emari (Issue), who are also rappers.
E-40 is a big fan of sports teams from the Bay Area. These include the San Francisco 49ers (football), San Francisco Giants (baseball), and Golden State Warriors (basketball). In 2022, the Giants gave away 15,000 bobblehead figures of E-40 at a game. He also threw the first pitch at that game.
Sick Wid It Records
| Sick Wid It | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1989 |
| Founder | E-40 |
| Status | Active |
| Distributor(s) | Caroline Distribution |
| Genre | West Coast hip hop, hyphy |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Location | Vallejo, California |
In 1989, E-40 started his own independent hip hop record label called Sick Wid It.
Notable Artists
Former Artists
- Nef the Pharaoh
- OMB Peezy
- Al Kapone
- Celly Cel
- D-Shot
- Funk Mobb
- Little Bruce
- Playaz Tryna Strive
- Suga-T
- Mr. Malik
Discography
E-40 has released many studio albums and collaborative albums throughout his career. Some of his well-known solo albums include Federal, In a Major Way, and My Ghetto Report Card. He has also released several series of albums, like the Revenue Retrievin' and The Block Brochure: Welcome to the Soil collections. With his group The Click, he released albums like Down and Dirty and Game Related. He has also collaborated on albums with other artists like Too Short and B-Legit.
Film and Television
E-40 has appeared in several movies and TV shows.
Movies
- Rhyme & Reason (1997)
- The Breaks (1999)
- 3 Strikes (2000)
- Obstacles (2000)
- Malibooty (2003)
- Hair Show (2004)
- Survival of the Illest (2004)
- Dead Heist (2007)
- The Adventures of Tha Blue Carpet Treatment (2008)
- Ghostride the Whip (2008)
- What Are the Chances? (2016)
- Don't Get Caught (2018)
- 16 Bars the Movie (2023)
- 88 Fresh (2023)
Television Shows
- Incredible Crew
- The Jamie Foxx Show – season 5, episode 12
- MTV's My Block: Bay Area
- Hell's Kitchen
- Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives – season 28, episode 19 "Playin' Chicken"
- Blindspotting
