Memphis Bleek facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Memphis Bleek
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Memphis Bleek (front) in 2001 with Beanie Sigel
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Malik Deshawn Cox |
| Born | June 23, 1978 Brooklyn, New York City, U.S. |
| Genres | Hip hop |
| Occupation(s) |
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| Years active | 1996–present |
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Malik Deshawn Cox (born June 23, 1978), known as Memphis Bleek, is an American rapper. He is well-known for working closely with fellow New York City rapper Jay-Z. Many people saw Memphis Bleek as Jay-Z's "protégé," meaning he was a talented student or trainee. He signed with Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records label in the late 1990s. Through this label, he released four main studio albums: Coming of Age (1999), The Understanding (2000), M.A.D.E. (2003), and 534 (2005). Later, he started his own music labels, Get Low Records in 1998 and Warehouse Music Group in 2016. He signed rapper Casanova to Warehouse Music Group.
Contents
Early Life and Beginnings
Memphis Bleek was born in Brooklyn, New York. He grew up in the Marcy Projects. This is a neighborhood in Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Interestingly, it is the same neighborhood where rapper Jay-Z also grew up.
Music Career Highlights
Memphis Bleek was one of the first artists to sign with Roc-A-Fella Records. He was seen as a rising star under Jay-Z's guidance. His stage name "Bleek" was a childhood nickname. His younger sister had trouble saying his first name, Malik, and it sounded like "Bleek."
Early Appearances and First Album
Bleek first appeared on a song called "Coming of Age" from Jay-Z's album Reasonable Doubt in 1996. He also appeared on other Jay-Z albums, including Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life (1998) and The Dynasty: Roc La Familia (2000). After Jay-Z's Vol 2… Hard Knock Life became very popular, Roc-A-Fella Records released Bleek's first album. This album was called Coming of Age (1999). It was a big success, reaching number seven on the Billboard 200 chart. In 1998, Bleek also started his own record label, Get Low Records.
More Albums and Chart Success
After his first album, Memphis Bleek released three more albums with Roc-A-Fella. These were The Understanding (2000), M.A.D.E. (2003), and 534 (2005). Both Coming of Age and The Understanding sold enough copies to earn a gold certification. This means they sold over 500,000 copies!
During the time between The Understanding and M.A.D.E., Bleek took a break from music. He did this to care for his older brother, who was seriously hurt in a motorcycle accident. His album 534 was named after the building number of the housing project where he and Jay-Z grew up. This album was also important because it was one of the first releases from the "new" Roc-A-Fella. This happened after Jay-Z took on a new role as president of Def Jam Recordings.
The album 534 included a song called "Dear Summer" performed by Jay-Z alone. This song talked about how Jay-Z used to release an album or single every summer for eight years. It was his first song since he briefly stepped away from music in late 2003. 534 also featured one of the first recordings by a new artist at the time, Rihanna, on the song "The One."
Popular Songs and Later Work
Memphis Bleek's most successful song was "Is That Yo Chick". It featured Missy Elliott and Jay-Z. This song reached number 7 on the Hot Rap Singles Billboard chart. Another popular song was "It's Alright", also featuring Jay-Z.
In 2005, Memphis Bleek shared with MTV that he was working on an album called The Process. He said he wanted it to be a "classic album" and would only release it if it was truly amazing. He worked on this album for many years. He released promotional songs like "Hustla" and "Get Ya Money Off." However, as of 2025, the album has not been released.
Memphis Bleek left Roc-A-Fella in 2009. Jay-Z encouraged him to start his own company. That same year, Bleek signed a new deal with Mass Appeal Entertainment. In 2010, he joined Jay-Z on stage as a "hype man" during a performance at a festival in Sweden. A hype man helps excite the crowd during a performance.
Memphis Bleek released several online mixtapes. These included The Movement in 2012, which was downloaded over 125,000 times. He also released Kush Vol. 2 in 2012 and The Movement 2 in 2014.
Personal Life
On December 13, 2014, Malik Cox married his longtime girlfriend, Ashley Coombs. The wedding took place in Cinnaminson, New Jersey, and Jay-Z was there. In July 2018, Cox announced that he and Ashley had welcomed their first child, a daughter. Cox also has a son, who was born in June 2002. Memphis Bleek is also the cousin of fellow Brooklyn rapper Sean Price.
Other Ventures
Warehouse Music Group
| Warehouse Music Group | |
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| Founded | 2016 |
| Founder | Malik Cox |
| Distributor(s) | Roc Nation |
| Genre | Hip hop |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Location | New York City |
With approval from Jay-Z in 2015, Memphis Bleek started his own record label. He became the CEO and founder of Warehouse Music Group. The first song released by the label was Memphis Bleek's single "So Different," featuring Manolo Rose. This song created a lot of excitement for the new label. On July 28, 2016, Memphis Bleek announced that he had signed Manolo Rose and Casanova to his label. In 2017, Manolo Rose released songs like "Ball Drop" and "Pink Fur." That same year, Casanova released three popular singles: "Don't Run," "Go Best Friend," and "Left, Right," which featured Chris Brown and Fabolous.
Films and Video Games
Memphis Bleek has also appeared in movies. In 2002, he starred in State Property as a character named Blizz. He was also in Paper Soldiers that same year. He made brief appearances in films like Backstage and Fade to Black.
Fans can also play as Memphis Bleek in the video game Def Jam: Fight for NY.
Discography
- Studio albums
- Coming of Age (1999)
- The Understanding (2000)
- M.A.D.E. (2003)
- 534 (2005)
- Apt 3D (2025)
See also
In Spanish: Memphis Bleek para niños
