C-Bo

Beginning with his first release, Gas Chamber, in 1993, C-BO signaled an intention to jolt rap audiences through provocative rhymes that eventually resulted in incarceration. The West Coast hardcore artist then built momentum steadily, issuing projects at an almost annual pace after that startling entrance. Releases bearing names such as Autopsy and Tales from the Crypt helped him gather a devoted audience comparable to the followings attracted by Esham, Brotha Lynch Hung, and Three 6 Mafia. As his perspective broadened, C-BO stepped back from sensationalist subject matter yet remained one of the region’s most uncompromising hardcore voices. When his 1998 effort, ’Til My Casket Drops, appeared, the California rapper entered Billboard’s Top 200 at number 41—an uncommon achievement for an underground figure. Following a 1998 imprisonment tied to his lyrics, he delivered Enemy of the State via Warlock in 2000 and kept advancing. Life as a Rider (2002), The Mobfather (2003), and Money to Burn (2006) each registered on the Billboard R&B/hip-hop charts, after which C-BO turned toward joint ventures. Trading War Stories, recorded with Omar “Big O” Gooding, surfaced in 2008, and Thug Money, made with Thug Lordz, arrived in 2010. Returning to solo work in 2012, he unveiled two albums that year: his eleventh LP, Cali Connection, which included guest spots from Outlawz, Young Buck, and others, and Orca, featuring Yukmouth, Brotha Lynch Hung, E-40, and Paul Wall. After completing a follow-up to The Mobfather in 2015, C-BO reemerged with The Problem in 2017.