Cormega

An underground favorite among critics, Cormega stood out as one of the few hardcore rappers to earn widespread respect from every quarter. Although he never achieved the commercial breakthrough enjoyed by certain New York City contemporaries, he nevertheless sustained a solid degree of autonomy across the years by issuing his own material through the Legal Hustle imprint. Born Cory McKay, he spent his formative years in the Queensbridge housing projects, the same environment that later produced Nas, Mobb Deep, AZ, and Tragedy Khadafi, as well as the earlier generation anchored by Marley Marl and the Juice Crew.

After early guest spots on DJ Hot Day projects, among them “Set It Off” from PHD’s Without Warning in 1991, Cormega served time and placed his rap ambitions on pause for several years. Nas referenced him directly on the 1994 album Illmatic, specifically on the track “One Love,” and once Cormega exited prison in 1995 he appeared on Nas’ follow-up It Was Written the next year, joining AZ and Foxy Brown on “Affirmative Action.” The four artists were slated to form a supergroup called the Firm under Nas’ leadership, with Trackmasters and Dr. Dre handling production duties that would expand the collaborative approach heard on “Affirmative Action.” Cormega was ultimately dropped from the lineup in favor of fellow Queensbridge MC Nature, a decision that sparked a prolonged and acrimonious feud with Nas; the two eventually reconciled and performed “Affirmative Action” together with Foxy Brown onstage in December 2006.

Upon leaving prison, Cormega also entered into a recording deal with Def Jam that initially looked promising. Between 1995 and 1996 he laid down tracks for his intended debut, The Testament, enlisting producers such as Sha Money XL, Havoc, Jae Supreme, and Hot Day. Def Jam shelved the project, however, obliging Cormega to remain under contract until its expiration in 2000. During that period he surfaced only sporadically, contributing to the How to Be a Player soundtrack in 1997, Mobb Deep’s Murda Muzik in 1999, and Nas’ QB Finest compilation in 2000. Once freed from Def Jam, he launched his independent Legal Hustle label and, through an arrangement with Landspeed Records, issued his first proper album, The Realness, in 2001, consisting entirely of fresh material. The record received strong critical notices and reached number 111 on the Billboard 200, while climbing to number four on the Top Independent Albums chart and number one on the Top Heatseekers tally. A follow-up, The True Meaning, arrived in 2002, again earning widespread praise and capturing Independent Album of the Year at the 2003 Source Awards; it peaked at number 95 on the Billboard 200.

Cormega subsequently stepped back to devote time to his daughter, who was born in November 2002, before resuming activity. He returned in 2004 with the collaborative effort Legal Hustle and the two-disc retrospective Special Edition that paired The Realness with The True Meaning. In 2005 he finally issued The Testament, the Def Jam album recorded a decade earlier, after regaining control of the master tapes. The following year he shared billing with fellow Queensbridge rapper Lake on the joint project My Brother’s Keeper. In 2007 Cormega unveiled the documentary DVD Who Am I?, which chronicled the years 2001 through 2005 and came packaged with a companion CD of new recordings; that same year he released the all-instrumental Got Beats?, spotlighting productions from DJ Premier, the Alchemist, Ayatollah, and Ski Beatz.