Freekey Zekey

The Diplomats, the Harlem crew also known as Dipset, earned acclaim by flooding the New York mixtape circuit with their releases and enjoyed considerable success in doing so. Much of that accomplishment traces to Ezekiel Jiles, president of Diplomats Records and better known as Freekey Zekey. Even while serving as an executive, Zekey appeared alongside his crew as an energetic hype man and supplied the absurd skits that appeared on Dipset mixtapes and on albums by lead member Cam'ron. Before establishing himself as a solo artist, he confronted personal hardships and multiple encounters with law enforcement. In 2003 his close friend and bodyguard was fatally shot beside him. Authorities initially suspected Zekey of the shooting, yet he was soon cleared; shortly afterward he was convicted on prior charges of running an ecstasy ring. While serving more than two years in prison in Durham, NC, he stayed informed about the continuing success of his Diplomats family and began composing full verses. Within weeks of his November 2006 release—the same month Dipset rapper Jim Jones began topping the independent album chart with Hustler's P.O.M.E.—Zekey secured a multi-million dollar contract with Asylum Records for his first solo album. That album, Book of Ezekial, appeared the following summer.