Rappin' 4-Tay

Emerging directly from San Francisco after finishing high school, Anthony Forté—professionally known as Rappin' 4-Tay—first appeared on wax as a featured artist on Too Short's "Don't Fight the Feelin'," a cut from the album Life Is...Too Short. A ten-month prison term stemming from a marijuana-distribution conviction interrupted his progress, yet he reentered the scene in 1991 and launched Rag Top Records together with associates Franky J and Fly. The imprint delivered his debut full-length project, Rappin' 4-Tay Is Back!!!, in January 1992. Local listeners embraced his sophomore set, Don't Fight the Feelin', for its unflinching hardcore perspective that refused to glamorize street life. Following the 1995 album I'll Be Around, he issued the upbeat Off Parole the next year. 4 tha Hard Way arrived in 1997, and two years after that he resurfaced with Introduction to Mackin'.