King T” whose real name is Roger McBride (born December 14, 1968) is an American West coast rapper from Compton, California. King T is one of the West Coast’s pioneering rappers, King Tee (later known as King T) released a few major-label albums in the late ’80s and early ’90s. Though the Compton rapper enjoyed little commercial success, he’s often cited as an influence upon the gangsta rappers of the early to mid-’90s. He notably collaborated with a pair of premier West Coast rap producers, DJ Pooh and E-Swift, who were largely unknown at the time. In later years, King Tee resurfaced from time to time; for instance, he was featured on Dr. Dre’s 2001 and released some independent albums of his own, including “Thy Kingdom Come”. But for the most part, he remains a footnote in West Coast rap history, as his music was out of print for years on end. “Ruff Rhymes: Greatest Hits Collection (1998)”, a compilation of his recordings for Capitol, is the exception, though even it is hard to come by. During his time with Capitol, T began mentoring a young trio of rappers called Tha Alkaholiks, also known as “Tha Liks, consisting of Tash, J-Ro and E-Swift, as well as their loosely affiliated collective called the Likwit Crew. The Likwit Crew also includes others such as Xzibit, who would later rise to fame and bring King T close to Compton producer Dr. Dre. Tha Alkaholiks put out their debut album 21 & Over under King T’s guidance on Loud Records in 1993. The Notorious B.I.G. influence T greatly influenced The Notorious B.I.G. with his deep voice, flow and rhyme style, which Big would at times imitate on his 1994 album Ready to Die. Tee later paid homage to Biggie on the track “6 In’a Moe’nin” on his album Thy Kingdom Come, using a similar setup to and vocal samples of Biggie’s track “Somebody’s Got to Die”. In 2010, Ice T confirmed in an interview that King T was one of B.I.G’s favorite MC
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