AZ (rapper)

Anthony Cruz (born March 9, 1973 in Brooklyn, New York), better known as AZ, is a Grammy nominated African American/Dominican-American East-Coast rapper currently residing in Englewood, New Jersey. Originally known as AZ The Visualiza, AZ has achieved a strong fanbase in spite of little mainstream success.

Biography

AZ first came to prominence by appearing on Nas' landmark album Illmatic on the song "Life's A Bitch" (1994) - he was the only guest rapper to appear on the critically acclaimed album. After a bidding war, AZ was signed to Virgin Records, and soon released Doe Or Die (1995) to more critical acclaim than commercial sales, (it only sold 326,000 units). The album's lead single, "Sugar Hill (featuring Missjones)", became AZ's only major commercial success as a solo artist, reaching the top 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and achieving Gold status.

AZ's fanbase grew considerably after he joined The Firm, a supergroup consisting of AZ, Nas, Foxy Brown and Nature with Dr. Dre and The Trackmasters producing. The Firm's debut, The Firm: The Album, was regarded as critically disappointing but managed to go platinum. Pieces of a Man, AZ's second solo release, didn't sell well. Independently, AZ released S.O.S.A. to little fanfare in 2000. Soon, however, AZ signed to Motown and released 9 Lives, which returned his name to popular consciousness among hip hop critics but still did little to bolster his sales.

In 2002, he released Aziatic. From the album, "The Essence" was nominated for the 2003 Grammy Awards for Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group. The video to its first single, "I'm Back," received moderate MTV2 play. Over the course of these years, AZ and Nas (who had appeared on each others' albums several times apart from The Firm album) gradually stopped doing tracks together. During 2005, AZ was heard proposing a duo album to one-time rhyme partner Nas. Nas never responded to the offer, and AZ then told an interviewer that he doubted he and Nas would make music again. ^{[citation needed]}

AZ was supposed to release an album, Final Call, around late 2004 or early 2005. Due to massive bootlegging, however, the album was never released. Instead, A.W.O.L. was released on September 6, 2005. This album featured many tracks that were on the unreleased Final Call, as well as some new ones--the first single was the DJ Premier-produced "The Come Up," and became a moderately popular single. As ever, the album saw some critical acclaim from fans and publications, but no great amount of sales.

In 2006, AZ has announced another album, The Format, to be released on November 7th. Four tracks from the album have been leaked or released as singles: "Royal Salute," a response to a diss in 50 Cent's track "What If;"Rise & Fall (feat. Little Brother)"; "Animal," "The Format" (produced by DJ Premier) and "The Truth" (produced by Lil' Fame of M.O.P.)[1] He also appeared on The Alchemist's mixtape Chemistry Files, on the track "Professional Style."

Discography

Albums

Album cover	Album information
	Doe or Die Released: October 10, 1995 Billboard 200 chart position: #15 R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: #1 Singles: "Gimme Yours"/"Uncut Raw", "Sugar Hill"/"Rather Unique", "Sugar Hill (Remix)", "Doe or Die"/"Mo Money Mo Murder "Homicide"
File:Firmalbum.jpg	The Firm: The Album (with The Firm) Released: October 21, 1997 RIAA Certification: Platinum Billboard 200 chart position: #1 R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: #1 Singles: "Firm Biz", "Phone Tap"/"Five Minutes to Flush"
File:Pieces of a Man.jpg	Pieces of a Man Released: April 7, 1998 Billboard 200 chart position: #22 R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: #5 Singles: "Hey AZ"/"Sosa", "What's the Deal"/"Trading Places"
File:9 Lives.jpg	9 Lives Released: June 12, 2001 Billboard 200 chart position: #23 R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: #4 Singles: "Everything's Everything"/"At Night", "Problems"/"I Don't Give a Fuck"
	Aziatic Released: June 11, 2002 Billboard 200 chart position: #29 R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: #5 Singles: "I'm Back", "The Essence", "Take it Off"
File:A.W.O.L..jpg	A.W.O.L Released: September 6, 2005 Billboard 200 chart position: #73 R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: #17 Singles: "The Come Up"/"Magic Hour", "Still Alive"/"New York", "AZ's Chillin'"/"Never Change"
	The Format Released: November 7, 2006 Billboard 200 chart position: R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: Singles: "The Format"/"Vendetta"

Compilations/Unreleased/Unofficial albums

Album cover	Album information
File:S.O.S.A..jpg	S.O.S.A. (Save Our Streets AZ) (EP) Released: 2000 Billboard 200 chart position: - R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: - Singles: "I Don't Give a Fuck"/"Love Me in a Special Way"
File:AZ - Decade Cover.jpg	Decade 1994-2004 Released: October 12, 2004 Billboard 200 chart position: - R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: - Singles: N/A
File:Az-final call.jpg	Final Call Released: Unreleased (planned for 2004) Billboard 200 chart position: - R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: - Singles: "Live Wire", "Magic Hour"

External links

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