Beanie Sigel
This article refers to the rapper "Beanie Sigel". For the gangster, see Bugsy Siegel. Template:Infobox musical artist 2
Dwight Grant (born on March 6 1974), also known as Beanie Sigel, is an American rapper,[1] from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, signed to Damon Dash and Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records in 1998. Beanie founded the group and label State Property as well as the clothing company.
Sigel's name derives from the street in South Philadelphia where he was raised, Sigel Street. It is also a play on the name of the famous gangster, Bugsy Siegel. Dwight Grant has homes in Philadelphia and Lansdale.
Early career
Sigel's debut LP, The Truth was released February 29, 2000 on Roc-A-Fella Records. The album went gold and spawned hits like "The Truth" and "Remember Them Days" featuring Eve. The album also had Jay-Z's single, "Anything". His second album The Reason was released in mid-2001. The Reason was lighter material compared to his debut album[citation needed] and introduced the world to his own rap group State Property, a band of Philly rappers signed to Rocafella Records.
Rap feuds
Around 2001, Beanie Sigel was involved in an incident that stemmed from Jadakiss claiming rappers from Sigel's home city of Philadelphia got their style & flow from Jadakiss. Sigel took offense to this, and they sent several tracks back and forth. Eventually Styles P (also from D-Block, along with Jadakiss) and Jay-Z got involved. Sigel even called out DMX (from the Ruff Ryders crew, to whom Jadakiss was affiliated), which led to Jadakiss and DMX teaming together to release a Beanie Sigel diss track called "Un-Hunh".
The incident continued even after Russell Simmons, owner at the time of Def Jam (the label which Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella was under and Ruff Ryders was affiliated with through DMX) forced the two to declare a brief truce. Disses finally stopped flying after Sigel released a diss track over Jada's "Put Ya Hands Up" beat, recalling when the D-Block wore shiny suits in a Bad Boy video, among other things.
In 2007, Beanie released a diss track towards Cam'ron,and the Dipset camp called "Creep Low"
Split of Roc-A-Fella Records
While he was in jail, it is said that none of the State Property members except for Oschino came to visit him. He told Dame to pass the word on that State Property was no longer in effect, until after he was released. When the split between Roc-A-Fella owners occurred, Dame made it clear that Beanie's intentions were to move State Property to his new Dame Dash Music Group.
However, only members Oschino and Omillio Sparks chose to go. Members Freeway, Peedi Crakk, Young Chris, and Neef wanted to stay on Roc-A-Fella records with Jay-Z. When questioned, they claimed they were just in the mix. When he was released from jail, Sigel had a few choice words for his friends, claiming "I still love them like brothers... I just don't know if we can make music again."
It was thought that Sigel had chosen to sign with Dame; however, this is unclear, as he was present at Jay-Z's I Declare War concert in 2005. He recently stated his next Def Jam release would be a mixtape, which would fulfill his contract with them. He is currently working on his new album, The Solution.
It appears Beans has chosen to side with Jay-Z after all, as he recently stated that he would never work with Dame Dash again [2], and several members of Roc-a-Fella appeared at his birthday party. [3]. He has confirmed that he is still a member of Roc-a-Fella via a radio interview. [4]
Beans confirmed that his upcoming album, The Solution, would be released on Roc-A-Fella Records.
Legal Trouble
In September 2005, a jury acquitted him of charges that he nearly shot a man to death on a crowded city street two years prior. In August, Sigel left federal prison after serving nearly a year on a federal weapons charge that stemmed from a 2002 traffic stop in Philadelphia.
Sigel also has fallen behind in child-support payments. He was briefly jailed in November until he paid $27,000 in child support and $2,000 in fines, but seems to be paying off his debts.
With the case behind him, Sigel now plans to "make music, make movies and work on his clothing line," said his attorney, Fortunato N. Perri Jr. The case was the last in a series of criminal charges against Sigel, who has a long arrest record dating back to his days growing up in South Philadelphia.
On Tuesday, January 10 2006, Sigel was convicted of assault for a fight. He agreed with the prosecutor's version of events, and was convicted of misdemeanor simple assault. He was immediately sentenced to two years and three months
Shooting
On May 25 2006, shortly after 8:00 am, Sigel was shot twice in the upper right arm during a robbery attempt. He was hospitalized and was said to be in good condition.[2] According to Philly.com, sources at the Philadelphia Police are skeptical of the details of the shooting because no shell casings, or witnesses to the shooting have been located.
Discography
- The Truth (2000) (Gold)
- The Reason (2001)
- The B. Coming (2005)
- The Solution (2007) (U.S. Sales: 84,057)[3]