Biography:
AZ was born Anthony Cruz to an African-American mother and a Dominican father. Although he had been rapping since 1992, 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 emcee to appear on that album. After a bidding war, AZ signed with EMI, and soon released Doe Or Die (1995) to more critical acclaim than commercial sales. The album's lead single, "Sugar Hill", 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 EMI contract was transferred to sister label Noo Trybe Records/Virgin Records when the EMI Label Group was shut down.
In 1997, he and Nas appeared in an Sprite commercial.
AZ's fanbase grew considerably after he joined The Firm, a supergroup comprised of AZ, Nas, Foxy Brown, and Nature, with Dr. Dre and The Trackmasters producing. The Firm's only album, The Album, was regarded as critically disappointing. 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 with Motown/Universal Records and released 9 Lives.
In 2002, he released Aziatic. A single 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. AZ was supposed to release an album titled 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 it became a moderately popular single.
AZ's sixth solo album The Format , was released on November 7, 2006.
Since The Format, AZ has released a mixtape titled The Memphis Sessions and a J-Love mixtape titled The Return of S.O.S.A. His latest album Undeniable will be released in early 2008.
Style:
AZ is known for his smooth, rhythmic cadence of delivery. He is also known for his use of multi-syllable rhyme schemes, internal rhymes, unconventional rhymes, and a large vocabulary. AZ is "one of the greatest rappers as far as lyrics and longevity", his style and flow are instantly recognizable and comparable to his friend and collaborator Nas.
Albums:
* 1995: Doe Or Die
* 1997: The Firm: The Album
* 1998: Pieces Of A Man
* 2000: S.O.S.A. (Save Our Streets AZ)
* 2001: 9 Lives
* 2002: AZiatic
* 2004: Final Call (unreleased)
* 2005: A.W.O.L.
* 2006: The Format
* 2007: Memphis Sessions (Remixtape)
* 2008: Undeniable
* 2009: Legendary
* 2009: G.O.D. (Gold, Oil & Diamonds)
Magic Hour
AZ Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
(AZ)
(talking)
Yea, poet, politician, playa when necessary
This is AZ
I'm your host for the evening
How we gonna do this?
No stress, we on the sands in Tahiti
Bare chest, you pass this dirty gram on the pinky
Respect, finess movements like your hands in grafitti
Grey Goose, mixed with grape, cran and the kiwi
It's truth holds galore
Rolls go clothes galore; take paper till they close the door
Either or, corner hustle or hustle on tour
To seen it all, nothing left but to stumble no more
And the sex is fantasm
Flow, campaigns 'em
Dough, can't change 'em
Courts, can't arraign 'em
It's sports, Titanium quartz, Iranian taught,
I came in force, all the bangers is brought
Brought the bang at your fort, torch and tangle your thoughts,
Scorch and stand if you're short
So of course, just to chill and conversate, Mil- and Salaam-ulate
Millions i'm trying to chase illin' from out the gate
Get it right my feelin's is not awake
Ducatti bikes, shipped from out of state
The pressure is on, the blunts is lit
My presence is strong, it's real I'm amongst the mix
The Wesson is long, I move like I'm on some shit
So testin' is wrong cause once guns is drawn that's it
The beats the rap the game is done
We leave, we at, we smack, we bang them guns
We beat with bats, we scrap, we came, we come
So, peace to that he's back nigga one
(CL Smooth)
(talking)
Yea, Chairman of the Board, man
Black Leader, the Mecca Don
El Presidente,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
All I do is bring the life to a dead game the moment I came
Under my umbrella, my flag, my name
If the ship leaving the port, cruise to the resort
You can't be serious baby, this is sport
Gotta make my rounds, head wolf of this pack
Till it's me an A' steppin' out of both sides of that Maybach
We can eat lovely, just don't interrupt me
And mix all this checkmate with that quiet money
I can see it all bubblin' the move is no troublin'
I'ma give you the plug and the Sosa
They all love CL, no jail for homie
Only gotta tell me one time, Don't fuck me Tony
Just buy weight fly straight and keep me right
And I don't care what I spend on security
It helps me sleep at night
Scene of this sharp as me
You take it in air, you can't compare
To the initials engraved in my office chair
The boss is here, we deep in the game
You can't do it the same
You gotta bring a strong leash for your dame or pop up
Speaking of cheddar, me and son peak it together
Can't feel it's the real deal or let the meatballs meet the Baretta
Smellin' like fresh cut leather
Odd color called sarsaparilla
The curtain is drawn the seat's vanilla
Let him see heat forever
Taking that seat empowers
All you wantin' is Magic Hour
The song "Magic Hour" is a collaboration between AZ and CL Smooth. In the beginning, AZ introduces himself as a poet, politician, and player. He sets the tone for the song and mentions that they are in Tahiti before beginning to rap. He talks about how they are stress-free, relaxing on the beach, sipping on drinks made with Grey Goose mixed with grape, cranberry, and kiwi. He talks about how he has had a fulfilling life by hustling both on the corner and on tour, and he's seen it all, which is why he stumbled no more. From here, AZ expresses his love for women and how he impresses them with his flow and campaign, and nothing can change his love for money. He mentions his Iranian background and how he came to conquer the rap game. He also mentions that he and his crew have beat people with bats or guns, depending on their mood. Finally, AZ wraps up his verse by proclaiming his love for Millionaires and that he is trying to make his fortune through hard work.
CL Smooth then comes in and claims that he brings life to the dead game every time he appears. He compares himself to a wolf leading his pack, and AZ is his right-hand man. He talks about how he doesn't prioritize his lover over his hustle, and he's willing to spend any amount of money on security to ensure he's safe. He mentions a code of conduct with someone named Tony and says that he owes him once. He states that he's smelling good, fresh-cut leather and how he has quite the curious taste for a color called sarsaparilla. He wraps up his verse by talking about how he's the boss and how nothing can be done the same way as him.
Line by Line Meaning
No stress, we on the sands in Tahiti
We're relaxing on the beach in Tahiti without any stress.
Bare chest, you pass this dirty gram on the pinky
We're casually enjoying ourselves in Tahiti and passing around a dirty joint using our pinky fingers.
Respect, finess movements like your hands in graffiti
Our movements are smooth and respected like the hand movements of a graffiti artist.
Grey Goose, mixed with grape, cran and the kiwi
We're drinking a mixed drink of Grey Goose, grape, cranberry, and kiwi.
It's truth holds galore
We have a lot of truthful stories to share.
Rolls go clothes galore; take paper till they close the door
We have plenty of Rolls Royces and designer clothes, and we're making money until the bank closes their doors.
Either or, corner hustle or hustle on tour
We can make money hustling on the street corner or by going on tour.
To seen it all, nothing left but to stumble no more
We've seen everything, so there's no need to stumble anymore.
And the sex is fantasm
The sex we have is amazing and fulfilling.
Flow, campaigns 'em
Our rap flows and campaigns attract many listeners.
Dough, can't change 'em
We're making so much money, no one can change us.
Courts, can't arraign 'em
Even if we're taken to court, we can't be proven guilty.
It's sports, Titanium quartz, Iranian taught
We excel in everything we do, including sports, wearing expensive watches, and learning from Iranian masters.
I came in force, all the bangers is brought
We came in strong, bringing all our best music with us.
Brought the bang at your fort, torch and tangle your thoughts
We brought our best music to your castle, lighting it up and bringing you joy.
Scorch and stand if you're short
We'll burn you if you try to compete with us and we won't back down.
So of course, just to chill and conversate, Mil- and Salaam-ulate
We're just here to relax and talk, using the words Mil- and Salaam-ulate to show respect.
Millions i'm trying to chase illin' from out the gate
We're trying to make millions and be successful right from the start.
Get it right my feelin's is not awake
We're well aware of our emotions and in control of them.
Ducatti bikes, shipped from out of state
We have rare and expensive Ducatti motorcycles, shipped from other states.
The pressure is on, the blunts is lit
We feel the pressure of success, but we're still relaxed and smoking blunts.
My presence is strong, it's real I'm amongst the mix
We have a powerful presence and we're truly living life to the fullest.
The Wesson is long, I move like I'm on some shit
We have a long gun, and we're moving like we're invincible.
So testin' is wrong cause once guns is drawn that's it
Testing our power is a bad idea, once we have guns drawn, it's over.
The beats the rap the game is done
Once we've made our music, the game is over, and we're successful.
We leave, we at, we smack, we bang them guns
We come in, we take over, we show off, and we're armed with guns.
We beat with bats, we scrap, we came, we come
We're not afraid to fight with bats or our bare hands, but we always come out on top.
So, peace to that he's back nigga one
We're greeting our successful friend, glad to have him back as number one.
All I do is bring the life to a dead game the moment I came
We bring our energy to everything we do and breathe life into any situation.
Under my umbrella, my flag, my name
We're proud of who we are and what we represent with our flag.
If the ship leaving the port, cruise to the resort
If we leave, it's only to cruise to a luxury resort.
You can't be serious baby, this is sport
We take everything lightly, even if it's a competition.
Gotta make my rounds, head wolf of this pack
We need to be social and the leader of our group.
Till it's me an A' steppin' out of both sides of that Maybach
We'll continue to lead until we're both stepping out of a Maybach (luxury car).
We can eat lovely, just don't interrupt me
We're enjoying our meal, but don't interrupt our conversation.
And mix all this checkmate with that quiet money
We enjoy the game of checkmate (or life), but also enjoy making quiet money and staying under the radar.
I can see it all bubblin' the move is no troublin'
We can predict our success and moving forward is not difficult.
I'ma give you the plug and the Sosa
We'll give you access to our network and our resources.
They all love CL, no jail for homie
Everyone loves us, we're successful and we won't be going to jail.
Only gotta tell me one time, Don't fuck me Tony
We only need to be warned once not to mess with us.
Just buy weight fly straight and keep me right
We're only asking for loyalty and for you to keep us on the right path.
And I don't care what I spend on security
We're willing to spend a lot of money on security, no matter the cost.
It helps me sleep at night
Having security makes us feel safe and allows us to sleep at night.
Scene of this sharp as me
Our vision and our understanding of life is very clear.
You take it in air, you can't compare
You can't understand our success, you can only watch us and admire from a distance.
To the initials engraved in my office chair
Our names are engraved in our office chairs, a sign of our success.
The boss is here, we deep in the game
We're the boss, we're in charge, and we're successful in everything we do.
You can't do it the same
No one can do what we do, the way we do it, because we're unique.
You gotta bring a strong leash for your dame or pop up
If you're with us, you need to bring a strong woman or you'll be left behind.
Speaking of cheddar, me and son peak it together
We're talking about money, and we're successful business partners.
Can't feel it's the real deal or let the meatballs meet the Baretta
We won't be fooled by fake people or put ourselves in dangerous situations.
Smellin' like fresh cut leather
We smell good and we're dressed in expensive clothing, similar to fresh cut leather.
Odd color called sarsaparilla
We're wearing an unusual and rare color called sarsaparilla.
The curtain is drawn the seat's vanilla
The curtain is closed, but everything inside is normal and peaceful.
Let him see heat forever
Let them see our success and power for as long as possible.
Taking that seat empowers
Taking a seat (becoming successful) empowers us and we become even more powerful.
All you wantin' is Magic Hour
Everyone wants to be successful and enjoy the Magic Hour of life.
Contributed by Makayla R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.