Born Germaine Williams in 1974 in Jamaica, Canibus moved to the United Stat… Read Full Bio ↴Born Germaine Williams in 1974 in Jamaica, Canibus moved to the United States with his mother at a young age. Because his mother's career required constant relocation, the family moved frequently and the soon-to-be rapper found solace within himself. His rhetorical abilities blossomed later, once hip-hop became the guiding force in his life. He began rhyming and in the mid-'90s joined a group called T.H.E.M. (The Heralds of Extreme Metaphors.)
This group consisted also of his partner Webb. Following a fallout with his partner, Canibus pursued a solo career and began infiltrating the mix-tape circuit. By 1997, he had approached the brink of the major-label rap game, guesting regularly on high-profile releases: He contributed to "Uni-4-orm," an inclusion on the Rhyme & Reason soundtrack also featuring Heltah Skeltah and Rass Kass; "Love, Peace & Nappiness," an inclusion on the Lost Boyz's Love, Peace & Nappiness also featuring Redman and A+; "Making a Name for Ourselves," an inclusion on Common's One Day It'll All Make Sense; the non-album remix of Wyclef Jean's "Gone Till November."
And most famously, "4, 3, 2, 1," an inclusion on LL Cool J's Phenomenon also featuring Redman, DMX, and Method Man.
Of the several guest appearances, "4, 3, 2, 1" certainly meant the most, as it brought together many of New York's preeminent hardcore rappers and thus ushered Canibus into that same elite class. At the same time, however, Canibus lashed out shortly afterward with the Mike Tyson-featuring "Second Round K.O.," where he rhymed, "So I'ma let the world know the truth, you don't want me to shine/You studied my rhyme, then you laid your vocals after mine."
In fact, the entirety of the song directed barbed rhymes at LL: "You walk around showin' off your body cause it sells/Plus to avoid the fact that you ain't got skills/Mad at me 'cause I kick that sh*t real niggaz feel/While 99 percent of your fans wear high heels," and so on. Shortly thereafter, LL sought his revenge, releasing "The Ripper Strikes Back" on the Survival of the Illest soundtrack (1998) and thus channeling even more attention toward Canibus.
From the track's chorus ("Can-I-bus? Yes you can!") to practically every line of the verses ("You soft as a newborn baby takin' a nap/Make my dick hard with that bitch-ass track/Where you at? smokin' in some one-room flat/Suckin' on Clef's dick hopin' to come back"), LL unleashed a fury of insults and threats. The media, of course, elevated the battle to grand heights, as even MTV gave the story headlines. In the aftermath of 2Pac's and Biggie's deaths, such confrontations fascinated the rap community, and Canibus certainly capitalized on his newfound publicity.
As for his debut full-length, Can-i-bus (1998), though, the response was sobering. Critics expressed little support, and sales quickly dropped as listeners also felt genuinely disappointed. Executive produced by Wyclef, the album suffered on many levels, both production-wise and rhetorically as well (critics targeting Canibus' delivery more than his lyrics or themes). The momentum that "Second Round K.O." had generated simmered almost immediately, and it didn't help that LL's "Ripper Strikes Back" found substantial acceptance at the time as well.
In the two years following the release of Can-i-bus, the rapper maintained an extremely low profile, much in contrast to the regular guest appearances he had made leading up to his debut. As a result, when he finally did return with his follow-up album, 2000 B.C. (2000), few noticed, it came and went generally unheard, and Canibus returned to the underground after parting ways with Universal. He continued to record albums and release them on the independent circuit (including 2002's Mic Club, 2003's Rip the Jacker, and 2005's Mind Control); furthermore, he retained a small base of fans as well, yet his days as the next-big-thing had clearly come and gone, as they similarly had for so many other talented rappers.
This group consisted also of his partner Webb. Following a fallout with his partner, Canibus pursued a solo career and began infiltrating the mix-tape circuit. By 1997, he had approached the brink of the major-label rap game, guesting regularly on high-profile releases: He contributed to "Uni-4-orm," an inclusion on the Rhyme & Reason soundtrack also featuring Heltah Skeltah and Rass Kass; "Love, Peace & Nappiness," an inclusion on the Lost Boyz's Love, Peace & Nappiness also featuring Redman and A+; "Making a Name for Ourselves," an inclusion on Common's One Day It'll All Make Sense; the non-album remix of Wyclef Jean's "Gone Till November."
And most famously, "4, 3, 2, 1," an inclusion on LL Cool J's Phenomenon also featuring Redman, DMX, and Method Man.
Of the several guest appearances, "4, 3, 2, 1" certainly meant the most, as it brought together many of New York's preeminent hardcore rappers and thus ushered Canibus into that same elite class. At the same time, however, Canibus lashed out shortly afterward with the Mike Tyson-featuring "Second Round K.O.," where he rhymed, "So I'ma let the world know the truth, you don't want me to shine/You studied my rhyme, then you laid your vocals after mine."
In fact, the entirety of the song directed barbed rhymes at LL: "You walk around showin' off your body cause it sells/Plus to avoid the fact that you ain't got skills/Mad at me 'cause I kick that sh*t real niggaz feel/While 99 percent of your fans wear high heels," and so on. Shortly thereafter, LL sought his revenge, releasing "The Ripper Strikes Back" on the Survival of the Illest soundtrack (1998) and thus channeling even more attention toward Canibus.
From the track's chorus ("Can-I-bus? Yes you can!") to practically every line of the verses ("You soft as a newborn baby takin' a nap/Make my dick hard with that bitch-ass track/Where you at? smokin' in some one-room flat/Suckin' on Clef's dick hopin' to come back"), LL unleashed a fury of insults and threats. The media, of course, elevated the battle to grand heights, as even MTV gave the story headlines. In the aftermath of 2Pac's and Biggie's deaths, such confrontations fascinated the rap community, and Canibus certainly capitalized on his newfound publicity.
As for his debut full-length, Can-i-bus (1998), though, the response was sobering. Critics expressed little support, and sales quickly dropped as listeners also felt genuinely disappointed. Executive produced by Wyclef, the album suffered on many levels, both production-wise and rhetorically as well (critics targeting Canibus' delivery more than his lyrics or themes). The momentum that "Second Round K.O." had generated simmered almost immediately, and it didn't help that LL's "Ripper Strikes Back" found substantial acceptance at the time as well.
In the two years following the release of Can-i-bus, the rapper maintained an extremely low profile, much in contrast to the regular guest appearances he had made leading up to his debut. As a result, when he finally did return with his follow-up album, 2000 B.C. (2000), few noticed, it came and went generally unheard, and Canibus returned to the underground after parting ways with Universal. He continued to record albums and release them on the independent circuit (including 2002's Mic Club, 2003's Rip the Jacker, and 2005's Mind Control); furthermore, he retained a small base of fans as well, yet his days as the next-big-thing had clearly come and gone, as they similarly had for so many other talented rappers.
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@ARIF74
Estoy seguro que la gente que habla español en todas partes de Hispanoamérica conocen al gran letrista Canibus. De todas formas pongo el primer verso traducido para que vean en que ambiente se encuentra este MC:
En el principio descubrí el "juego de palabras"
Experimenté con algunas silabas en el segundo y el tercer día
En el cuarto día busqué que palabras decir,
cómo comprimir la verbosidad compleja en la menor cantidad de espacio
Era perfecto en ello y dominé las tácticas
En el quinto día decidí que lo combinaría con matemáticas
En el sexto día me volví un fanático y no podía deshacerme del hábito
Me miraba en el espejo y practicaba
En el séptimo ciclo tuve que tomarme el día libre
Estaba agotado
Supuse que mi trabajo nunca daría frutos,
pero si le pasó a él, podría pasarme a mí
y si me pasase a mí, estaba destinado a ser así
@daniillyubych6201
Genabis
This is Genabis, Remember this
In the beginning I discovered wordplay
I experimented with some syllables from the first to the third day
On the fourth I searched for the words to say
How to compress complex verbiage in the least amount of space
I was perfect at it and mastered the tactic's
On the fifth day I decided I would combine it with mathematics
On the sixth day I became a fanatic and I couldnt kick the habit
I would just look in the mirror and practice
On the seventh cycle, I had to take the day off
I was exhausted I guessed my work will never pay off
But if it happened it to him, it could happen to me
And if it happened to me, it was destined to be
Yo, Genabis, Exobus, Levitibus
There aint a mic on this planet I'm restricted to touch
I read the cosmo's but God wrote predicted as much
The inhabitants lack faith but resistance is tough
They backslide back to church and call a minister's bluff
They rather remain unenlightened then listen to Bus
I blew the fuck up, even though it was short and abrupt
I was the first rapper to ever to close orbit the sun
One small step for man, one huge step for mankind
... I am the red giant of rhymes
Solar deflectors, incinerate you whole in a second
Flow is untested those that I've threatened fold under pressure
At 120 Beta cycles, high volts ignite your eyeballs
Until you see the fire in front of you
Optic cone rods, melt one at a time till you realize you in hell
Rip the Jacker's not done with you
I terrorize the rap community with impunity
Blow you to pieces and move elusively thru the debris
What my enemies want to do to me is old news to me
Those that pursue to me will never get thru to me
First rapper to speak over beats dogmatically
Mixed with Elizabethian drama and tragedy
My motto is to dress casually and live lavishly
Look at the Victorian tapestry in back of me
Notice the post renaissance pictures I drew
Hand sketched drawings of the deserts in Nazca Peru
The followable audio propogates the possible truth
For proof I'm the illest so the choice is not unto you
See the standard ideological definition of a rap model
Its Canibus scholarly periodicals
The article is substantially impressive, more then a message
A working thesis from several different perspectives
The Rosetta stone of sentences
For rap music's tentative
Enter apprentices
This is Genabis
The Rosetta stone of sentences
For rap music's tentative
Enter apprentices
This is Genabis
First rapper to speak over beats dogmatically
Mixed with Elizabethian drama and tragedy
My motto is to dress casually and live lavishly
Look at the Victorian tapestry in back of me
@chrissmith8216
Just ignore me. I'll just be standing here on the hill in my linen robe holding this album. "The heretics will never get this album!"
@TheAfghan72
One of the most underrated albums of all time.
@7Kingsmen
The best album that year of 2003! My favorite of his and it is underrated.
@multiversalsoldier33
Afgan..THE MOST UNDERRATED ALBUM OF ALL TIME!!!!
@marilynrobertson17
M
@Kilinngthemkings
Damn, another Afghan 🇦🇫, i wonder what makes as gravitate to this music?
@RealGMane
Yes
@officiallexmontero
One of the greatest writers of all time.
@casper956illest
+Official Lex Montero Yes sir.
@paullindsey7426
The greatest!!!!