Anthony Forte was born March 2, 1968 and grew up in San Francisco's Fillmore District. He has a twin sister. He has a son as well as three daughters.
Right after high school, 4-Tay made his debut on the Too Short album Life Is...Too Short. He was later convicted on drug charges and served ten months in prison. Upon his release from prison he released his debut album Rappin' 4-Tay Is Back in 1991, and followed up in 1994 with Don't Fight the Feelin', which included the hits "Playaz Club" (which sampled the song "Private Number" by William Bell and Judy Clay and hit number 36 on the Billboard Hot 100), the "Dank Season" featuring Seff Tha Gaffla, and "I'll Be Around" (which hit number 39 on the US Hot 100, number 59 in Australia, and number one in New Zealand).
In 1995, two Rappin' 4-Tay songs—"Problems" and "A Message for Your Mind"—were featured on the Dangerous Minds soundtrack. "A Message For Your Mind" sampled "I Want You Back" by The Jackson 5.
Rappin' 4-Tay's mainstream success has been scarce since then, but he was featured on 2Pac's All Eyez on Me album on the track "Only God Can Judge Me" in 1996 and Master P's West Coast Bad Boyz II compilation in 1997. 4-Tay was also an original member of Bay Area supergroup T.W.D.Y. in 1999.
In 2003 Rappin' 4-Tay released the album Gangsta Gumbo with the single "Burning, Burning", followed up by the album That's What You Thought in 2007. In 2010 He was featured on R&B Artist E. Broussard's song titled Big Game Droppin'.
He was featured on the song "My Alphabets" on fellow Bay Area rap veteran Mac Dre's 2004 album The Genie of the Lamp. Dec 06 2011 Rappin' 4-Tay, E-40 and Playalitical collaborated on a song entitled "Bounce It Like a Bad Check" which was featured on the Political Playboy Music album released by Playalitical. In 2012 Rappin' 4-Tay collaborated on the song "Picture a Nigga" with Lil' Gang$ta, as well as helping with his debut album.
In 2013, he headlined the main stage of Seattle Hempfest with artists Ditch, Tony Tag, Brian Meyers and more.
In May 2014, he appeared with E Bone415 in a music video about Alcatraz Island.
The Intro
Rappin' 4-Tay Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
So why these nigga hating on me
Cuz I'm touching all this paper
I know you was getting bread when the pandemic hit
But you was quick to blow ya money
Now ya broke again
We smoke gelato when we mad at hoes
I ain't been
Keep my distance
It ain't no reason to even let 'em know
Never explain what's understood
Nigga just let it go
Won't ever trip over a bitch
Cuz I got hella hoes
Why lie?
Every time I switch
I get a better Hoe
Money bring problems
And bitches don't make it better yo
Attracting all these groupie bitches
Wit that chedda flow
All my niggas young and we ruthless
We gone get it all if we do it
She gone take it off
Fuck what you say
I don't want no love
This ain't Cupid
We can touch a bag
And I could show you how to do it
Gotta watch my back
From the tough guys
I don't wanna be in position
Where we say bye bye
Think you smoking zaza
Nigga you smoking Lala
Bj that's my brother
We connected just like wifi
No mob ties
And if I say I love you
Then I love you
Just don't make me
Change my mind
And if I say I love you
Then I love you
Just don't make me
Change my mind
In Rappin' 4-Tay's song The Intro, he reflects on the realities of the music industry and how it impacts relationships with others. The opening line, "They say the money make it better then, so why these nigga hating on me? Cuz I'm touching all this paper," suggests that Rappin' 4-Tay has faced criticism from others who may be envious of his success. He acknowledges that he and his crew smoke gelato when they are mad, but he is selective about who he lets into his circle. Rappin' 4-Tay is cautious about the intentions of others and makes it clear that he won't explain what's understood, and he won't trip over a woman because he has a lot of them in his life.
Rappin' 4-Tay acknowledges that money can bring problems, and while attracting groupies may come with the fame, it doesn't make things better. He and his crew are young and ruthless and will do what they need to do to get the bag. The line "We can touch a bag, and I could show you how to do it," highlights Rappin' 4-Tay's entrepreneurial spirit and willingness to help others. However, he is also aware of the dangers of the game and will watch his back from the tough guys. Finally, Rappin' 4-Tay notes that his loyalty is strong, but he won't hesitate to change his mind if others prove themselves untrustworthy.
Line by Line Meaning
They say the money make it better then
Some people believe that money improves a person's life
So why these nigga hating on me
I wonder why some people dislike me
Cuz I'm touching all this paper
Because I'm making a lot of money
I know you was getting bread when the pandemic hit
I know you were financially stable when the pandemic started
But you was quick to blow ya money
But it seems like you quickly spent all your money
Now ya broke again
Now you don't have money again
We smoke gelato when we mad at hoes
We smoke 'gelato' weed when we're angry at women
I ain't been
I haven't been
Feeling niggas vibes
I haven't been connecting with other people's energy
Keep my distance
So I'm keeping my distance
It ain't no reason to even let 'em know
There's no reason to let them know
Never explain what's understood
I don't need to explain what's already known
Nigga just let it go
I'm just letting it go
Won't ever trip over a bitch
I won't get upset over a woman
Cuz I got hella hoes
Because I have a lot of women interested in me
Why lie?
Why lie?
Every time I switch
Every time I change something
I get a better Hoe
I get a better woman
Money bring problems
Money can cause problems
And bitches don't make it better yo
And women don't make it better
Attracting all these groupie bitches
I'm attracting a lot of groupie women
Wit that chedda flow
Because of the money I'm making
All my niggas young and we ruthless
All of my friends are young and we will do anything to succeed
We gone get it all if we do it
We will become successful if we keep working hard
She gone take it off
She will take off her clothes
Fuck what you say
I don't care what you say
I don't want no love
I don't want a romantic relationship
This ain't Cupid
This isn't a love story
We can touch a bag
We can make a lot of money
And I could show you how to do it
And I can teach you how to do it
Gotta watch my back
I have to be careful
From the tough guys
From dangerous people
I don't wanna be in position
I don't want to be in a situation
Where we say bye bye
Where we have to say goodbye
Think you smoking zaza
You think you're smoking a type of weed called 'zaza'
Nigga you smoking Lala
But you're actually smoking a lower quality weed called 'Lala'
Bj that's my brother
'BJ' is my brother
We connected just like wifi
We are very close, like a strong wifi connection
No mob ties
We have no connections to organized crime
And if I say I love you
And if I tell you that I love you
Then I love you
I really do love you
Just don't make me
Just don't make me
Change my mind
Stop loving you or change my feelings
Lyrics © DistroKid, Songtrust Ave
Written by: ERIC JAMES YOUNG, EVAN DAVID EARL, JOSHUA SCOTT TERRY, KRISTOPHER ADAM FISH, MATTHEW ALEXANDER YOUNG
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind