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Bio: Even
though
his voice rarely goes above casual speaking volume, when C-Murder
talks, he speaks volumes. Born Corey Miller and raised in New Orleans,
a city known for both its good times and crimes, C-Murder adopted his
provocative name seeing murders, amongst other ruthless activities.
A product
of the notorious Calliope Projects, C was able to escape being just
another statistic by aligning with his entrepreneur brother Percy
Miller, also known to the world as No Limit Record’s CEO and founder
Master P. Throughout the mid to late 1990’s No Limit wreaked havoc on
the music industry setting gold and platinum standards for almost every
album they released. Before becoming one of the most popular solo
artists on the label, C-Murder debuted as a member of TRU alongside his
brothers P and Silkk The Shocker. The trio put themselves and their
label on the national map with their 1995 album True which spurned the
worldwide anthem “I’m Bout It, Bout It.” Following TRU’s groundbreaking
1997 album Tru 2 Da Game, C-Murder embarked on what would become a
successful solo career.
His first
album, 1998’s Life Or Death proved to listeners that C was able to hold
his own weight using a spectrum of influences ranging from Special Ed
to Ice-T to 2Pac, showing that while he had a rough exterior to use in
his favor, he had also had immense talent working for him too. His
follow-ups, 1999’s Bossalinie, 2000’s Trapped In Crime and an
appearance later that year on the 504 Boys’ smash “Wobble, Wobble”
would only broaden his fanbase and cement his place in Southern Rap’s
hierarchy. C-Murder would go on to follow his brother Master P’s
entrepreneur footsteps by founding TRU Records and releasing two more
albums 2001’s C-P-3.com and 2002’s Tru Dawgs—with controversy following
each one.
In 2001 C
was indicted on an attempted murder charge for a shooting incident
outside of a Baton Rouge nightclub. While out on bond, C-Murder was
charged with second-degree murder over a shooting outside of another
Louisiana nightclub. Facing two life-altering allegations
simultaneously, C’s recording career came to a screeching halt.
Sentenced
to life for the latter charge, C decided to change his name to
C-Miller. He went on to sign with Koch Records to put out some of his
previously unreleased material but opted to go back to his original
name by the time 2005’s Truest Shit I Ever Said hit shelves.
“C-Murder
is in my heart, I always knew in the back of my head what it was,” says
C about his decision. “It’s never crossed my mind to change. Anyone who
knows me knows I am who I am. I’ve been through a lot but I got heart
with it too. To let the system take me down, I’ll be a failure.”
Literally TRU to his word, the system did not take C-Murder down. Only
serving a couple years of his life sentence, C’s second-degree murder
conviction was overturned in favor of a retrial. Wasting no time
C-Murder released his 2005 album in the form of The Tru Story:
Continued with all new songs and offered fans an even bigger glimmer of
hope and change with a guest appearance on Ludacris’ Release Therapy
album on the song “Do Your Time” when he rapped alongside fellow ex-con
emcees Beanie Sigel and Pimp C.
Now, with
that chapter of his life and even a novel, Death Around the Corner,
behind him, C is looking forward to adding more pages to his storied
career. The first entry is his TRU/Asylum Records debut Screamin’ 4
Vengeance.
“This
album is going to be very personal,” insists C. “Its gonna be an open
book on my trials and tribulations. Current events, things I’ve been
going through, letting the world get it raw.” He pauses to warn,
“Everything ain’t gutter about the album though, because at the end of
the day its got a message. It ain’t about go bang this and that, it’s
just a raw album about life and what’s going on out here. At the end of
the day, the end of the beat, you get the message that the streets
ain’t what’s really popping.”
Backed by
a new team and a new attitude, Screamin’ 4 Vengeance is some of
C-Murder’s best work to date. As a No Limit Soldier C often had to
crank out music at an assembly line rate. But now that he’s calling his
own shots and setting his own schedule, C is putting out a high-quality
product of 5-star General caliber.
“My
lyrical content and subject matter on a another level,” says C in
between mention in his new in-house production team, Deadly Soundz.
“You can hear my confidence now, I can flow on any track now. Earlier
in my career, it was easy to do two or three songs a day because I was
saying the same things. But this time around its more universal,
everything ain’t gonna be the same. I had time to really work on this
album and perfect it.”
The
perfection can be heard in the diversity of songs on Screamin’ For
Vengeance. Tracks like “My Set” produced by Baton Rouge underground
legend C-Loc will remind hardcore C-Murder fans of what made them make
each of his first three albums platinum. “Be Fresh” shows C in rare
form actually appreciating the good things in life after a hard day’s
work. “Mihita” reunites him with former label mate Mia X while
“Gangstafied Lyrics” has C giving a sermon on street life.
“I’m just
trying to bring that 100% street element back to music,” says C.
“You’re not gonna hear me talking about driving this whip with 22s or
anything like that. You’re gonna hear real situations. This is my first
studio album in a minute so I have to give it my all.”
With
Screamin’ 4 Vengeance being C-Murder’s first studio album in five years
the veteran artist has more than enough to say and expose. With
everything from rhymes to emotions being bottled up inside, the
volatile contents finally get to explode out of the lyricist’s pen zand
into your ears. Sure to please both old and new fans alike, Screamin’ 4
Vengeance will reintroduce and reestablish C-Murder and his unique
brand of music.
“I’m the
same C-Murder that you expected and saw on my first albums,” he urges.
“It’s just C-Murder with open eyes that wants to give you a message and
let you know the consequences of your choices.”
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Part 1
Part 2
