Pop quotable:"I'm young, wild and strapped like Chi-Ali...BLWAH!" - Ludacris "Stand Up" (2003)

Anyone remember this former rap star?

In the early 90s young rappers like Kris Kross, ABC & The Boys were all the rage -- enter Chi-Ali. His debut album "The Fabulous Chi-Ali" is considered a cult classic. He had a top ten hit with 1992's "Age Ain't Nothin' But A Number" (featuring credible hip hopper KRS-One in his video) and a minor hitseeker with "Funky Lemonade." The music industry wasn't too kind to him after his initial hit and he soon faded into obscurity and into the anals of forgotten, fallen music stars.

He fell into crime and was captured by police on Feb. 24, 2001.

Former rap-star turned fugitive from justice, Chi Ali Griffith, 23, was arrested in the Bronx, New York this morning. His arrest is a direct result of tips generated from his profile on AMERICA’S MOST WANTED: AMERICA FIGHTS BACK on Saturday February 24th, 2000. It was the second time the accused murderer was profiled on the hit FOX network crime show in the past five months. Police say Griffith shot and killed his girlfriend’s brother over a three-hundred-dollar debt, and a dispute over a collection of rare CD’s. Griffith was arrested by Detective Charles McLiverty and a team of detectives from N.Y.P.D.’s 45th precinct.

Chi Ali Griffith was once a rising star in the world of Hip Hop music. In 1992, at the age of fifteen, Griffith’s single, "Age Ain’t Nothin’ But A Number" was a top ten hit on the Billboard music charts. His follow-up single, "Roadrunner" was also a hit, but after that his music career stalled. By the late 1990’s Griffith was working in the mailroom of an insurance company and was considered a has-been in the rap world. Police say in 1999, Griffith was dating Sean Raymond’s sister and moved into an apartment with them in the Throgs Neck Houses in the Bronx. Sean, an avid CD collector didn’t get along with Griffith and had numerous disputes with him over CD’s that kept disappearing from his collection. On February 14th, police say Sean confronted Griffith during a telephone conversation about a case of rare CD’s that had been stolen from his collection. Hours after the conversation, police say Griffith confronted Sean on the street near his home and shot him to death.

The former teenage rap star’s year as fugitive wanted for murder was a topic of bewilderment and conversation on radio stations in New York and around the country. He was often rumored to be hanging out with rap stars and frequenting nightclubs up and down the east coast. Detective McLiverty tracked Griffith to Atlanta last summer but was unable to determine where he was hiding out because Griffith constantly stayed on the move. Griffith was first profiled on AMW in November 2000, but no solid leads were generated by that broadcast. But, when AMW profiled Griffith for the second time on February 24th, solid tips started coming into the show’s hotline placing Griffith back in the New York in a specific area of the South Bronx. On Sunday afternoon, a tipster called in an exact address to an AMW operator, 1575 Odell Street, in the South Bronx. The tip was immediately passed on to Detectives at the 45th precinct. At 6:30 this morning, Detective McLiverty and a team of officers hit an apartment in the building and arrested Griffith without incident despite the fact that Griffith was armed.
[This message was edited Mon Nov 10 17:03:14 PST 2003 by JANFAN4L]

I remember Chi Ali. (His brother was in Black Sheep.) I recently heard a reference to him in a rap song. Thanks for mentioning Ludacris.

Okay, here's one for ya... Lady of Rage. I rock rough and stuff with my afro puffs. Oh, and what about KRS-One's ex-wifey Miss Melody?

UptownDeb said:

What's even more ironic, Chi-Ali had a song on his debut album called "Murder Chi Wrote." Go figure?

Black Sheep was a good group. Too bad they didn't last. A lot of those early 90s hip hop acts should get props and respect because they had phenomenal material.

Oh yeah, Lady of Rage, Miss Melody, we'll get to them. Holddd on hehe
[This message was edited Tue Nov 11 4:00:55 PST 2003 by JANFAN4L]

I used to really like him <--- (singing) ~~~ The girls look sooo good but their minds are not ready - I rather talk to a woman cause her mind is more steady~~~ - that song was defintely rockin back in the day!

SweetKreme said:

Yeah, that song was a cut. I think he was one of three or four rap acts to sample that hook.

stymie said:

I definitely wouldn't doubt that!

but last night the Source awards was pulling some artist out of they ass!
Blaque
Dub C
Mack 10
Eric B
Treach
I was like Da hell??? LMAO

Chi-Ali the lady stunner, I'm stunning the stunts
That's blowing me kisses because I'm a Native Tounger
The native runner, and I'm about to blaze this flock track
Like Isaac, I leave ya in the Hayes
For days and days and days you try and phase
Yet you need to get Met, cause yo I heard it pays
Your pockets looks skimp, but yo there's a bulge in my jeans
Cause I'm only 15 and ripping rap scenes
All the magazines say that cat's hitting
But I feel like a rat getting chased by all the kittens
And all the coytoes setting up traps
But collapse on the faaabulous
No haps I design, a lined on the boom blue batter
Up next, me context a hex, from the complex
Rough, stuff, I puff, smoke, you wanna toke slow poke?
Nope, you can't get nothing sporty
Your girl's naughty, talking bout "Who's shorty, who's shorty?"
But get your girl cause I don't wanna be the stunner
Just the runner, the funky Roadrunner

Cool it coyote, I'm the roadrunner running things...

Sad.

What about Justin Warfield

Two Hyped Brothers and a Dog

Sagat

Doug Lazy

Paris

Downtown Science (one of the most underrated hip-hop acts of the 90's.)

Gangsta Pat

Arabian Prince

namepeace said:

Great selections, namepeace...also...

Ed O.G. & The Bulldogs

Pete Rock & CL Smooth

Da College Boyz

MC Breed

Nikki D "Daddy's Little Girl...WHAT DADDY DON'T KNOW WON'T HURT HIM!" (usin' that Suzanne Vega loop!!!!)

Ice Cream Tee

Prince Markie Dee's (of the Fat Boys) short lived solo career! Remember "Typical Reasons" (had a Gap Band sample in it)

Kwame

3rd Bass "Da Gas Face"

Nine "Whatchawunt Nine?!"

Broadway

Apache "I need a gangsta b#@$h"

Gang Starr

Brand Nubian (Sadat X, Grand Puba, Alamo!!!) Remember the jam "SLOW DOWN!"

We could go on all day!
[This message was edited Wed Nov 12 16:18:07 PST 2003 by JANFAN4L]

Queen Pen

Snow

Patra

Zhane

MC Shan

Digital Underground

Digable Planets

SWV

Robin

etc...

Soul 4 Real

Nuthin' Nice "Froggy Style"

Billy Lawrence

Grenique

Olu

Omar

Poor Righteous Teachers

Boogie Monsters "Recognized Thresholds of Negative Stress"

Candyman "Knockin Da Boots"

what happened to this cats?

etc.

HI-C

MC.Brains

Another bad creation

Illegal

The Bloods&Crips(anyone remember that?...i thought that was a scary looking group when i was little/.... its pretty hilarious looking back at that...)

Lords of the underground...

.
.
[This message was edited Wed Nov 12 23:07:01 PST 2003 by Christopher]

UptownDeb said:

your talking about the swedish girl right? i remember her..

Soul For Real

The Boys

Nelly Furtado

Christopher said

Yep!
[This message was edited Thu Nov 13 6:32:38 PST 2003 by UptownDeb]

UptownDeb said:

I miss Soul For Real. Candy Rain was my cut!! Especially the remix with Heavy D. Where he at?

stymie said:

I heard on the radio that a few of the members of Soul 4 Real were involved in a credit card scam a few years ago and are incarcerated. Heavy D is a producer now, his most notable song was his production credits on the Jay Z/Lenny Kravitz track "Guns & Roses."

JANFAN4L said: