Welcome to the MedLibrary.org Wikipedia Supplement on AZ (rapper) -- Please Click to Return to Front Page

This article or section relies largely or entirely upon a single source. Please help improve this article by introducing appropriate citations of additional sources. (November 2008)

AZ
Birth name	Anthony Cruz
Origin	East New York, Brooklyn,　New York, U.S.
Genre(s)	Hip hop
Occupation(s)	MC, Rapper
Instrument(s)	Emceeing, piano/keyboard, synthesizer, drums
Years active	1992–present
Label(s)	EMI, Virgin, Motown, Koch, Quiet Money/Fastlife
Associated acts	Nas, The Firm, Cormega, Wu-Tang Clan

Anthony Cruz (born in East New York, Brooklyn, New York),¹ better known as AZ, is a Grammy nominated American rapper. AZ is a member of hip-hop group The Firm.

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 signed with Motown/Universal Records and released 9 Lives.¹

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. ¹The video to its first single, "I'm Back," received moderate MTV2 play. After nearly 3 years since he last album, "Aziatic" was released, AZ was going to drop "Final Call" in 2005. A lot of people thought this would be his last album because of the title but that wasn't the case. It got pushed back multiple times and heavily bootlegged until it was scrapped. Instead, A.W.O.L. was released on September 6, 2005. ¹

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.² His latest album Undeniable was released on April 1, 2008.

Contents 1 Discography 1.1 Albums 1.2 Appearances 2 References 3 External links

Discography

Albums

• Doe or Die
  • Released: October 10, 1995
  • Singles: "Gimme Yours"/"Uncut Raw", "Sugar Hill"/"Rather Unique", "Sugar Hill (Remix)", "Doe or Die"/"Mo Money Mo Murder "Homicide"

• The Firm: The Album (with The Firm)
  • Released: October 21, 1997
  • Singles: "Firm Biz", "Phone Tap"/"Five Minutes to Flush"

• Pieces of a Man
  • Released: April 7, 1998
  • Singles: "Hey AZ"/"Sosa", "What's the Deal"/"Trading Places"

• S.O.S.A. (Save Our Streets AZ) (EP)
  • Released: 2000
  • Singles: "I Don't Give a Fuck"/"Love Me in a Special Way"

• 9 Lives
  • Released: June 12, 2001
  • Singles: "Everything's Everything"/"At Night", "Problems"/"I Don't Give a Fuck"

• Aziatic
  • Released: June 11, 2002
  • Singles: "I'm Back", "Wanna Be There", "The Essence", "Take it Off"

• Final Call
  • Unreleased: Made in 2004 (Released November 11, 2008 as "Final Call: The Lost Tapes")

• Decade 1994–2004
  • Released: October 12, 2004

• A.W.O.L.
  • Released: September 6, 2005
  • Singles: "The Come Up"/"Magic Hour", "Still Alive"/"New York", "AZ's Chillin'"/"Never Change"

• The Format
  • Released: November 7, 2006
  • Singles: "The Format"/"Vendetta"

• The Memphis Sessions (Official mixtape: Remixes over Al Green-inspired beats)
  • Released: 2007

• Undeniable
  • Released: April 1, 2008
  • Singles: "Life On The Line"/"The Hardest", "Undeniable"/"Fire"

• Niggaz 4 Life (Mixtape)
  • Released: August 5, 2008

Appearances

• 1992: "Understanding" Nas Pre-Illmatic Demo Tape
• 1994: "The Genesis", "Life's A Bitch" Nas Illmatic
• 1995: "Wake Up Show Anthem" With Big L, Chino XL, Doug E. Fresh & Masta Ace Sway & King Tech Wake Up Show 2
• 1996: "A+Z" A+ The Latch-Key Child
• 1996: "When The Cheering Stops" With Zhané, Ray Buchanan & Scott Galbraith (from NFL Jams (Import))
• 1996: "Lady [DJ Premiere Remix]" D'Angelo Lady 12"
• 1996: "Album Intro", "Affirmative Action" With Foxy Brown & Cormega Nas It Was Written
• 1996: "La Familia" Foxy Brown I'll Be 12"
• 1996: "I Miss U [Come Back Home Remix]" Monifah Moods... Moments LP/ Miss U 12"/You 12"
• 1996: "Something About You [Darkchild Remix]" New Edition single
• 1998: "Head Over Heels [Trackmaster's Remix]" Allure Head Over Heels 12"
• 1998: "Rock Me [JD Remix]" V.A. Caught Up OST
• 1998: "Promises" With LaTocha Scott Of Xscape & Ray Buchanan (from NFL Jams (Intersound))
• 1999: "Let's Live" With Animal The Union Hard Labor
• 1999: "24/7 [Remix]" Kevon Edmonds 24/7 12"
• 1999: "Thug Connection" With Kool G Rap Papoose Alphabetical Slaughter 12"
• 2000: "Takin' Ova Da Streets" The Bleach Brothers Takin' Ova Da Streets 12"
• 2000: "Groove On [Remix]" Half-A-Mil Groove On 12"
• 2000: "Quiet Money" Half-A-Mil Million
• 2000: "Quiet Money [Blood Money]" With Animal & Half-A-Mil The Union Organized Rhymes
• 2000: "It's War" DJ Skribble Traffic Jams
• 2001: "Layaway" Jon B. Pleasures U Like
• 2001: "The Flyest" Nas Stillmatic
• 2002: "Holla Back" With Nawz & Tito Kool G Rap The Giancana Story
• 2002: "Keep On Lovin' You [Remix]" Dave Hollister Keep On Lovin' You 12"
• 2004: "Redemption" Cormega Legal Hustle
• 2006: "Professional Style" The Alchemist Chemistry Files
• 2006: "The Hardest Pt. I" Styles P The Ghost Sessions - Mixtape
• 2007: "No Holding Back" With Cormega Statik Selektah Spell My Name Right: The Album
• 2007: "Who Am I?" with Cormega & Nature Cormega Who Am I?: The Soundtrack
• 2008: "Too Real" Foxy Brown Brooklyn's Don Diva
• 2008: "It's So Hard" with Ali Vegas, Styles P & Danny McClane

References

External links

• AZ - TV
• AZ at Allmusic
• AZ at MySpace

Persondata
NAME	Cruz, Anthony
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	AZ
SHORT DESCRIPTION	African-American, Hispanic-American, Dominican-American, African, Hispanic, Dominican Rapper & MC
DATE OF BIRTH	March 9, 1972
PLACE OF BIRTH	Brooklyn, New York
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH

Wikipedia content modification information:

• This page was last modified on 24 December 2008, at 04:04.

Wikipedia Authorship and Review

Wikipedia content provided here is not reviewed directly by MedLibrary.org. Wikipedia content is authored by an open community of volunteers and is not produced by or in any way affiliated with MedLibrary.org.

Wikipedia Usage Guidelines

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on "AZ (rapper)".

The URL for this specific entry is:

• http://medlibrary.org/medwiki/AZ_(rapper)

All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.