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All Music Guide:
Despite the fact he doesn't glorify the gang-banging lifestyle he once led, rejecting the common archetype of hardcore West Coast rappers, Watts/L.A. native Glasses Malone's explosive mixtape run placed him far ahead of the crop of "New West" MCs that emerged in the mid- to late 2000s. Malone actually grew up between both Watts and Compton neighborhoods in Los Angeles. His whole family was very deep in the illegal drug trade (his mother was convicted and sentenced to prison for 25 years). He eventually abandoned hustling drugs and gang-banging to pursue music fully. He immediately made a big impact with street albums The Crack Mixtape (2003) and White Lightning (2005) which together sold in the tens of thousands and provided a number of hits for L.A. radio. The buzz he created from those two mixtapes alone stirred up a high-end, major-label bidding war that included Def Jam, Atlantic, and Aftermath as suitors. However, in late 2005 Malone signed a whopping $1.7 million distribution deal with Sony for his Blu Division imprint. Unfortunately, Sony underwent massive restructuring the following year, which included eliminating the label's urban division. Malone was released from his contract in 2007, but wasted no time in securing a joint deal with Cash Money and Westside Connection MC Mack 10's Hoo-Bangin' imprint practically a week later. He then offered up his first proper single, "Certified," with hook-crooner Akon, which slowly made its way into national radio rotation.
Wikipedia:
Charles Phillipivory Penniman (born December 10, 1979), better known by his stage name Glasses Malone, is an American rapper from Los Angeles, California.
Early life
Glasses Malone grew up in the Watts and Compton neighborhoods in Los Angeles County. His mother served a 25-year sentence in prison for selling narcotics, and Malone was a Crip gang member as a teenager.
Music career
Traditionally associated with The Black Wall Street Records despite the fact that most the artists on the record label were affiliated with the Bloods, Malone signed with the record label, but later signed with Cash Money Records in 2011, turning down offers from many labels like Def Jam Records, Interscope Records, J Records and Atlantic Records. Glasses Malone was found by the same record executive that found The Game. Along with his signing, he was also given his own imprint, Blu Division. G. Malone debuted with mixtapes The Crack Mixtape (2003) and White Lightnin...Sticks (2005). White Lightnin...Sticks sold 50,000 copies and included the popular street single "Two Hunned".
Glasses Malone appeared in the music video for Tha Dogg Pound's single "Cali Iz Active' and also makes a cameo appearance in the Tech N9ne video "Like Yeah". He also appeared on the soundtrack to Madden 2007 with a song called "Right Now" which was produced by Scott Storch. On August 4, 2006 Glasses Malone appeared on MTV's You Hear It First.
Malone's first album, Beach Cruiser, was originally scheduled to come out on February 20, 2007. However, due to a change in record labels, Malone signed a new deal with Cash Money Records and Hoo-Bangin' Records and his album release scheduled tentatively for April 2008. Two singles from the album debuted in 2008: "Certified" featuring Akon and "Haterz" featuring Birdman and Lil Wayne. His album will now be release on Aug. 29th 2011. although it was leaked on the internet on Aug. 24.
In late 2009, Malone accompanied Tech N9ne and hip-hop supergroup Slaughterhouse on the K.O.D Tour. Malone was featured on former Cash Money R&B singer TQ's 7th studio album Kind of Blue in 2010.
He appeared on Big B new album Good Times & Bad Advice in a song titled "Live Your Life" http://www.myspace.com/hooliganbigb
He is currently touring with The King Tech N9ne, and E-40.
Filmography
The DivisionGlasses Malone is producing and starring in his own film titled "The Division". The film was written by Malcolm Mays and is set to be directed by Max Albert in January 2011, according to The Boombox.
