Lil' O (born Oreoluwa Mitchell Magnus-Lawson; November 22, 1977 in Lagos, Nigeria) is a Nigerian-American rapper, raised in Southwest Houston, Texas.[1] He is an original member of DJ Screw's Screwed Up Click. He was also known as O or Da Fat Rat Wit Da Cheeze. His name references his height, at 5 feet tall.[2]
Lil' O
Birth name
Oreoluwa Mitchell Magnus-Lawson
Born
(1977-11-22) November 22, 1977 (age 46) Lagos, Nigeria
His father was a doctor and Lil' O and his four brothers and one sister had a middle class upbringing. His mother died from ovarian cancer when Lil' O was 13 and suddenly his father's strict Nigerian upbringing began to chase him to rebellion.[1]
Soon after his mother's death, Lil' O began hanging in the streets with friends who were in the drug game, and he became addicted to the fast money that drug dealing brought in. "I got street fame, women, and a lot of money quickly and easily", he says. Eventually he got collared. After his arrest, his father kicked him out of the house and Lil' O fell deeper into the lure of the drug game. While out on bond, he continued to sell drugs and was caught again. This time he attempted to swallow the evidence before the police could arrest him. He swallowed an ounce-and-a-half of crack cocaine, and act which caused his lungs to collapse. He was put on life support and his father was told to prepare for his death. "It's really a miracle that I woke up at all", says Lil' O. "I was breathing through tubes on my deathbed and I looked down and saw that my ankles were cuffed to the bed. I realized, if I recovered I was going to jail, and if I didn't I was going to die".[1]
He went to Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans, where he studied business. Away from the drugs and the street life of Southwest Houston, Lil' O also began to dabble in one of his first loves – hip hop. "Man, when I was growing up, LL Cool J came out with 'Radio' and that was it, I was hooked. I never thought about rapping as a career because I was making so much selling drugs, plus the money came faster than it does in the rap game", says O. While at Xavier, in 1997, he recorded "Can't Stop" – featuring vocal contributions from the ladies that would go on to earn renown as Destiny's Child. The track soon became Lil' O's debut single and went on to be an instant local hit. Regardless, Lil' O eventually found himself out of school and back in Texas, again exposed to the same lifestyle he'd tried to leave behind. In 1999, he then signed with the Houston-based indie label Game Face Entertainment, but also began selling drugs again.[1] His debut album, Blood Money, sold 20,000 copies but he was unable to promote it due to spending time in jail.[3]
After being released from prison, Lil' O left the drug game behind for good and focused on his music completely. He also enrolled at the University of Houston–Downtown and majored in business. "Some days I wouldn't feel like going to class, and then I would look across the street at the county jail and remember how I felt when I was in there. That would be all the motivation I would need to get myself to class", says Lil' O with a hearty laugh.[1]
^Clark, Rob (14 June 2001). "A Lil' trend In hip-hop no one's too tall to be small". Dallas News. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
^Wirt, John (25 May 2001). "Houston rapper Lil' O: Rekindling career with music from heart and streets". Dallas News. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
^Lindsey, Craig D. (22 December 2001). . Houston Press. Archived from the original on 15 June 2011. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
^"LIL O | Listen and Stream Free Music, Albums, New Releases, Photos, Videos". Myspace.com. Retrieved 2020-04-11.
External linksedit
Lil' O discography at Discogs
February 10, 2024
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Lil O born Oreoluwa Mitchell Magnus Lawson November 22 1977 in Lagos Nigeria is a Nigerian American rapper raised in Southwest Houston Texas 1 He is an original member of DJ Screw s Screwed Up Click He was also known as O or Da Fat Rat Wit Da Cheeze His name references his height at 5 feet tall 2 Lil OBirth nameOreoluwa Mitchell Magnus LawsonBorn 1977 11 22 November 22 1977 age 46 Lagos NigeriaOriginHouston TexasGenresHip hopOccupation s RapperYears active1990 s presentLabelsGame Face Entertainment Contents 1 Early life 2 Discography 2 1 Albums 2 2 Mixtapes 2 3 Singles 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksEarly life editHis father was a doctor and Lil O and his four brothers and one sister had a middle class upbringing His mother died from ovarian cancer when Lil O was 13 and suddenly his father s strict Nigerian upbringing began to chase him to rebellion 1 Soon after his mother s death Lil O began hanging in the streets with friends who were in the drug game and he became addicted to the fast money that drug dealing brought in I got street fame women and a lot of money quickly and easily he says Eventually he got collared After his arrest his father kicked him out of the house and Lil O fell deeper into the lure of the drug game While out on bond he continued to sell drugs and was caught again This time he attempted to swallow the evidence before the police could arrest him He swallowed an ounce and a half of crack cocaine and act which caused his lungs to collapse He was put on life support and his father was told to prepare for his death It s really a miracle that I woke up at all says Lil O I was breathing through tubes on my deathbed and I looked down and saw that my ankles were cuffed to the bed I realized if I recovered I was going to jail and if I didn t I was going to die 1 He went to Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans where he studied business Away from the drugs and the street life of Southwest Houston Lil O also began to dabble in one of his first loves hip hop Man when I was growing up LL Cool J came out with Radio and that was it I was hooked I never thought about rapping as a career because I was making so much selling drugs plus the money came faster than it does in the rap game says O While at Xavier in 1997 he recorded Can t Stop featuring vocal contributions from the ladies that would go on to earn renown as Destiny s Child The track soon became Lil O s debut single and went on to be an instant local hit Regardless Lil O eventually found himself out of school and back in Texas again exposed to the same lifestyle he d tried to leave behind In 1999 he then signed with the Houston based indie label Game Face Entertainment but also began selling drugs again 1 His debut album Blood Money sold 20 000 copies but he was unable to promote it due to spending time in jail 3 After being released from prison Lil O left the drug game behind for good and focused on his music completely He also enrolled at the University of Houston Downtown and majored in business Some days I wouldn t feel like going to class and then I would look across the street at the county jail and remember how I felt when I was in there That would be all the motivation I would need to get myself to class says Lil O with a hearty laugh 1 In 2001 his album Da Fat Rat wit da Cheeze 4 sold over 75 000 1 He collaborated with Big Hawk on the hit single Back Back that led him back to a nationwide deal with Atlantic Records which he left in 2003 5 Discography editAlbums edit 1999 Blood Money 2000 Da Fat Rat wit da Cheeze 2003 Food On Tha Table 2007 Greatest Hits 2011 Grind Hard Pray Harder 2021 The Greatest Of All PlayersMixtapes edit 2004 Neva Lay Down Vol 1 2005 Jealous Got Me Strapped Neva Lay Down Vol 2 2006 My Struggle My Hustle 2006 South Side Tippin 2008 Tha Flood Neva Lay Down Vol 3 2010 Tha Flood 1 5 2016 The Re UpSingles edit Year Song U S Hot 100 U S R amp B U S Rap Album1997 Can t Stop featuring Destiny s Child 87 22 Greatest Hits2001 Back Back featuring Big Hawk 62 Da Fat Rat wit da CheezeSee also editHouston hip hop Screwed Up ClickReferences edit a b c d e f syHosting Sixshot com Retrieved 2018 03 19 Clark Rob 14 June 2001 A Lil trend In hip hop no one s too tall to be small Dallas News Retrieved 2009 07 18 Wirt John 25 May 2001 Houston rapper Lil O Rekindling career with music from heart and streets Dallas News Retrieved 2009 07 18 Lindsey Craig D 22 December 2001 Lil O Houston Press Archived from the original on 15 June 2011 Retrieved 2009 07 18 LIL O Listen and Stream Free Music Albums New Releases Photos Videos Myspace com Retrieved 2020 04 11 External links editLil O discography at Discogs Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Lil 27 O amp oldid 1187418860, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
