Earl Stevens started rapping in Vallejo in 1986 with The Click, then went the independent route in 1989 — founding Sick Wid It Records and building a Bay Area following entirely outside the major-label system. In a Major Way (1995) widened his reach, and 2006's Lil Jon-produced "Tell Me When to Go" ft. Keak da Sneak pushed the hyphy movement into the mainstream. 27 studio albums deep and still one of the most singular vocabularies in rap, plus a second act in wine, drinks and tech investing.
