Possibly the best known rapper to come out of San Francisco’s vibrant hip hop scene, Rappin 4Tay has a career spanning 20 years and 9 albums, with a new release slated 2011. He worked collaboratively numerous artists well known and up-and-coming, including 2Pac, Too $hort, Snoop Dog, and E-40 to name a few. A San Francisco native born Anthony Forte, he was raised in San Francisco’s Fillmore District, famous for it’s jazz and blues history in the 1940s and 50s.

He was the first rapper from the area to attain fame in the mid-90s, and quickly garnered a reputation for lyrical craftsmanship and keeping it real. He attended MacAtyre, an arts high school, where he learned how to read and write music and play half a dozen instruments. He’s certainly had his trials in this life – many documented in songs like “Off Parole” – but has emerged from them with the wisdom only experience can bring and worked hard to overcome his difficulties. He is the father of 5, including hyphy artist Lil 4Tay who performs with the group B.I.G. and is best known for the song “I Go”. Those who have worked with him are impressed with his ability to control a microphone and come up with fresh lyrics on the fly.

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