Richard Johnson, better known by his stage name Tweedy Bird Loc, was an American rapper. Johnson and producer Ronnie M. Phillips organized the hip hop project Bloods & Crips, a collaboration between members of the California-based Bloods and Crips street gangs.[2] Johnson was a Crip himself, affiliated with the Kelly Park Compton set.[3][4][5]
Tweedy Bird Loc | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Richard Johnson |
| Also known as | Tweedy Bird Gangsta Tweed Blood Killa |
| Born | April 5, 1967[citation needed] |
| Origin | Compton, California, U.S. |
| Died | April 3, 2020 (aged 52)[1] |
| Genres | Hip hop |
| Years active | 1992–2020 |
| Labels | Dangerous Records |
Career
edit187 Ride By
editTweedy Bird Loc, with the help of producer Ronnie Phillips, began recording his solo debut album 187 Ride By in 1992.[6] He was still beefing with Eazy-E at the time; when Tweedy Bird Loc overheard Eazy on an interview saying that he won't sign Tweedy Bird Loc to Ruthless, Tweedy felt very disrespected so he and his fellow rappers Big D Mark, Nini X and Notorious Joe wrote a vicious diss track aimed at Eazy and his manager Jerry Heller, and his protegee Kokane titled "Hoe is a Bitch" in which he attacks and criticizes Eazy of selling out, being sexist towards women, and from Tweed's point of view, brown-nosing his manager Jerry Heller for fame. "Hoe is a Bitch" would eventually be recorded on 187 Ride By. Eazy-E never responded to the track. Tweedy Bird Loc also aggressively insults the all female hip hop group H.W.A. who were affiliated with Eazy at the time. Kokane and H.W.A. never responded to the track either.[7]
Tweedy was also having a feud with Bronx MC Tim Dog for dissing Tweedy's city and the West Coast hip hop scene in general on his "Fuck Compton" track. Tweedy would eventually respond to this with his single "Fucc the South Bronx" (also a diss aimed at other East Coast rappers such as KRS-One), and another Tim Dog diss: "What's Really Goin' On". Tweedy Bird Loc also had a single from 187 Ride By called "Comin' Out the Cage". 187 Ride By was released officially on September 14, 1992.[citation needed]
Besides being a solo rapper, Tweedy was also a producer. He and Ronnie Phillips organized the project Bloods & Crips, a collaboration of gangsta rappers who are members of the gangs, Bloods and Crips. Tweedy produced Bloods & Crips' debut release, Bangin' on Wax in 1993.[8]
No Holds Barred
editTweedy Bird Loc started working on his second and last solo album, No Holds Barred in 1994. The album spawned his new single "Walk That Walk". This album had more commercial success than his previous '187 Ride By' album. Tweedy also had a television interview live from Compton.[9]
Tweedy released another diss targeted at Ruthless Records and Eazy-E from No Holds Barred entitled "Y'all Can't Fucc With Us". He also disses MC Ren on the track.[10]
Tweedy also dissed Miami rapper and 2 Live Crew member Luke Campbell on this album in response to his west coast diss song "Cowards In Compton". Tweed responded with his own song, "Fucc Miami". The main reason Tweedy dissed Luke was because Luke dissed his city, although "Cowards In Compton" was not actually aimed at Dangerous Records or Tweedy—Luke targeted the song at Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg as revenge for being dissed by the duo on Dre's song "Fuck wit Dre Day (And Everybody's Celebratin')" from his 1992 solo debut The Chronic. In early 1995, before Eazy-E's death from AIDS, Tweedy and Eazy-E ended their feud.[11][12]
Death
editJohnson died on April 3, 2020.[13][14] No cause of death was revealed.
Discography
editSolo albums
edit- 187 Ride By (1992)
- No Holds Barred (1994)
Solo singles
edit| Year | Title | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | "Fu'k the South Bronx" | 187 Ride By |
| "Comin' Out the Cage" | ||
| 1994 | "Walk That Walk" | No Holds Barred |
References
edit- ^ "Legendary West Coast Rap Artist Tweedy Bird Loc Passes Away At 52". Siccness.net. April 2020. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
- ^ allmusic ((( Bloods & Crips > Biography ))) Allmusic. Retrieved on April 11, 2008
- ^ "Bloods" (PDF). Gang Resistance Education And Training. Retrieved April 11, 2009.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Hess, Mickey (November 25, 2009). Hip Hop in America: A Regional Guide [2 volumes]: [2 volumes]. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN 978-0-313-34322-3.
- ^ Hess, Mickey (2007). Icons of Hip Hop: An Encyclopedia of the Movement, Music, and Culture. Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0-313-33904-2.
- ^ Pirenne, Christophe (November 2, 2011). Une histoire musicale du rock (in French). Fayard. ISBN 978-2-213-67013-3.
- ^ Swirski, Peter (June 3, 2015). American Political Fictions: War on Errorism in Contemporary American Literature, Culture, and Politics. Springer. ISBN 978-1-137-51471-4.
- ^ III, Emmett G. Price (May 19, 2006). Hip Hop Culture. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN 978-1-85109-868-2.
- ^ Schwann Spectrum. Stereophile, Incorporated. 1999. ISBN 978-1-57598-078-2.
- ^ Nielsen Hip Hop, Nielsen Business Media Inc Hip Hop (May 21, 1994). Nielsen Business Media Inc Hip Hop Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc.
{{cite book}}:|first=has generic name (help) - ^ Cross, Brian (1994). It's Not about a Salary--: Rap, Race, and Resistance in Los Angeles. Verso. ISBN 978-0-86091-445-7.
- ^ "Gangsta Rap in Compton". Sigurd Fandango. August 18, 2014. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
- ^ Brown, Ann (February 28, 2023). "Whatever Happened To 'Bangin' On Wax' Rappers from '90s? 5 Things To Know". Moguldom. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
- ^ "Hip-hop and health – why so many rap artists die young". Yahoo News. July 19, 2023. Retrieved December 9, 2023.