Grand Daddy I.U.

Baritone voice, smooth flow and gangsta persona. The rhymes on his 1987 debut, Smooth Assassin, were hardly revolutionary, especially in the context of the other great emcees who emerged from that period, but listeners were drawn to his indelible delivery. Fans immediately anointed him the "Barry White of hip-hop," and though Assassin, produced by Biz Markie, failed to create a real commercial buzz, it has since entered the old school hip-hop cannon as an essential Cold Chillin' release.