One of the West Coast's pioneering rappers, King Tee (later known as King T) released a number of commercially unsuccessful albums in the late '80s and early '90s before eventually being dropped by his label by the mid-'90s. Though these albums indeed sound dated to contemporary ears, his work alongside two of the West Coast's premier producers of the time -- DJ Pooh and E-Swift -- makes them historically important and no doubt influential. Yet even if King ... Show more...

One of the West Coast's pioneering rappers, King Tee (later known as King T) released a number of commercially unsuccessful albums in the late '80s and early '90s before eventually being dropped by his label by the mid-'90s. Though these albums indeed sound dated to contemporary ears, his work alongside two of the West Coast's premier producers of the time -- DJ Pooh and E-Swift -- makes them historically important and no doubt influential. Yet even if King Tee's career never saw him crossover into national consciousness like many of his Los Angeles peers, he collaborated with most of the West Coast's rappers and producers throughout the '90s, including Ant Banks, Too Short, Rappin' 4-Tay, B-Legit, Xzibit, Ice Cube, and Ice-T, among others. He eventually became a loose affiliate of tha Alkaholiks posse and, even more importantly for his credibility, was taken under Dr. Dre's golden wings. Dre tried to re-launch Tee's career during the inaugural era of his Aftermath label, but a slight appearance on the Dr. Dre Presents the Aftermath compilation and a poorly received solo album featuring some Dre production, Thy Kingdom Come, didn't do much to reestablish him. Yet the veteran rapper continued to align himself with Dre's camp in hopes of success, making cameo appearances on the 2001 album and also on Xzibit's Restless. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide