G. Dep is an acronym for Ghetto Dependant (born Trevell Michael Coleman) (born on September 12, 1978 in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA) nicknamed ‘The Deputy’ joined Bad Boy Entertainment in 1999 after Black Rob recommended him to P. Diddy who listened to his demo and decided to put him on a couple of tracks on Black Rob’s album: ‘Life Story’. Impressed by G. Dep’s unique style P. Diddy immediately signed him to the Bad Boy label and he made a couple of appearances on Puff Daddy’s ‘Forever’ and Biggies ‘Born Again’. His debut album ‘Child of the Ghetto’ introduced G. Dep to the world in which he rapped about his street life in Harlem. The lead single ‘Special Delivery’ produced by Ez Elpee gave him the credibility he deserved. This was successfully remixed for a single off the album ‘We invented the remix’ which again made the charts.
Despite his successful dance floor single ‘Let’s Get It’ (where all three where credited as “Three the Hard Way”) which introduced the Harlem Shake, he failed to make huge sales on the label and his album remains one of the most bootlegged albums to date. His contribution the family is shown on ‘The Saga Continues…’ rapping on some of the best tracks on the album including ‘Child of the Ghetto’ which shows his raw street ability and also his successful collaborations with the family. After a brief hiatus in which his future was uncertain G. Dep came back released a mixtape called ‘The Deputy: The sheriff is back in town’. He didn’t lose his touch and it led to Black Rob bringing him back to Bad Boy Entertainment and he is expected to take part in his group Alumuni.
G. Dep’s life before Bad Boy, although not garnering as much notice outside of the NYC hip-hop community, is considered by many to be far superior from a quality of work perspective. His early mixtapes and bootlegs made him an underground hip-hop legend in the mid-to-late 90’s. On Gang Starr’s fourth album, Hard to Earn, an in-booklet shout-out is given to leading underground MC’s, namely the Wu-Tang Clan and G. Dep. Again, Guru and DJ Premier showed their respect for Dep by featuring him on their next two major releases. In 1997 G. Dep appeared under the name G-Depp on DJ Premier’s New York Reality Check 101, on track 5, Head Over Wheels. The next year, Dep found himself rapping alongside Guru and Shiggy-Sha on Gang Starr’s unsurpased hip-hop masterpiece Moment of Truth; track 17, The Mall. |
