Charizma
Encyclopedia
Charles Hicks a.k.a. Charizma was an MC
from San Jose
, California
, United States
. He is most known for his work with Peanut Butter Wolf
; the two of them formed a duo together, but their music was cut short when Charizma was murdered in late 1993.
, and he started rapping at high school talent shows. He was only 15 when he met 19-year old Chris Manak, also known as Peanut Butter Wolf, in 1990. They became best friends, recording several demos and performing live in the San Jose
area.
After hearing Charizma on San Jose State's KSJS
90.5 FM, Matt Brown approached Charizma and Peanut Butter Wolf, offering to become their manager. Charizma and Peanut Butter Wolf agreed and began looking for a record label
. After entertaining offers from some major record labels, including Columbia Records
, they signed with the Disney-owned record label Hollywood Basic, now Hollywood Records
.
While signed to Hollywood Basic, Charizma and Peanut Butter Wolf recorded several tracks but Hollywood Basic never released an album because of creative differences between the artists and the label. Charizma stated, "The stuff we wanted to do was not what Hollywood wanted. When we first got signed they kept asking us for more and more songs. After we got signed they were turning things down left and right. They were talking about bringing outside producers—but Pete Rock & CL Smooth
never had outside producers, Gang Starr
never did. It's like they almost liked the image [of us] more."
Only a promotional cassette with the single "Red Light, Green Light" and a flexi disc
with the single "Jack the Mack" that was featured in an issue of the Bay area hip hop zine
Bomb Magazine were ever released while signed to Hollywood Basic.
Even without having released an album, the duo still gained a following. They routinely performed live in the Bay area, toured Germany
with label mates Raw Fusion
and were featured in Billboard Magazine
. They also opened for both Nas
and The Pharcyde
, but the conflicts with Hollywood Basic's executives continued and they were soon released from their contract. Charizma and Peanut Butter Wolf were still collaborating when it was cut short as Charizma was shot dead in a mugging on December 16, 1993.
Peanut Butter Wolf retained the tracks recorded while signed to Hollywood Basic and after founding his own record label, Stones Throw Records
, posthumously released an EP
called M-Town and the full length Big Shots
album
in 2003, over 10 years after the tracks were originally recorded. Big Shots, even though it was a stylistic throw back to early '90s era hip hop, was well received by critics and fans alike, reaching number 3 on CMJ Magazine's
hip hop chart.
Rapping
Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
from San Jose
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He is most known for his work with Peanut Butter Wolf
Peanut Butter Wolf
Chris Manak, aka Peanut Butter Wolf, is a DJ, hip-hop producer and the founder of hip-hop label Stones Throw Records.A native of San Jose, California, He took on the name Peanut Butter Wolf in the late-80s when he realized that a girlfriend’s youngest brother feared the “peanut butter wolf monster”...
; the two of them formed a duo together, but their music was cut short when Charizma was murdered in late 1993.
Biography
Charizma was 13 when he got his first taste for hip hopHip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
, and he started rapping at high school talent shows. He was only 15 when he met 19-year old Chris Manak, also known as Peanut Butter Wolf, in 1990. They became best friends, recording several demos and performing live in the San Jose
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
area.
After hearing Charizma on San Jose State's KSJS
KSJS
KSJS is a college radio station that broadcasts 24 hours a day from the campus of San Jose State University in San Jose, California, USA. It went on the air on February 11, 1963, with only 85 watts of power. The studio is located in Hugh Gillis Hall, easily accessible to RTVF majors...
90.5 FM, Matt Brown approached Charizma and Peanut Butter Wolf, offering to become their manager. Charizma and Peanut Butter Wolf agreed and began looking for a record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
. After entertaining offers from some major record labels, including Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
, they signed with the Disney-owned record label Hollywood Basic, now Hollywood Records
Hollywood Records
Hollywood Records is an American record label owned by Disney Music Group, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company.-History:Hollywood Records was founded in 1989 by then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner with the idea of expanding the music operations of the company and to develop and promote...
.
While signed to Hollywood Basic, Charizma and Peanut Butter Wolf recorded several tracks but Hollywood Basic never released an album because of creative differences between the artists and the label. Charizma stated, "The stuff we wanted to do was not what Hollywood wanted. When we first got signed they kept asking us for more and more songs. After we got signed they were turning things down left and right. They were talking about bringing outside producers—but Pete Rock & CL Smooth
Pete Rock & CL Smooth
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth are a hip-hop duo from Mount Vernon, New York. They made their debut with their 1991 EP, All Souled Out and followed with 1992's Mecca and the Soul Brother LP.-The Golden Age :...
never had outside producers, Gang Starr
Gang Starr
Gang Starr was an influential East Coast hip hop duo that consisted of the late MC Guru and DJ/producer DJ Premier. Their style combined elements of New York jazz and hip hop.-Background:...
never did. It's like they almost liked the image [of us] more."
Only a promotional cassette with the single "Red Light, Green Light" and a flexi disc
Flexi disc
The flexi disc is a phonograph record made of a thin, flexible vinyl sheet with a molded-in spiral stylus groove, and is designed to be playable on a normal phonograph turntable...
with the single "Jack the Mack" that was featured in an issue of the Bay area hip hop zine
Zine
A zine is most commonly a small circulation publication of original or appropriated texts and images. More broadly, the term encompasses any self-published work of minority interest usually reproduced via photocopier....
Bomb Magazine were ever released while signed to Hollywood Basic.
Even without having released an album, the duo still gained a following. They routinely performed live in the Bay area, toured Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
with label mates Raw Fusion
Raw Fusion
Raw Fusion was a spin-off project from Digital Underground emcee Money-B, with DJ talent provided by DU contributor DJ Fuze. Their albums contained cameos by many of the Digital Underground crew, including Shock G and 2Pac...
and were featured in Billboard Magazine
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
. They also opened for both Nas
Nas
Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, who performs under the name Nas , formerly Nasty Nas, is an American rapper and actor. He is regarded as one of the most important figures in hip hop and one of the most skilled and influential rappers of all-time...
and The Pharcyde
The Pharcyde
The Pharcyde are an alternative hip hop group based in South Central Los Angeles. The original four members of the group are Imani , Slimkid3 , Bootie Brown and Fatlip . DJ Mark Luv was the group's first DJ, followed by producer J-Swift and then J Dilla...
, but the conflicts with Hollywood Basic's executives continued and they were soon released from their contract. Charizma and Peanut Butter Wolf were still collaborating when it was cut short as Charizma was shot dead in a mugging on December 16, 1993.
Peanut Butter Wolf retained the tracks recorded while signed to Hollywood Basic and after founding his own record label, Stones Throw Records
Stones Throw Records
Stones Throw Records is an independent hip hop record label based in Los Angeles, California. It was started in 1996 by DJ/Producer Peanut Butter Wolf in part to release the music he made with Charizma who was killed at the age of 20....
, posthumously released an EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
called M-Town and the full length Big Shots
Big Shots (album)
Big Shots is Charizma & Peanut Butter Wolf's first album. While the tracks for Big Shots were recorded in the early 90's while signed to the Disney owned Hollywood Basic record label, an album was never released due to artistic conflicts with the labels executives...
album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
in 2003, over 10 years after the tracks were originally recorded. Big Shots, even though it was a stylistic throw back to early '90s era hip hop, was well received by critics and fans alike, reaching number 3 on CMJ Magazine's
College Music Journal
College Music Journal, commonly known as CMJ, is a music events/publishing company which hosts an annual festival in New York City, the CMJ Music Marathon, as well as a weekly magazine of and for the music industry and college radio stations in the United States and Canada. It publishes top 30...
hip hop chart.
Albums
| Album information |
|---|
M-Town EP
|
| Big Shots Big Shots (album) Big Shots is Charizma & Peanut Butter Wolf's first album. While the tracks for Big Shots were recorded in the early 90's while signed to the Disney owned Hollywood Basic record label, an album was never released due to artistic conflicts with the labels executives... (with Peanut Butter Wolf Peanut Butter Wolf Chris Manak, aka Peanut Butter Wolf, is a DJ, hip-hop producer and the founder of hip-hop label Stones Throw Records.A native of San Jose, California, He took on the name Peanut Butter Wolf in the late-80s when he realized that a girlfriend’s youngest brother feared the “peanut butter wolf monster”... ) |
| Big Shots Bonus EP Big Shots Bonus EP Big Shots Bonus EP is a follow-up album to Charizma & Peanut Butter Wolf's Big Shots album. Similar to Big Shots, this album is produced entirely by PB Wolf, however it includes tracks that were not on the former album. This album was released only in vinyl format.-Track listing:-External links:****... (with Peanut Butter Wolf Peanut Butter Wolf Chris Manak, aka Peanut Butter Wolf, is a DJ, hip-hop producer and the founder of hip-hop label Stones Throw Records.A native of San Jose, California, He took on the name Peanut Butter Wolf in the late-80s when he realized that a girlfriend’s youngest brother feared the “peanut butter wolf monster”... ) |