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b. Anthony Cruz, Brooklyn, New York, USA. Rapper AZ made his debut on Nas' acclaimed 1994 debut, Illmatic, guesting on the track "Life's A Bitch". Raised in the same Queensbridge housing project that spawned Mobb Deep, Mic Geronimo and Nas, he instantly made headway in the Billboard R&B, rap and pop charts in 1995 with "Sugar Hill". The single referred to the suburban district so beloved of the black middle-class which had given its name to rap's first proper record label. Like Nas before him, AZ's concerns were firmly rooted in the ghetto life and his attempts to break free from it ("No more cuttin' grams or wrapping grands up in rubber bands"). It prefaced Doe Or Die, released in October, which confirmed AZ as one of the 90s most gifted new rappers. In 1997, he collaborated with Foxy Brown, Nas, Nature and Dr. Dre as part of the rap "supergroup', the Firm. The relative failure of the group's album had an unfortunate knock-on effect on AZ's sophomore release. Taking its title from Gil Scott-Heron's classic early 70s album, Pieces Of A Man was a strong follow-up with funky production by Dr. Dre and Trackmasters adding commercial appeal to excellent tracks such as the single "What's The Deal". The album's commercial failure left AZ without a major recording contract, and the self-distributed S.O.S.A. EP crept out in 2000. He signed to Motown Records for his low-key comeback set, 9 Lives. Aziatic came out in mid-2002, while Final Call followed two years after. A.W.O.L. came out in 2005. |
 Doe Or Die Released: 1995 Label: EMI |
 Pieces Of A Man Released: 1998 Label: Noo Trybe |
 9 Lives Released: 2001 Label: Motown |
 Aziatic Released: 2002 Label: Motown |
 Final Call Released: 2004 Label: Koch |
 A.W.O.L. Released: 2005 Label: Quiet Money/Fastlife |