Suga Free

Born and raised in Pomona, California, West Coast rapper Suga Free (born Dejuan Walker on January 17th, 1970) soon found himself on the radar of industry tastemakers after first picking up the mic in the early 1990s. Inking a deal with Dutch label PolyGram Records in 1997, he released his debut album, Street Gospel, the same year. Produced in its entirety by G-funk trailblazer DJ Quik, the album peaked at number 37 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart, spawning a minor hit in “If U Stay Ready”, which reached number 79 on the Hot 100. Further cementing his reputation in 2000 after featuring on two revered, platinum-selling hip-hop albums, Xzibit’s Restless and Snoop Dogg’s Tha Last Meal, he found moderate success of his own in 2004 with his second album, The New Testament (The Truth). Released via Paul Ring’s Universal-distributed Bungalo Records and boasting collaborations with Kokane, Hi-C and Chingy, the album entered the Billboard Hot 200 at number 72 and the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart at number 23, serving as Walker’s most popular LP to date. After further high-profile collaborations with the likes of Snoop, Lil Jon and E-40, he returned in 2006 with his third album and last offering on Bungalo, Just Add Water. Home to the Snoop Dogg and Katt Williams collaboration “So Fly”, the LP entered the Billboard 200 at number 194. It was followed by a string of less commercially successful albums, released yearly through independent labels up until 2009. After two joint albums with Pimpin' Young, Suga Free returned with his first solo album in ten years, The Resurrection, in 2019.