18th Annual Business of Hip-Hop Music Symposium, Part I: Featuring Al "Al Kapeezy" Kapone
Al "Al Kapeezy" Kapone
Image courtesy of the artist
Al "Al Kapeezy" Kapone is a multi-talented, multi-platinum rapper, award-winning songwriter, accomplished producer, dedicated mentor, and community service advocate. He serves as the music consultant for the Memphis & Shelby County Film and TV Commission and was the first-ever hip-hop artist to be named president of the Memphis chapter of the Recording Academy (the Grammys) from 2007 to 2009.
Born and raised in a city rich in music history, Kapone followed in the footsteps of the city's musical legends such as Isaac Hayes, Otis Redding, Al Green, Ann Peebles, and others. He developed a new southern hip-hop sound that would later become the Memphis rap standard.
After more than a decade of cultivating underground cult status throughout the region, Kapone achieved mainstream success when he wrote and produced three songs for the soundtrack for Craig Brewer and John Singleton’s Oscar-winning cult classic film Hustle & Flow. He earned a Critics' Choice Award for the film's theme song, Hustle and Flow (It Ain’t Over). The film’s iconic anthem, Whoop That Trick, would become one of the most memorable crunk songs of all time, widely recognized and adopted by the Memphis Grizzlies and the University of Memphis.