About this user
1.Brown Pride Norte.4
North Side Gangsters
Known for his deep and violent lyrics depicting the harsh realities of gang life, Wood was a popular Bay Area rapper with a loyal fan base. A member of the Nortenos street gang, Wood's earlier works were mostly gang themed. However, later in his career, Wood's lyrics were largely political in nature.
Wood was subjected to personal turmoil at an early age. Having an atypical family life, as well as losing numerous close friends to gang violence shaped Wood's darker musical direction. His lyrics often depicted gruesome events involving rival gang members, and close personal friends that passed on. His motto was "Loyalty above all laws".
On March 7, 2007, While in the state of Oregon, Wood died of an allegedly self-inflicted gunshot wound.At the age of 10 years old, Ryan Wood moved with his mother from San Leandro California to Antioch, California. Around the age of 13, Wood became immersed in gang life, and shortly thereafter, became a participant. [1] Wood spent the remainder of his teenage years going to numerous high schools including Antioch High School, Prospects High Alternative School, and Live Oak Continuation School. Wood never graduated high school. The mid 1990's were a tumultuous period for Wood. His close friend Gabriel "Snoop" Roberson was sentenced to life in prison, and Carlos "Blackbird" Ramirez died after a run-in with police. Wood served a one year prison sentence for assault with a deadly weapon, for which he maintained was for self defense purposes. [2] Following the conviction, Wood was prohibited from residing in Antioch. Wood served his prison sentence at Folsom State Prison. In 1997, Wood began his own record company which he called "East Co Co Records", a play on the location of Antioch (East Contra Costa County). The label was started in 1997 after Wood used his Buick Skylark as collateral for a loan.[3] In 1998, Wood completed work on his debut solo album called "Yoc Influenced". Unlike most other rappers, Wood produced the entire album himself, creating a distinct and easily recognizable sound. He delivered a few hundred cassette tapes of Yoc Influenced to Rock Bottom Records in Antioch, his hometown record store. The tapes quickly sold out, and a buzz about the local rapper overtook the town of Antioch. [4] Wood then had the album pressed on CD and delivered them to independent record stores all over Northern California. Yoc Influenced was an enormous success and propelled Wood into the forefront of Bay Area gangsta rap. A year later, Wood released East Co Co's first compilation album, titled "Northern Expozure Vol. 1". Wood was featured on many of the tracks, but used the album to bring attention to other local talent. The song "Norte Sidin" was the most popular track from the album and it received some radio airplay. Like Yoc Influenced, Northern Expozure Vol. 1 was very successful, and prompted Wood to release Volume 2 shortly thereafter. Wood continued to release Northern Expozure's, which reached Volume 7(skipping number 3) up until his death in 2007. Wood's second solo album, "Demonz n My Sleep" was released in 2001 on Koch Records.
Roughly between the years 2000 - 2005 Wood had a beef with Brian "Sideways" Reyes, another Antioch rapper. Although the origin of the rivalry is unknown, many believe it started when Reyes' titled a song "The Yoch" on his "Livin The Life" album. Wood took offense to the incorrect spelling of Antioch's nickname, "The Yoc", and felt it was a sign the Reyes was not who he portrayed himself to be. Reyes was repeatedly referenced on East Co Co songs following the spelling incident. It is not known whether or not the two reconciled their differences before Wood's death.
Later in his career, fueled by his intense paranoia of law enforcement [5], Wood became fascinated with political issues. This interest was reflected in songs made in the twilight of his career. Reoccurring themes during this time were: Unlawful Government surveillance, American foreign policy, and social injustice. Wood was especially critical of the Patriot Act, enacted by President Bush in 2001. [6] Wood was highly critical of Marco "Ammunition" Sanchez, a local rapper, following his decision to join the military. Sanchez made a staunchly pro-war posting on Wood's internet forum. Being an opponent of the war, Wood strongly rebutted Sanchez. It should be noted that Sanchez and Wood had worked together previously on multiple projects
