HIPHOPDX Nick Cannon

Nick Cannon was born in San Diego, California and received his first break doing stand-up comedy on his father’s local cable access show. While he is more commonly known as a host, actor and comedian, his rap career is considerable. Originally debuting on the Nickelodeon variety show “All That,” Cannon went on to star in “The Nick Cannon Show,” “Wild ‘n Out,” and “America’s Got Talent” before going full steam toward a rap career. After initially starting his rap career as part of the trio Da G4 Dope Bomb Squad, opening for the likes of Will Smith, LFO, 98 Degrees and Montell Jordan, Cannon signed to Jive Records in 2001 and was featured on the Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius soundtrack. The album featured Cannon’s remake of Will Smith’s “Parents Just Don’t Understand.” Cannon released his debut self-titled album in 2003 led by the single “Gigolo,” on which he collaborated with R. Kelly. He attempted to follow that up the following year with the singles “Dime Piece” and “My Wife” for the album Stages, but it was never released.