Mr. Capone-E
{{short description|American rapper}}
{{pp|small=yes}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Mr. Capone-E
| birth_name = Fahd Azam
| background = solo_singer
| image = MrCapone-E.jpg
| caption = Mr. Capone-E in 2010
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1976|4|27}}
| birth_place = Peshawar, Pakistan
| origin = West Covina, California, U.S.
| occupation = Rapper, singer, songwriter, entrepreneur
| years_active = 1997–present
| genre = Hip hop, Gangsta rap, Chicano rap
| label = Hi-Power Entertainment, Thump, SMC, PMC, Koch
| website = [http://www.facebook.com/hipowerent Facebook]
[http://www.instagram.com/mrcaponee Instagram]
[https://twitter.com/mrcaponee Twitter]
}}
Fahd Azam (born April 27, 1976), known professionally as Mr. Capone-E, is an American rapper. He is the owner of the record label Hi-Power Entertainment.
Early life
Fahd Azam was born in the Peshawar district of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan to an ethnic Hazara family.{{cite news|url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ani/video-confirms-mr-capone-e-to-be-pakistani-hazara-118053101694_1.html|title=Video confirms Mr. Capone-E to be Pakistani Hazara|work=Business Standard|date=May 31, 2018|access-date=May 5, 2019}} He and his family moved to West Covina, California at an early age.Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211205/7fyDiEexZIc Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20210511142111/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fyDiEexZIc&t=203s Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fyDiEexZIc&t=119s| title = Mr. Capone-E "I'm Not Mexican" Interview On Shade 45 | website=YouTube| date = April 24, 2018 }}{{cbignore}} He grew up around gangs and became a Sureño.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQ8_E7HGb58 |title=Mr. Capone-E on Growing Up with Sureño Mexican Gang, Not Revealing His Race |date=April 7, 2017 |last=djvlad |access-date=November 16, 2024 |via=YouTube}} He was incarcerated at 18, and while serving time he decided he wanted to pursue a career in hip-hop.Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211205/UQku0m29C3w Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20170425110826/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQku0m29C3w&gl=US&hl=en Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQku0m29C3w| title = Mr. Capone-E on Selling Over 1 Million Albums Independently | website=YouTube| date = April 13, 2017 }}{{cbignore}}
Career
= 2000–2005: Career beginnings =
Mr. Capone-E released his first solo album in 2000 titled Mr. Capone E & The Southsiders independently through his label Hi Power. This album received a lot of buzz and caught the attention of Thump Records. He signed a three-year distribution deal and released his next album Last Man Standing in 2001.
In 2003 Mr Capone E released his third album Dedicated To The Oldies which he claims sold over one million records through swap meets and discotecas.
He went on to release Always and Forever in 2003, which featured the single "I Like It" with Nate Dogg. The album also featured guest appearances from Kokane, Mr. Criminal and other artists from his label Hi Power.
In 2005 he released the albums A Soldier's Story and Ol Skool Music Vol.1 and Vol. 2 with Zapp.
= 2006–2013 Leave from Thump Records, independent releases =
Money issues began to surface between Mr. Capone-E and Thump, which ultimately led to unpaid royalties to Mr. Capone-E. He was encouraged to leave Thump based on the number of albums he was selling per release. He left and received all the rights to his music released under Thump.{{Citation needed|date= February 2018}}
That year Mr. Capone-E released his seventh album, distributed under SMC, Don't get it Twisted, including the hit single "Don't Get it Twisted" ft. Twista,{{cite web|title=Mr. Capone-E > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles|url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p454573|pure_url=yes}}|publisher=allmusic|access-date=August 2, 2010}} which peaked at #18 on the Top Heatseekers Album Chart, #25 on the Independent Albums Chart and #68 on the Billboard R&B/Rap Albums.
In 2007, Mr. Capone-E signed an independent direct distribution deal with Koch, and released his eighth album, Mr. Capone-E: Dedicated to the Oldies Part II. It peaked at #17 on the Top Heatseekers Albums Chart and #66 on the Billboard R&B/ Hip Hop Album.
In 2009, Capone-E released his ninth album, Diary of a G, including the single "Light my Fire" ft. Snoop Dogg and collaborations with The Game and Glasses Malone, which peaked at #18 on the Billboard Rap Album Charts and #24 on the Top Heatseekers Album Charts. That year he also did a ring entrance song for the WBA Light Welterweight boxing champion at the time, Amir Khan.
He continued to release albums independently over the years, releasing the albums The Blue Album, Tears of a Soldier.{{cite web|last=Birchmeier|first=Jason|title=Mr. Capone-E > Biography|url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p454573|pure_url=yes}}|publisher=allmusic|access-date=August 2, 2010}}
= 2014–2016: Attempts to crack the mainstream, ''No Regrets'', and ''For Respect'' =
In 2014, Mr. Capone E started working on two albums, No Regrets and For Respect. These albums have more of a mainstream sound to his previous albums, collaborating with artists such as Migos, French Montana, Ray J, and DJ Mustard. To support the albums he released the mixtape Los Angeles Times. The albums were released in 2016.
= 2017: 12 albums in 12 months =
In 2017, he released an album every month. He did this because he felt that he was not active musically over the past few years and needed to release a lot of music to become more relevant.Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211205/7fyDiEexZIc Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20210511142111/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fyDiEexZIc&t=203s Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fyDiEexZIc&t=195s| title = Mr. Capone-E "I'm Not Mexican" Interview On Shade 45 | website=YouTube| date = April 24, 2018 }}{{cbignore}}
= 2018–present: ''Narco Valley'', autobiography, and other ventures =
After releasing those 12 albums, Mr. Capone-E chose to focus more on building his label Hi Power and sign more up and coming talent.
On March 13, 2018, he made his film debut in Narco Valley.
He is also currently working on releasing his autobiography Who Am I detailing his childhood, his family and ethnicity, and his life and career.
= Hi Power Entertainment =
Mr. Capone-E founded Hi Power Records in 2000 with the release of his debut album. The independent label launched the career of fellow Chicano rap super star Mr. Criminal.{{Cite web |url=http://www.hipowermusic.com/newsite/ |title=hipowermusic |access-date=October 25, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111119184054/http://www.hipowermusic.com/newsite/ |archive-date=November 19, 2011 |url-status=dead }}
The label originally was only made up of Chicano rappers in his area, but as the label gained more popularity he signed artists like Bizzy Bone and Layzie Bone of Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, Lil Flip, MC Eiht, Bad Azz, and Suga Free, among others.
Discography
class="wikitable" |
style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2"|Year
! style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2"|Title ! style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Peak chart positions{{cite web|title=Mr. Capone-E > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums|url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p454573|pure_url=yes}}|publisher=allmusic|access-date=August 2, 2010}} |
---|
style="text-align:center; width:40px;"|U.S. R&B
! style="text-align:center; width:40px;"|U.S. Heat |
align=center|2000
|align=left|Mr. Capone-E & the Southsiders
|align=center|— |align=center|— |
align=center|2001
|align=left|Last Man Standing
|align=center|— |align=center|— |
align=center|2003
|align=left|Dedicated 2 the Oldies
|align=center|— |align=center|— |
align=center|2004
|align=left|Always and Forever
|align=center|— |align=center|— |
align=center|2005
|align=left|Strictly For The Streets Vol. 1
|align=center|— |align=center|— |
align=center|2005
|align=left|Live In Japan Soundtrack
|align=center|— |align=center|— |
align=center|2005
|align=left|Zapp & Mr. Capone-E Ol' Skool Music Vol. 1 / Mr. Capone-E & Zapp Vol. 2
|align=center|— |align=center|— |
style="text-align:center;" rowspan="3"|2006
|align=left|A Soldier's Story
|align=center|— |align=center|30 |
align=left|Don't Get It Twisted
|align=center|68 |align=center|18 |
align=left|Connected (Lil Flip & Mr. Capone-E album) (with Lil' Flip)
|align=center |
align=center|— |
style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2"|2007
|align=left|Dedicated 2 the Oldies 2
|align=center|66 |align=center|17 |
align=left|Still Connected (with Lil' Flip)
|align=center|68 |align=center|— |
align=center|2008
|align=left|Hi-Power Collectibles Presents: Mr. Capone-E Love Jams
|align=center|— |align=center|— |
align=center|2008
|align=left|Dedicated 2 The Fans (CD/DVD)
|align=center|— |align=center|— |
align=center|2008
|align=left|Still Connected Part 3 (Lil Flip & Mr. Capone-E album) (with Lil' Flip)
|align=center|— |align=center|— |
align=center|2009
|align=center|— |align=center|— |
align=center|2009
|align=center|— |align=center|— |
align=center|2010
|align=left|The Blue Album
|align=center|88 |align=center|— |
align=center|2010
|align=left|Hi-Power Collectibles Presents: Mr. Capone-E Gang Stories
|align=center|— |align=center|— |
align=center|2011
|align=left|South Side's Most Wanted (with Mr. criminal)
|align=center|— |align=center|— |
align=center|2011
|align=left|South Side's Most Wanted Createst Collaborations (with Mr. Criminal)
|align=center|— |align=center|— |
align=center|2011
|align=left|Tears of a Soldier
|align=center|— |align=center|— |
align=center|2012
|align=left|Love Jams 2
|align=center|— |align=center|— |
align=center|2012
|align=left|South Side's Most Wanted: The Return (with Mr. Criminal)
|align=center|— |align=center|— |
align=center|2013
|align=left|Oldies for Life
|align=center|— |align=center|— |
align=center|2016
|align=left|For Respect
|align=center|— |align=center|— |
align=center|2016
|align=left|No Regrets
|align=center|— |align=center|— |
align=center|2017
|align=left|Jackin' Your Beats
|align=center|— |align=center|— |
align=center|2017
|align=left|Gangster Love
|align=center|— |align=center|— |
align=center|2017
|align=left|A Hi Power Smoke Out
|align=center|— |align=center|— |
align=center|2017
|align=left|My Gang Related
|align=center|— |align=center|— |
align=center|2017
|align=left|California Love: All Eyes On Me
|align=center|— |align=center|— |
align=center|2017
|align=left|Just a Player
|align=center|— |align=center|— |
align=center|2017
|align=left|A Hi Power Story
|align=center|— |align=center|— |
align=center|2017
|align=left|On Memory Lane
|align=center|— |align=center|— |
align=center|2017
|align=left|New World Order (Killuminati)
|align=center|— |align=center|— |
align=center|2017
|align=left|Forever Oldies
|align=center|— |align=center|— |
= Mixtapes =
- Los Angeles Times (2014)
- After the Smoke Clears (2016)
= Singles =
class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! rowspan="2"|Year ! rowspan="2"|Title ! colspan="2"|Peak chart positions ! rowspan="2"|Album |
style="width:40px;"|U.S. Rhyth {{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/mr-capone-e/chart-history/tfc/|title=Mr. Capone-E Chart History: Rhythmic Airplay|magazine=Billboard|access-date=March 18, 2025}} ! style="width:40px;"|U.S. Latin Rhyth |
---|
2004
| style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|"I Like It" (featuring Nate Dogg) |align="left"|Always and Forever |
2006
| style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|"Don't Get It Twisted" (featuring Twista) | 40 | style="text-align:left" | Don't Get It Twisted |
rowspan="3"|2007
|align="left"|"You Should Be a Model" | — |
style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|"Summertime Anthem" (featuring Fingazz)
| — |align="left"|Dedicated 2 the Oldies 2 |
align=left|"Mami Mira" (Mr. Criminal featuring Nate Dogg and Mr. Capone-E)
| — |align=left|Ryder Muzic |
2009
| style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top"|"Light My Fire" (featuring Snoop Dogg) | — |align="left"|Diary of a G |
2025
| style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top"|"Break It Down" | 40 | — | {{Non-album single}} |
= Guest appearances =
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p454573}}
- [http://www.dubcnn.com/interviews/mrcaponee2011/ Mr. Capone-E Interview at Dubcnn]
{{Commons category|Mr. Capone-E}}
{{Sureños}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:People from the San Gabriel Valley
Category:Rappers from Los Angeles
Category:American musicians of Pakistani descent
Category:American people of Hazara descent
Category:Pakistani people of Hazara descent
Category:Pakistani emigrants to the United States
Category:21st-century American rappers