Memphis Bleek

19 songs 4 albums

Memphis Bleek is a rapper from Brooklyn’s Marcy Projects, best known as Jay Z’s earliest protégé. His 1999 debut album Coming Of Age shares its name with the first song he’d appeared on, from Hov’s Reasonable Doubt LP. His name is a backronym for “Making Easy Money, Pimping Hoes In Style.”

On Bleek’s second album, 2000’s The Understanding, he updated Jay Z’s shelved single “Is That Your Chick,” which features Missy Elliott, Twista, and Jay himself. The song reached No. 7 on Billboard’s Hot Rap Songs chart, his highest appearance.

Around this time, Bleek was a pivotal figure in Jay Z and Nas' epic battle. After Nas took a shot at Bleek on his song “Nastradamus,” Memph responded on “My Mind Right,” adding fuel to what would become one of hip-hop’s greatest rivalries.