NEW YORK (By Tresa Sanders/ Tremedia) - The 12th CD, My Ghetto Report Card (Sick Wid It Records/BME Recordings/Warner Bros. Records), by platinum-selling E-40 debuts at No 1 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop chart and Top 5 (No 3 ) on the Billboard 'Top 200' chart, a first for the 'Ambassador Of The Bay.'
Released March 14, 2006, My Ghetto Report Card, teams E-40 with BME Recordings' head Lil' Jon, who executive produced the CD (also features production by Lil Jon, Rick Rock, E-40's son Droop-e of the Pharmasuticles, mainstay Bosko, and Studio Tone with guest features by Mike Jones, T. Pain, Keak Da Sneak, Turf Talk, Juelz Santana, B-Legit, The Federation, 8Ball, and UGK). The video for the first single from My Ghetto Report Card, 'Tell Me When To Go,' which features Keak 'Da Sneak, was recently shot by Lil' Jon and Director, Bernard Gourley (Lyfe Jennings, Three 6 Mafia, Beanie Siegle). The video introduces the world to the Hyphy movement in the Bay: 'it's a movement. It's a culture. It's the way we talk. It's superflambosta. It's really just stunting to the up-most degree. It's showboating and showcasing. It's wardrobe. It's however you feeling. It's energy. It's a dance, several different phases of it, you dig? It's cars. It's showing off. It's whatever. It's Hyphy,' says E-40.
My Ghetto Report Card highlights the Bay Area native's trademark style: 'E-40 acts as ringmaster with slick wordplay, street smarts and sly humor. He has long been at the head of his class; now he's graduating to the next level,' raves Steve Jones in USA Today, while San Francisco Weekly's Tamara Palmer says, 'My Ghetto Report Card will go down in history as the album that helped Bay Area hip hop reclaim its place on the national stage.'
Great early support from MTV and MTV2, puts the 'Tell Me When 2 Go' into the Elite 8 Rotation on MTV2 (Highest Rotation). Also supporting the early buzz was an aggressive new media campaign, including Myspace's first ever Hip Hop video feature on Myspace Music page, front page feature for a Flyaway contest, and a front page feature for the Album Listening Party hosted by Lil Jon. On iTunes, 40 Bellafonte was at the helm of "Bay Area Hyphy Movement" feature, where 40 picked artists to be featured with for week of release. In the coming months 40 Water will be on the cover of Rime, Murder Dog, and XLR8R. He is currently on the cover of Synthesis and has graced the covers of the San Francisco Bay Guardian and the San Francisco Weekly. He also has lead features in Dub, Vibe, The Source, and XXL.
Want more? A special called Hype on Hyphy is being produced by Warner Bros. and will be available as a DVD, along with the video and making of the video. And to educate the masses on his diverse lingo, E-40 has a book of slang called E-40's Dictionary Book of Slang, Vol. 1 that will hit stores around the time of the album release on Warner Books (will also be available in audio form).
