Lil Zane hit the music scene in 2000 and scored hits on his own and with other artists, like 112, Bow Wow and Lil Wayne, to name a few. He also made his mark as an actor. Although he experienced success, his time in the spotlight was brief.
Here’s what happened to Lil Zane.
A young star
According to Blog Talk Radio, Lil Zane was 11 years old when he, his brother, and his cousin formed a rap trio called Kronic. The group was eventually discovered by Kevin Wales, who was Monica and 112’s manager at the time. In 1993, Kronic signed a record contract, but the deal went under after the company went out of business.
He was disappointed, but he didn’t give up on his musical dreams. He decided to focus on becoming a solo superstar and began writing and recording his own music.
By the time he was 16, there was a buzz surrounding him and Diddy was interested in signing him to Bad Boy Records. Zane told BET he wanted to be on a label where he could easily get in contact with the label’s executive if he had a problem. And he thought Diddy was too busy to give him the attention he needed.
Zane said he believed Diddy respected his decision, but Zane gave a warning to other budding artists: “Don’t make stupid decisions when you grow up, kids. Don’t make decisions with your heart. Make them with your mind.”
Signing to a major label
He signed with Worldwide Entertainment under Priority Records. He was described as a “pop-styled rapper,” whose music could cross over to several genres.
After his manager linked him up with 112, he started touring with the group. Lil Zane became a hit on the road due to his energy and his upbeat personality.
He received his big break in 1999 when he was featured on 112’s song “Anywhere.” The song hit number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and stayed there for 25 weeks. The stage was officially set for Lil Zane to debut on his own.
“Money Stretch” became Lil Zane’s first single and was featured on the movie Next Friday. And in 2000, he released his first single from his debut album, entitled“Calling Me” featuring 112. The song became a smash hit, and some people even compared Lil Zane to the legendary 2Pac.
Lil Zane’s debut album, Young World: The Future sold more than 40,000 copies its first week and debuted at number 25 on the Billboard charts. And his second single, “None Tonight,” reached the number 10 position.
Dropping the ‘lil’
By 2001, Lil Zane was featured on the Hardball soundtrack with other young artists like Lil’ Bow Wow, Lil Wayne, and Sammie. He also showed that he had some acting skills by making appearances in movies, like Dr. Doolittle 2 and The Fighting Temptations. He also landed gigs on TV shows like One on One and The Parkers.
But music was his number one passion. He dropped the “Lil” from his name to show his growth and maturity. Zane later told BET it was his label’s idea to change his name. Looking back on the change, he described it as sabotage and said it hurt his record sales because albums were being printed with the name change which made it harder for fans to find it at the record store.
And sadly, people weren’t feeling his music this time around. The Big Zane Theory dropped in August 2003, but it didn’t live up to expectations and peaked at only number 191 on the Billboard 200.
That same year, Zane left Priority Records. He told Starry Mag the label dropped the ball by only shipping 40,000 copies of the records to different stores. He also believed the label tried too hard to turn him into something he wasn’t. On top of that, he made it clear the label didn’t compensate him fairly. Zane said, “I got the fame. I’m waiting for the respect and the money.”
At the time, Zane said that he was working on a distribution deal and was in talks to work with Blu Cantrell on her upcoming album. He was also looking to release his new album and a couple of independent films.
Fed up with other labels doing him wrong, he launched his own label called 3 Mill Entertainment. He explained to Starry Mag he was able to sleep better at night knowing his career was in his own hands.
But his fans had to wait a few more years for new music. It wasn’t until 2008 that Zane’s third album, entitled The Return, was finally released. Only one single, “Like This,” was released along with a video, but it didn’t gain much traction.
The ‘wackest’ rapper?
He dropped a few mixtapes that no one really paid attention to. His name didn’t pop up again until 2011…but for all the wrong reasons. The Game appeared on Vlad TV and called him one of the wackest rappers of all time. Tyler the Creator also jumped into the mix and dissed Zane. Zane responded by dropping a freestyle to respond to both rappers.
Zane told BET his only regret in his career was not taking his time in the early days to learn the business side of things. He said he got taken advantage of a lot because he didn’t understand everything that was going on.
These days, he’s a proud father and continues doing music the way he wants to and with full creative control. And he’s not done with being in the spotlight, either. He said, “You’re going to see a lot of me because it’s not over. I feel like I have so much more to give to the world.”
Let’s us know if you’re shocked by what happened to Lil Zane.