Chubb Rock, a prominent rap artist of the late ’80s and early ’90s, hails from Kingston, Jamaica, and was raised in Brooklyn, New York. Despite starting his education in pre-med at Brown University, he chose to pursue a music career with the support of DJ Howie Tee, his first cousin. Signing with the Select label, home to U.T.F.O. and Whistle, Chubb Rock released his debut album, ‘Chubb Rock Featuring Hitman Howie Tee,’ in 1988. The remix of ‘Caught Up’ from the album left a significant impact, even though it didn’t chart. His second album, ‘And the Winner Is…,’ in collaboration with Howie Tee, climbed to the Top 30 of Billboard’s R&B Albums chart, featuring the hit single ‘Ya Bad Chubbs’ that reached number 15 on the Rap Singles chart.
Continuing his musical journey in the ’90s, Chubb Rock dropped two more albums under Select: ‘The One’ in 1991 and ‘I Gotta Get Mine Yo!’ in 1992. The standout track from ‘The One,’ ‘Treat ‘Em Right,’ became his biggest hit, topping the rap singles chart and becoming a staple on MTV. While less active in the latter part of the ’90s, Chubb Rock remained part of significant collaborations, including Crooklyn Dodgers ’95 with Jeru the Damaja and O.C. His contributions to various projects like the DJ Premier-produced ‘Return of the Crooklyn Dodgers’ for the Clockers soundtrack and the ‘Red Hot Organization’ compilation showcased his versatile talent. His fifth album, ‘The Mind,’ released in 1997, marked his last album under the Select label. Beyond the ’90s, Chubb Rock made sporadic appearances, including features on albums like ‘Politics of the Business’ (2003) by Prince Paul, ‘Bridging the Gap’ (2009), and a guest verse on Eric Roberson’s ‘Summertime Anthem’ (2011).