Capone-N-Noreaga

Hip-Hop

Capone-N-Noreaga (C-N-N for short) is a hip hop duo that consists of Capone (Kiam Holley) and N.O.R.E. (Victor Santiago). The two grew up in the housing projects of Queensbridge and Lefrak City (both in Queens, New York), and met each other in jail in 1992 while doing kitchen duty. In 1996, they signed to Penalty Records in a deal with 25 to Life records (Tragedy Khadafi's label). They were also featured as Unsigned Hype in The Source magazine. In 1997, C-N-N released their debut trend-setting album, The War Report. With exquisitely dark tracks crafted by Lord Finesse, Havoc (of Mobb Deep), Clark Kent, and a number of other acclaimed producers, The War Report became an instant classic. The unique chemistry of Noreaga's unorthodox lyrcal delivery combined with Capone's street-wise slang, established the duo as a household name within the Hardcore hip hop community. After Capone returned from another stint in jail in 1999 the group then released The Reunion featuring the single Ya'll Don't Wanna. The album struggled to go gold, due to the lack of promotion from Tommy Boy Records, and suffered from mixed reviews. In addition, Capone was sent back to prison right before the release further hurting promotion. Soon after in 2001, Capone-N-Noreaga jumped ship to powerhouse label Def Jam. Because Tommy Boy retained the trademarks to the names Capone-N-Noreaga and Noreaga, the group was forced to shorten its name to C-N-N, and Noreaga was forced to bill himself as N.O.R.E. for his ...