T-MONEY has made his mark on the hip hop scene as being one of the leading pioneers in rap music.
He originally found fame with the group Original Concept.
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Who is rapper, T-Money?
T-Money, real name Tyrone Kelsie, was interested in music from an early age when he would listen to his parents playing Barry White and Marvin Gaye.
In high school he performed in a DJ crew with his longtime friend Doctor Dre and he picked up his stage name as T-Money as he deejayed at parties and clubs.
During his time at college he continued performing with his group the Concept Crew as well as deejaying for the college radio station WBAU 90.3
He devoted his time fully to music after an injury cut short his college football career and the Concept Crew started to gain a name for themselves.
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The station WBAU built up a name for itself as a platform for big names in the East Coast hip-hop scene, including Public Enemy, Run-DMC and Concept Crew, on the Def Jam label.
In 1985 Concept Crew released their promo Knowledge Me on WBAU radio.
T-Money wrote the lyrics, performed vocals and co-produced it with Dr Dre and Eric McIntosh.
Def Jam label boss Rick Ruben picked up on the track and signed the group to his label.
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Not long after they signed they changed their name to Original Concept, at the suggestion of Adam MCA Yauch, of the Beastie Boys.
Their debut album Straight from the Basement of Kooley High was released in 1988 and their song Pump That Bass has become one of the most sampled hip-hop songs of all time.
On the back of the album, Original Concept set out on tour with Queen Latifah and DJ Mark 45 King, among others.
T-Money’s success led him to gain wider fam hosting Yo! MTV Raps, along with Dr Dre and Ed Lover.
In the show, he would read the fan mail as a character known as The Mailman, and due to its popularity it spawned a number of other characters, such as Uncle Bobo Lovetree, The Nubianator and Clarence Coldwater Capsule.
T-Money also interviewed Tupac Shakur on the show and the two artists would also cross paths later.
In 1992, the two appeared in the film Juice with T-Money also featuring in 1993’s movie Who’s the Man?
T-Money then deejayed on the gameshow Lip Service with host Jay Mohr from 1992 to 1993 and during that time he won a Cable ACE award.
From 1990 to 1995 he was also part of MTV Spring Break’s popular celebrity line-up.
In 1996 he gained a bachelor’s degree in communications from the New York Institute of Technology and picked up a professional certificate in marketing from NYU in 2010.
T-Money has also worked with Stevie J, from Bad Boy Entertainment and Love & Hip Hop fame, as part of his production team, working with artists such as LL Cool J, Heavy D, Boys II Men and Mariah Carey.
He has also launched his own promotion, management and marketing company, T450 Style & Launch.
What are T-Money's best songs?
As Original Concept, the group released just one album with their single Can You Feel It? becoming an underground hit.
The album Straight From the Basement of Kooley High also featured a cameo by Mike D from the Beastie Boys on the track She’s Got a Moustache.
T-Money, along with Dr Dre and Rapper G wrote the song Proud to be Black , on the 1986 album Raising Hell for Run DMC.
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What is T-Money's net worth?
The musician and actor is said to have a net worth in 2023 of $1.5million, according to the website Net Worth Post.
No information is provided though as to how it reached that figure.
