Forty Da Great, aka Forty-da-Grizzle, aka Tha Eastside Mayor was born in Detroit, Michigan. Raised primarily in the Eastside slums of Detroit, Forty took to rapping like Muhammad Ali took to boxing or Michael Jordan took to basketball.
Forty Da Great first know as 40-G, started rapping at the age of eight in third-grade. He then formed a group with his cousins, Tech-T and Syke Mista called Suicidal Sykeadelicz at the age of 13; unfortunately, the group never successfully recorded an album, but they did manage to make a demo and perform at numerous talent shows.
As the demand for hip-hop grew in the early 90s, so did Fortys passion and interest of being a professional rap artist. 4-Grizzle now at the tender age of 14, joined a group called Almighty Dreadnaughtz, which consisted of catalog of inspiring and talented Detroit artists such as: C-Sun, Blitz, Guilty-001, Torcha, Land Lordz, Slaughter, Furious Stylez, etc. Forty then released two local albums with the Almighty Dreadnaughtz entilteld City of Treez and Point of No Return. This experience helped expose Forty as a local MC, as well as, groom him as an upcoming rap artist.
In the year 2000, Forty attended Baker College in Flint and there he met D-Lee of West-Pad. The two teamed up to collaborate on a song featured on the West-Pad album Scarred but Still Breathing was a smash hit in D-Lee's hometown of Flint. The song featured D-Lee and Cookie-Man of West Pad, and non other than Forty Da Great. "Scarred but Still Breathing" made such a buzz in the inner city streez of Flint that the CEOs of Royalty Records Inc, Paul Britt and NaKailyus Brown, were very impressed. So enormously impressed, they wanted to sign Forty on the spot. This partnership was history in the making, the beginning of the Royalty dynasty, joining a Detroit rap artist and a Flint rap label together.
This newfound success inspired Forty to create a super group with his long time friend and rap partner Leoni Getz. Leoni and Forty met in Miller Middle School in Detroit, and had been best friends and rapping together ever since. The two linked up to form the rap duo Hustleholicz, now joined with Royalty Records, Inc. Forty Da Great and Leoni Getz were given the opportunity to release a rap album for the first time together. The album entitled Paper Chase was a before its time work of art. Paper Chase took listeners on a lyrical journey through the drug infested streets of Detroits East-side. Due to a lack of promotion, the record were low, but had such an impact on local hip-hop fans that there is still talk of the re-release of the album.
After a long road of hard work and dedication, Forty Da Great, young but with years worth of experience, is finally ready to give Detroit Hip-Hop fans what they've been waiting for; his very own solo album. Highly anticipated, but long overdue, the album Tha Eastside Mayor is a mind blowing musical masterpiece with innovative lyrics and game changing song concepts. The album features an All-Star list of hip hop celebrities as well as local talent such as; Rick Ross, Bun-B, B-G, Beanie Segal, Freeway, Ray-J, Leoni Getz (of the Hustleholicz), Lyric aka Bianca (first lady of Royalty Records), K-Illa, Gaz (of Night and Day), Self-Made Ballerz, and Spanky Hayes (of Nick Cannons Wild-N-Out). Production by Kasze, Ralo, Tony Bunz, Funkinstein, and Gaz is sure to make "Tha Eastside Mayor" another mid-west classic. This album is set to drop in March '07, and is without a doubt one of the hottest albums of the year.
