Last Updated: 07/28/10 - 11:52PM EST

 When one is asked to name their top five emcees of all time, it would not be surprising for the name Crooked I to be mentioned in their list. While industry insiders have labeled the West Coast emcee as one of the greatest to never do it, there is no denying the impact he has made on Hip Hop during his rollercoaster ride of a career. Without dropping a properly released debut album, the self-proclaimed "King of Long Beach" has grabbed the attention of fans across the globe in his conquest to restore Hip Hop to it's truest form. Although this legend has faced many obstacles, there is no doubt that his chapter in the encyclopedia of Hip Hop has already been written.

 Although his professional career in music did not officially start until the age of seventeen, it is fair to state that Dominick Wickliffe was born with music in his soul. It would appear that Wickliffe was destined to create music as his mother was working on a career in singing while pregnant with him. In fact, music had such an impact on Wickliffe's life that he wrote his first song by the age of ten and titled it Microphone Controller. It was at that time that Wickliffe adopted the Hip Hop persona of "Crooked I", a name that was given to him by his brother. Dealing with the challenges of poverty, Crooked I still managed to perfect his craft without the use of professional recording equipment. On many songs he recorded later on in his career, the emcee describes visuals of freestyling in complete darkness due to his electricity being cut off. While these obstacles were discouraging, Crooked I continued to follow his dreams in order to survive and provide for his family.

 During his years as a teenager, the struggling emcee made his first endeavor in the music industry by linking up with professional football players Leonard Russell and Chucky Miller. The trio launched a short lived record company called Muscle Records and went on to record several independent records. However, this was only the precursor to bigger things to come. In 1995 the highly skilled rapper signed a deal to Virgin Records' Hip Hop division Noo Trybe Records. The label was home to legendary acts such as The Luniz, Geto Boyz and many others. During this time Crooked I appeared on several projects released by The Dogg Pound's founder Big C-Style on 19th Street Records. These projects were the highly acclaimed The 19th Street Compilation (1998) and Straight Outta Cali (1998). That same year Crooked I also appeared on the soundtracks to films such as Caught Up and Ride which introduced the emcee to a much wider audience. While it appeared that the up-and-coming rapper was on the path to success, he was derailed by an unfortunate road block. Due to poor business practices, his deal was short lived as Virgin closed the doors to their Hip Hop division. Although this turn of events was discouraging, Crooked I continued his career seeking out new doors of opportunity.

 While searching for a record deal, history had repeated itself as Crooked I once again linked up with Big C-Style in 1999. In a joint venture with The Dogg Pound's Daz Dillinger, Crooked I was offered to join Dogg Pound Records, a sub-division of Death Row Records. Crooked I was not only promised an album release, but twenty percent ownership of the record label as well. Unfortunately, business between Death Row Record's former owner Suge Knight, Big C-Style and Daz Dillinger went sour as the mega-label started to crumble. As a result, Daz Dillinger decided to take the independent route with his label and left Crooked I with several arduous decisions.

 As the word spread of Crooked I's incredible talent, the emcee decided it was time to part ways with Dogg Pound Records and pursue a new deal. Shortly afterwards, Crooked I was offered to sign a contract with the legendary Dr Dre and his record label Aftermath Entertainment. While many rappers in Crooked I's position would give up an arm and a leg to sign to such a powerhouse, he realized the disadvantages to such a deal. Crooked I was to be placed on the backburner while the label focused on the release of Dr Dre's album 2001 and Eminem's sophomore release The Marshall Mathers LP. Because such a move did not compute financially, Crooked I shopped his talents directly to Death Row Records. As a result Crooked I signed a deal to the infamous record label while visiting Suge Knight during the time of his incarceration.

 It was the start of a second dynasty at the newly reborn Tha Row Records. Crooked I was joined by an incredible roster of legends such as Kurupt and Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes as well as new comers such as Eastwood and Spider Loc. It is a little known fact that Crooked I was signed to the label as not only a recording artist, but a part of the Triple 7 production team as well. The team consisted of Crooked I, his god brother Jim Gittum and Tha Row's former head of production Darren Vegas. During his time on Tha Row, Crooked I recorded over four albums worth of material including the legendary titles Untouchable and Say Hi To The Bad Guy. A notable song from Say Hi To The Bad Guy was Crooked I's single titled So Damn Hood which featured an appearance from R&B singer Sisqo of Dru Hill. Unfortunately, after several trips to prison, Suge Knight was never able to properly restore his record label and neither project ever saw the light of day. However, Crooked I's time on Tha Row was not a complete disaster. In fact, Crooked I released a mixtape titled Westcoasanostra Volume 1 entirely produced by Darren Vegas in 2003. The rapper then appeared on the soundtrack for comedian Eddie Griffin's film Dysfunktional Family (2003) as well as projects by artists such as Ja Rule, Tha Dogg Pound and The Boo Ya Tribe to name a few. Because the song was banned from major television outlets, fans were unware that a video was filmed to Dysfunktional Family's lead single Still Tha Row. Crooked I started to realize that it was not that his music fell short in quality, but the fact that his record label was no longer welcome in the music industry. After four years on Tha Row Records and no album on the shelves, Crooked I opted out of his contract with Death Row Records.

 Because of the trials and tribulations Crooked I encountered on past labels, he decided to take his destiny into his own hands. In 2004 Crooked I launched his own independent record label called Dynasty Entertainment. Although Crooked I was the main attraction on the label, he was also joined by his brothers The Horse Shoe G.A.N.G. (formerly the U-Gang) and the group On One Squad consisting of his cousin Sauce The Boss and a rapper known as Adolf. Being the most highly sought after emcee on the West Coast, Crooked I was quickly able to secure a business relationship with Tico Khrimian's Treacherous Records as well as a distribution deal with Universal Records. Treacherous Records offered Crooked I not only state-of-the-art recording facilities, but a brand new assortment of collaborators. Artists who Crooked I linked up with includes the lyricist One-2, R&B sensation K-Young and super-producer Komplex to name a few. It was during this time that Crooked I once again began to record his first solo debut album titled Mama's Boy, which was later re-titled Mama's Boy Got A Loaded Gun. Unfortunately, Crooked I was unable to escape his past venture on Tha Row Records and was forced into litigation that lasted for an entire year. Without the ability to release an album commercially, Crooked I did not let negativity slow him down and decided to record his second mixtape titled Young Boss Volume 1. However, music was not the only focus on Crooked I's mind during this time. Crooked I accepted a Senior Vice President position at Treacherous Records and expanded into other business ventures such as Roller Coaster Rims and co-ownership of a jewelry store called Khrimian & Co. Crooked I had now realized that he was "boss" of his own destiny and decided to never fall victim to label politics again.

 With the past behind him and the future looking brighter than ever, Crooked I continued the path to his dreams. To chronicle his already legendary career and venture on Death Row Records, Crooked I released a DVD in 2006 titled Life After Death Row. The release was bundled with what many fans consider to be Crooked I's first album, the Young Boss Volume 2 mixtape hosted by DJ Skee. Notable songs from the mixtape included Crooked I's singles Boom Boom Clap produced by Jim Gittum and Cali Boyz produced by Scott Storch. A music video was filmed to accompany his highly popular song Boom Boom Clap, but received little attention from media outlets due to sexually explicit content. However, Crooked I gained mainstream notoriety by making a cameo appearance in the video for Chamillionaire's smash hit Turn It Up. Crooked I continued to record his debut project which he re-titled Boss Music and later B.O.S.S. (Beginning of Something Serious) to reflect his new outlook on life. However, due to the fact that Treacherous Records had broken their ties with Universal Records, the project was put on hold as Crooked I and his label searched out new opportunities for distribution.

 Crooked I started to recognize the impact he was making on the world wide web and decided to take advantage of the buzz he had created. In April of 2007, Crooked I began a series known as Hip Hop Weekly. The series brought his popularity to an entirely new level as he released tracks over commercially recognizable beats each week for an entire year. In fact, the series was so popular that many other artists in the Hip Hop community went on to emulate the movement, but never achieved the same results. Throughout Crooked I's musical career with Treacherous Records, he has gone on to release two additional mixtapes titled The St Valentine's Day Bossacre and The Block Obama in 2008. Crooked I has also released an E.P. titled The Block Obama II which commemorated the 2008 presidential election. The E.P. featured Crooked I's single titled Dream Big featuring R&B and Hip Hop sensation Akon.

 As his popularity reached an all time high, Crooked I had decided that it was time to prepare for the release of his highly anticipated album. However, an unexpected door was about to open that would entirely change the direction of his career. At the end of 2008, Crooked I was asked to appear on the upcoming digital release by New Jersey's Joe Budden titled Halfway House. Crooked I was to appear on a track titled Slaughterhouse which also featured the rappers Royce Da 5'9", Joell Ortiz and Nino Bless. After the recording this incredible record, the collection of emcees realized that they had something special on their hands. It was at that time that Hip Hop's newest super-group now known as Slaughterhouse was born. Although, Nino Bless appeared on the group's first song, he was not invited to join the group. This action was not meant as a sign of disrespect, but simply reflected the fact that he did not share a similar story to the other emcees. The group literally took Hip Hop by storm and was offered a distribution deal with E1 Entertainment (Koch Records) shortly afterwards. Slaughterhouse gained mainstream attention by releasing a music video to their first single titled The One, which recieved rotation on both MTV2 and MTV Jams. On August 11th Slaughterhouse restored the culture of Hip Hop by releasing their critically acclaimed debut project. The highly anticipated project sold out across the nation in a matter of hours forcing fans to turn towards digital retailers. Since the album's release, the super-group has gone on to collaborate with artists such as Blink 182's Travis Barker and film a music video to their second single titled Microphone. The group's rise to stardom has occured so quickly that music industry heavy weights have already started to take notice. In fact, Slaughterhouse has been approached by superstars such as Eminem and appeared in the music video for Drake's highly popular song Forever. Due to the incredible success of their first project, plans to record a sophomore release in 2010 are already underway.

 Although Crooked I had come so far, he was given a life changing reminder of his connection to the streets on February 27th of 2009. In what appeared to be a photo opportunity with one of his fans, Crooked I was setup and put in a position that nearly took his life. While Crooked I recorded a video on this individual's cell phone, a vehicle quietly pulled up behind him and began to open fire. The event affected Crooked I so deeply that he nearly considered bowing away from the rap game permanently. However, after coercion from family and friends, the emcee commenced a new approach on life. Realizing that tomorrow is never promised, Crooked I joined forces with King Tech of The Wake Up Show to record a body of work titled Group Therapy. While the project's release date has not been determined, it is said to include music reflective of the near attempt on his life and project a positive message to the world.

 With Crooked I's musical future looking brighter than ever, he released his second EP Mr. Pig Face Weapon Waist in November of 2009 through Gracie Productions. The unusual title was attributed to Crooked I's use of a pig mask during Slaughterhouse's earlier performances. The project featured a highly publicized collaboration with Snoop Dogg which ended the two rapper's long-standing friction. Additionally, Crooked I and director Chris Le filmed a music video for the EP's second single titled Mr. Pig Face. Due to Crooked I's newly found fame through Slaughterhouse, the project received much attention and proved to be a success. Crooked I has been quoted in stating that he believes the EP is a representation of his best musical work to date. In fact, Crooked I was so proud of the project's success that he decided to release an extended version titled More Pig Face Weapon Waist in June of 2010.

 After nearly fifteen years in the music industry, this veteran's hard work has finally paid off. There is much to be said for an individual who has been through such a struggle and continually held his head up high despite so many set backs. With such an inspirational story still being written, Crooked I has managed to change the life of his fans forever. Interestingly enough, Crooked I has stated on more than one occasion that he prefers not to use the word "fan" and would rather use the label "supporter". In fact, the support that Crooked I has received over his career has become so strong that he considers listeners to be extended family. The West Coast icon plans on giving back to this family on August 17th with the release of his upcoming EP release Planet C.O.B. Volume One. The project's title coincides with the name of Crooked I's official website which he launched in early 2010. While critics are skeptical of his ability to deliver, Crooked I has proven time and time again that he is able to overcome any obstacle. The world continues to wait patiently for Hip Hop to finally be restored to it's truest form when Crooked I achieves what once seemed to be the unachievable.