Fiend

Biography

One of Master P's many No Limit soldiers during the label's peak, Fiend never experienced much solo success though he contributed heavily to the work of his colleagues, most notably P's crossover hit, "Make Em Say Ugh." Born Ricky Jones and raised in the 17th ward of New Orleans, Fiend lost his brother at a young age; the loss made a strong mark on the eventual rapper and darkly tainted his world view. He later embraced rap music and signed to Big Boy Records, also home to Mystikal at the time. The label released Fiend's first hit single, "Baddest Muthafucka Alive," and also Won't Be Denied (1995), which featured another hit, "All I See." These singles inspired Master P to sign the blossoming rapper to his No Limit label and debut him on the I'm Bout It soundtrack ("Don't Mess Around") (1997). That same year Fiend most notably contributed to Master P's crossover hit "Make Em Say Ugh" as well as its heavily MTV-rotated video. The rapper remained a loyal soldier thereafter, contributing to numerous other No Limit releases and preparing his own, There's One in Every Family (1998). The album sold exceptionally well but didn't spawn any major hits, nor did its follow-up, Street Life (1999). Regardless, Fiend made preparations to join a promising new No Limit supergroup, Tank Dawgs, which also consisted of C-Murder, Mac, and Snoop Dogg. By this point, though, Master P's tank began to run out of fuel as a commercial backlash mounted. Fiend soon found himself out of work and dropped out of the game after a short yet incredibly productive stint as a No Limit soldier. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide