A Brief Biography Of MC Hawking
Stephen William Hawking was born on January 8th, 1942 in Oxford, England. At eleven Stephen went to St Albans School, and then on to University College, Oxford where he majored in physics. After three years he was awarded a first class honors degree in Natural Science.
In 1963, at 21, Stephen was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease (a neuromuscular disease that progressively weakens muscle control) doctors predicted an early death for him. Stephen, however, had other ideas.Refusing to allow his disease to get the better of him, Stephen went on to Cambridge where he gained a Ph.D in Cosmology. Since 1979 Stephen has held the post of Lucasian Professor of Mathematics, a chair that was held in 1663 by Isaac Newton.
Throughout these remarkable achievements the disease continued to ravage Stephen's body, though not his mind. Confined to a wheel chair Stephen completely lost the use of his vocal chords in an operation to assist his breathing in 1985. Since then he has communicated with the help of a computer. A speech synthesizer "speaks" for him after he punches in what he wants to say. Stephens only major complaint with this system: it makes him sound like an American.In 1988, an event happened that changed Stephen's life profoundly. The Beastie Boys played a concert at the colleges Student Center. Stephen was blown away. He was utterly captivated by the pounding rhythms and twisting rhymes. Over the next several weeks he became obsessed with rap music and immersed himself deeply into its culture. He soon realized that he favored the harder-edge music produced by bands like NWA and the Ghetto Boyz. Stephen had found a new passion to rival theoretical astrophysics: gangsta rap.
MC Hawking was born.As in all things previous to this point, Stephen refused to allow his disease to get in the way of his ambition. He began writing freestyle raps and participating in open mic nights at local hip-hop clubs. At first people didn't know what to make of Stephen and his gangsta raps, in the beginning he met with considerable derision and ridicule. Stephen, however, was persistent. Slowly he built a reputation as a serious hardcore rapper in the local club scene.
Although his fellow professors and higher-ups at the university frowned upon his extracurricular activities, they grudgingly endured them. Despite his excursions into the world of rap music, Stephen continued to fulfill his duties at the university. Additionally, at this point Stephen was gaining a considerable reputation as a theoretical astrophysicist.In 1990, Stephen filled out his sound with the addition of two others, a DJ and a rapper. DJ Doomsday and Professor Puff 'n Stuff (Wilbur Daye and Dwayne Whitlinger) were graduate students at the university who shared Stephen's love of hardcore, gangsta rap music.
The three men bought time at a small, local studio and recorded a three song demo. However, they were unable to find a record studio interested in signing a gansta rap act that consisted of three white scientists. It is also quite likely that Stephen's physical handicap scared away prospective record companies.Refusing to allow this setback to derail his dream, Stephen decided to dip into his savings and release the record himself. In 1992 he released The Hawkman Cometh. The self produced EP sold over 10,000 copies in one year, impressive sales figures for an album with no label support. Now the record companies were paying attention.
In 1993 Hawking, Doomsday and Puff 'n Stuff signed with GangstaBitch Records (a subsidiary of the Disney corporation) and in early 1994 they released their first major label album, Fear of a Black Hole. The album was received very well with critics and helped establish Stephen a small, devoted cult following, however it never caught on with the mainstream.After the release Stephen began experimenting with a hardcore rap/metal band called Dark Matter. It was rumored that Stephen and the band were cutting a track for the soon to be released Zeppelin tribute album, Encomium. If they did, however, it got bumped from the disc, which is unfortunate because it would have been very good exposure for MC Hawking.
While Stephen was busy jamming with Dark Matter, Professor Puff 'n Stuff was getting into trouble. In March of 1995, Puff 'n Stuff was soundly criticized by various groups and organizations for disparaging comments he allegedly made about a religious and/or ethnic minority during an interview. Although it has never been determined, with any certainty, exactly what Puff 'n Stuff actually said (or even which religious and/or ethnic minority he was referring to) it seems certain that Puff 'n Stuff did indeed make the comments in question. When asked about the incident at a later date, Puff 'n Stuff replied: "I said some things and for that I'm sorry."The public was not willing to accept the Professor's apology. In September of 1995, in response to public pressure, Professor Puff 'n Stuff was asked to leave the group.
Although discouraged by the Puff 'n Stuff ordeal, Stephen was determined to move ahead. He had never let adversity get the better of him in the past and he wasn't about to start now. So, after taking a year off to do science stuff, Stephen once again entered the studio with DJ Doomsday and emerged just over a year later with what is considered by many to be his best work to date: E=mc hawking.Again, the critics responded with enthusiastic praise. Although the album sold well amongst his fans, topping just over a quarter of a million, the public at large responded with disinterest.
Although MC Hawking has not released any additional albums to date, he has remained busy. In the scientific field he continues to lecture extensively and publish with startling regularity. Musically, it is rumored that Stephen is working on an album with Dark Matter. We can only wait and see what this remarkable man will do next.