Biography

The two grew up in the housing projects of Queensbridge and Lefrak City (both in Queens, New York), and met each other in jail in 1992 while doing kitchen duty. In 1996 they signed to "Penalty Records" in a deal with "25 to Life" records, Tragedy Khadafi's label. They were also featured as "Unsigned Hype" in The Source magazine. In 1997, C-N-N released their debut trend-setting album, The War Report. Before their debut album was completed, Capone was sent back to prison for violating his parole and Noreaga finished The War Report on his own. . With tracks crafted by Lord Finesse, Havoc (of Mobb Deep), Clark Kent, and a number of other acclaimed producers, The War Report was well-received by critics and established the duo as a household name within the hardcore hip hop community. According to Rolling Stone, the duo distinguished itself with Capone's nasal delivery and clear-eyed vision of street life, coupled with Noreaga's often hilarious and nonsensical rhymes ("I run laps around the English Channel," is one of his choice lines) .

After Capone returned home from jail in 1999, the group released The Reunion featuring the single "Y'all Don't Wanna". The album struggled to go gold, allegedly due to the lack of promotion from Tommy Boy Records, and suffered from mixed reviews. In addition, Capone was sent back to prison right before the release, for violating a probation sentence on gun possession , further hurting promotion. Soon after, in 2001, Capone-n-Noreaga jumped ship to prominent label Def Jam. Because Tommy Boy retained the trademarks to the names "Capone-n-Noreaga" and "Noreaga", the group was forced to shorten its name to C-N-N, and Noreaga was forced to bill himself as N.O.R.E. (or NORE) for his solo work. They recorded a new album in 2003 called What up 2 Da Hood, with a lead single, "Yes Sir", that was issued on mixtapes and promoted by a video. The single failed to make an impact, and the album was shelved.

In the same year, the duo found themselves being implicated in a non-fatal shooting between rival rap groups, one of which involved rapper Lil' Kim and her entourage , after a chance encounter outside New York radio station Hot 97. Capone-n-Noreaga have denied any involvement in the shooting, for which they were not charged, stating that they "hope that whoever is responsible for this will be brought to justice." . In the 2005 trial, Lil' Kim and her manager Damion Butler, aka D-Roc, along with friend Suif Jackson, aka "Gutta", were found guilty and sentenced to prison terms .

In early 2005, Def Jam released Capone from his contract while retaining NORE, leaving the group's status in disarray. Capone released his debut album Pain, Time, and Glory, in the same year.

In 2006, NORE brought up the possibility of a Capone-n-Noreaga reunion and a new album .

Discography

• 1997: The War Report (Gold)
• 2000: The Reunion (Gold)