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Edward K. Archer (born May 16, 1972),[1] known professionally as Special Ed, is an American rapper and producer. Ed is perhaps best known for the songs "I Got It Made", "Think About It" and "I'm the Magnificent" from his debut album Youngest in Charge, released in 1989 when he was 17 years old.[2][3]
Special Ed | |
|---|---|
| Born | Edward K. Archer May 16, 1972 Brooklyn, New York City, U.S. |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1988–present |
| Children | 3 |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | |
| Labels |
|
| Formerly of | Crooklyn Dodgers |
Born in Brooklyn, New York City to an Afro-Jamaican father and Indo-Jamaican mother, Ed was raised in Flatbush before moving to Canarsie, and is identified with East Coast hip-hop. Ed attended Erasmus Hall High School and Samuel J. Tilden High School.[4] At the age of fifteen, he established a rapport with his neighbor Howie Tee, who worked with him on his demo.[5][conflicted source] Ed's debut album Youngest in Charge was released in 1989 and included the songs "I Got It Made", "Think About It" and "I'm The Magnificent", which were produced by "Hitman" Howie Tee. In an interview with Billboard (magazine) writer James Richliano, Special Ed, who co-wrote his songs, said that he, "used to like writing poetry and creative writing in school," and that he, "wrote a lot of lyrics that amused my teachers. Even when I was younger, I could kick a beat with my hands and rhyme at the same time."[5][conflicted source]
Youngest in Charge sold more than half a million copies.[6] In 1990, Ed released his album Legal, the title a reference to his turning eighteen, with the singles "Come On Let's Move It" and "The Mission".[3][7] Ed was later a member of Crooklyn Dodgers, a supergroup put together in order to perform songs for the Spike Lee films Clockers and Crooklyn,[4][3] and he performed "Crooklyn" with Shillz on the 2003 compilation album MuskaBeatz. Ed released a third solo album, Revelations, with the single "Neva Go Back" in 1995,[8] with the track "Freaky Flow" receiving a remix by DJ Premier.
In 2004, Ed released the album Still Got It Made on his own label "Semi." Ed appeared in the film Ganked, alongside Kel Mitchell of Kenan and Kel, and had an uncredited cameo in Juice.[3] He also made an appearance on The Cosby Show as fictional rapper JT Freeze and in a Rick Ross music video entitled "Magnificent".[4][3] He also appeared in the 1992 movie Fly By Night.
In 2008, his song "I Got It Made" appeared in the action-adventure video game Grand Theft Auto IV on the fictional radio station "The Classics 104.1".
Studio albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [9] |
US R&B /HH [10] | |||||||||||||
| Youngest in Charge | 73 | 8 | ||||||||||||
| Legal |
|
84 | 15 | |||||||||||
| Revelations |
|
107 | 12 | |||||||||||
| Still Got It Made |
|
— | — | |||||||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||
Compilation albums
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| The Best of Special Ed |
|
As lead artist
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Bub. [11] |
US R&B [12] |
US Rap [13] | ||||||||||||
| "Think About It" | 1989 | — | 68 | — | Youngest in Charge | |||||||||
| "I Got It Made" | — | 18 | 9 | |||||||||||
| "Club Scene"[14] | — | — | — | |||||||||||
| "I'm The Magnificent" | 1990 | — | 37 | 27 | ||||||||||
| "The Mission" | — | 25 | 5 | Legal | ||||||||||
| "Come On, Let's Move It" | 1991 | — | 30 | 8 | ||||||||||
| "Neva Go Back" | 1995 | 9 | 68 | 12 | Revelations | |||||||||
| "Lyrics" | — | — | — | |||||||||||
| "Freaky Flow" | 1996 | — | — | — | ||||||||||
| "Think Twice"[a][15] | 1997 | — | — | — | New York Reality Check 101 | |||||||||
| "What Up Love?"[16] | 1999 | — | — | — | Non-album singles | |||||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||
As lead artist
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [11] |
US R&B [17] |
US Rap [18] | ||||||||||||
| "Crooklyn" (as part of Crooklyn Dodgers) |
1994 | 60 | 32 | 5 | Crooklyn Soundtrack | |||||||||
| "Something Like This" (DJ Love featuring Special Ed)[19] |
2011 | — | — | — | Waiting for a Revolution | |||||||||
| "Rapzone" (Stezo featuring Special Ed and Tash)[20] |
2021 | — | — | — | The Last Dance | |||||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||
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