Capone-N-Noreaga

Capone-N-Noreaga (also known as C-N-N) were an American hip hop duo formed in 1995 from Queens, New York. The duo features East Coast rappers Capone and N.O.R.E. History In October 1995, Capone-N-Noreaga appeared in The Source magazine's "Unsigned Hype" column. In 1996, the duo secured a recording contract with Neil Levine's Penalty Recordings. In 1996, before the group's debut album was completed, Capone was jailed for a parole violation, and Noreaga finished their debut album The War Report, with the help of various fellow New York City hip-hop acts, including Mobb Deep and Tragedy Khadafi. The album was met with critical and commercial acclaim; it also saw the group partake in the conflict between Death Row Records and Bad Boy Entertainment, making it a more widespread East Coast/West Coast rivalry, responding to West Coast hip hop duo Tha Dogg Pound's single "New York, New York", with their own rendition of "L.A L.A". In 2000, the group released The Reunion, their second album on Tommy Boy Records. The album was similarly star-studded but suffered from mixed reviews. Additionally, Capone had once again been sent to prison before its release for violating a probation sentence on gun possession, which undermined promotion of the album. Soon after, in 2001, Capone-n-Noreaga jumped ship to prominent label Def Jam. As Tommy Boy retained the rights to the names Capone-n-Noreaga and Noreaga, because the company claimed that the duo owed it more recordings, the group shortened its name to CNN, and Noreaga billed himself as N.O.R.E. (or NORE) for his solo work. The duo recorded a new album in 2003, titled New Religion, with a lead single "Yes, Sir," which was issued on mixtapes and promoted with a music video. The single failed to make an impact, and the album was ultimately shelved. A compilation of several tracks was released in 2004, entitled "What Up 2 Da Hood Thugged Out", Later that year, the duo found itself implicated in a non-fatal shooting between rival hip-hop groups, one of which included fellow East Coast rapper Lil' Kim, after a chance encounter outside New York radio station Hot 97. Capone-n-Noreaga have denied any involvement in the shooting, for which the group was not charged. In early 2005, Def Jam released Capone from his contract while retaining N.O.R.E.; Capone released his solo debut album Pain, Time, and Glory, later the same year.