Dru Down

Deeply rooted in the West Coast G-funk sound, Danyel Robinson (September 14, 1969), aka Dru Down, was one of the lead exponents of the Bay Area hip-hop scene in the early 90s. An Oakland native, Robinson took interest in rap in the late 80s and released his debut album Fools from the Streets in 1993. The buzz around the LP led to a record deal with Relativity Records, who released Explicit Game, his sophomore effort, in 1994. “Pimp of the Year,” one of the album’s singles, became Robinson’s biggest hit, peaking at 65 on the Billboard Hot 100. A third full-length titled Can You Feel Me saw the light in 1996 and reached Number 54 on the Billboard 200, aided by the title track single. That same year, he made his acting debut on the feature film Original Gangstas and was featured on 2Pac’s “All About You.” Five years later, Robinson returned with Pimpin’ Phernelia (2001), which hit Number 81 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and was followed by Gangsta Pimpin’ in 2002. Chronicles of a Pimp, his first offering in eight years, saw the light via his own Pimp On Records in 2010. Subsequently, Robinson joined the hip-hop collective The Regime alongside fellow MCs Yukmouth and Tech N9ne, dropping their debut Dragon Gang in 2013. Towards the end of the decade, the Oakland rapper delivered the albums GP No PC Lock Up (2018) and Welcome 2 Dru’s World (2019).

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