AZ w/ DJ DOO WOP

City Winery Hudson Valley presents AZ with DJ DOO WOP on Friday, December 18th at 7:00 PM.

AZ was born Anthony Cruz to an African-American mother and a Dominican father. Although he had been rapping since 1992, he first came to prominence on Nas’ landmark album Illmatic, appearing on “Life’s a Bitch” (1994) as the album’s only guest emcee.

After a bidding war, AZ signed with EMI and released Doe Or Die (1995), which earned critical acclaim. Its lead single, “Sugar Hill,” became his only major commercial success as a solo artist, reaching the top 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 and achieving Gold status. When the EMI Label Group shut down, AZ’s contract was transferred to sister label Noo Trybe Records/Virgin Records.