Sick Wid' It Records

Sick Wid' It Records is an independent hip-hop record label founded in 1989 by Vallejo, California rapper Earl Tywone Stevens, better known as E-40. The label emerged from the Bay Area's self-organized rap economy, where artists frequently recorded, distributed, and promoted their own music outside the major-label system. Its name became closely associated with E-40's distinctive vocabulary, the regional sound of Northern California hip-hop, and a broad creative network centered on Vallejo, Oakland, and the wider San Francisco Bay Area. The label's early releases were connected to E-40's family and performance circle. E-40, his cousin B-Legit, his sister Suga-T, and his brother D-Shot developed from the group Most Valuable Players into the Click. Sick Wid' It issued the Click's 1990 EP Let's Side and later releases such as Down and Dirty, while also releasing E-40's early solo projects. Federal, his first solo album, was issued through Sick Wid' It in association with regional distributor Solar Music Group. These releases established the label as a vehicle for independent production and circulation rather than simply as a conventional imprint attached to a large entertainment corporation. During the 1990s, Sick Wid' It expanded into a recognizable Bay Area roster and release platform. Its catalog included music by E-40, the Click, B-Legit, Suga-T, D-Shot, Celly Cel, Little Bruce, the Mossie, Funk Mobb, Playaz Tryna Strive, and other regional artists. Compilation projects, including Southwest Riders and Sick Wid' It's Greatest Hits, helped present the label as a collective or umbrella for Bay Area rap rather than only as E-40's personal outlet. The label's independent identity remained important even after E-40 entered distribution and recording arrangements with larger companies, including Jive Records and later the Sick Wid' It/BME/Warner Bros. arrangement used for My Ghetto Report Card. Sick Wid' It is best understood as an artist-led regional hip-hop institution. Its catalog combines solo albums, group projects, compilations, and releases by affiliated artists. The imprint helped provide early platforms for artists such as Droop-E, Turf Talk, Stresmatic, Nef the Pharaoh, and OMB Peezy, although the association of individual artists with the label has changed over time. Releases in the 2000s and 2010s show the label adapting to changing distribution models while maintaining a strong Bay Area identity. The label's public profile is inseparable from E-40's career. His increasing national visibility, including the success of In a Major Way and later My Ghetto Report Card, brought broader attention to the Sick Wid' It name. At the same time, the imprint continued to represent regional collaboration through projects involving its roster and through E-40's work with artists such as Too Short, B-Legit, and other West Coast and Southern rappers. The available reference material does not establish a current corporate structure, an active official website, or a definitive operating status, so those details remain unconfirmed.

Sick Wid' It Records was established in 1989 by E-40 in Vallejo, California. Its creation reflected the independent infrastructure that supported Bay Area hip-hop before digital distribution and streaming transformed the music business. E-40 and members of his family had already been recording and circulating music together. The Click, formed from the earlier group Most Valuable Players, became one of the label's central acts, alongside E-40's solo work. The imprint's first documented releases include the Click's 1990 EP Let's Side and E-40's early solo material. The Click's Down and Dirty followed in 1992, while E-40's Federal was released the same year through Sick Wid' It in association with Solar Music Group. These projects established the label's core model: an independent local imprint capable of developing artists, assembling projects, and using regional distribution relationships to reach listeners beyond its immediate home market. Throughout the 1990s, Sick Wid' It developed a large affiliated roster. Releases by B-Legit, Suga-T, D-Shot, Celly Cel, Little Bruce, Funk Mobb, Playaz Tryna Strive, and the Mossie broadened the label's catalog. The imprint also issued compilation projects, including Southwest Riders and Sick Wid' It's Greatest Hits, which presented Bay Area rap as a connected creative scene. Rather than relying on a single genre subdivision or a narrowly defined commercial sound, the catalog reflected the slang, production styles, entrepreneurial themes, and street-level perspective associated with Northern California rap. E-40's growing national profile brought the label into contact with major-label distribution and recording arrangements. Although some of his later projects were connected to Jive Records, BME Recordings, Reprise Records, or Warner Bros. Records, Sick Wid' It remained a significant part of the branding and lineage around his music. The 2006 album My Ghetto Report Card, released through a Sick Wid' It/BME/Warner Bros. arrangement, gave the imprint one of its most visible national moments. The album's success followed E-40's collaborations with artists outside the Bay Area and helped connect the label's regional identity with a broader American hip-hop audience. In the 2000s and 2010s, the Sick Wid' It network continued to issue music by E-40 and affiliated performers. Catalog activity included projects by Turf Talk, Droop-E, Cousin Fik, Laroo, the DB'z, and other artists, as well as compilation releases such as The Bay Bridges Compilation, The Sick Wid' It Umbrella: Fedi Fetchin, and The Sick Wid' It Umbrella: The Machine. E-40's prolific output, including the Revenue Retrievin' albums and The Block Brochure trilogy, kept the imprint's name active in connection with a high-volume release strategy. The label's later history also includes associations with artists such as Nef the Pharaoh and OMB Peezy. The available sources identify both artists in the label's catalog and list them as former artists, indicating that roster relationships have changed. Sick Wid' It has therefore functioned both as a record label and as a broader artist-development and affiliation platform. Its historical importance lies in its role as an enduring Bay Area rap institution built around independent ownership, family and community connections, compilation culture, and E-40's long-running career. The available material does not document a current corporate parent, headquarters beyond its Vallejo origins, official website, or definitive present-day operating status.

• 2018

  Later-generation roster activity

  [1]E-40en.wikipedia.org

  Catalog activity includes releases associated with Nef the Pharaoh, OMB Peezy, Droop-E, and other artists.

• 2012

  High-volume collaborative release period

  [1]E-40en.wikipedia.org

  The label ecosystem is represented by The Block Brochure trilogy and E-40's two History collaborations with Too Short.

• 2006

  My Ghetto Report Card reaches the national market

  [1]E-40en.wikipedia.org

  The album is released through a Sick Wid' It, BME, and Warner Bros. arrangement and becomes a major commercial milestone associated with the imprint.

• 1997

  Southwest Riders compilation

  [1]E-40en.wikipedia.org

  E-40 and B-Legit present Southwest Riders, linking Bay Area acts with artists from the South.

• 1995

  Mid-1990s roster growth

  [1]E-40en.wikipedia.org

  The label issues or supports projects by several Bay Area artists, including E-40, the Click, B-Legit, and Celly Cel.

• 1992

  Federal expands the solo catalog

  [1]E-40en.wikipedia.org

  E-40 releases Federal through Sick Wid' It with regional distribution support.

• 1990

  The Click's Let's Side released

  [1]E-40en.wikipedia.org

  The Click's early EP becomes one of the label's first documented releases.

• 1989

  Label founded in Vallejo

  [1]E-40en.wikipedia.org

  E-40 establishes Sick Wid' It Records as an independent hip-hop imprint in Vallejo, California.

Artist-led independent hip-hop label with a strong Northern California and Bay Area identity.

• Group albums and EPs · 1990

  The Click releases

  The Click was one of the label's foundational acts. Sick Wid' It issued the group's early EP Let's Side and later album Down and Dirty, helping establish the family-centered Bay Area rap network associated with E-40, B-Legit, Suga-T, and D-Shot.

• Solo hip-hop albums · 1992

  E-40 solo catalog

  E-40's solo releases form the label's central catalog. Early titles such as Federal and later projects connected to Sick Wid' It include albums, multi-volume series, and collaborations that carried the label's Bay Area identity to a national audience.

• Compilation albums · 1997

  Sick Wid' It compilation projects

  Compilation releases such as Southwest Riders, Sick Wid' It's Greatest Hits, The Bay Bridges Compilation, and The Sick Wid' It Umbrella projects showcase affiliated artists and position the imprint as a collective platform rather than only a home for one performer.

• Artist albums · 1993

  Affiliated artist releases

  The catalog includes projects associated with B-Legit, Suga-T, D-Shot, Celly Cel, Turf Talk, Droop-E, the Mossie, Nef the Pharaoh, OMB Peezy, and other Bay Area or West Coast artists. Roster participation varied by period and release.

• 2012

  Multi-volume release strategyProduct launch

  Background

  E-40 maintained a prolific release schedule while continuing to use the Sick Wid' It network for Bay Area and West Coast collaborations.

  Action taken

  The label ecosystem supported three Block Brochure albums and two History collaboration albums with Too Short.

  Aftermath

  The projects extended the label's catalog and emphasized collaboration, regional identity, and high-volume album production.

  Source

• 2006

  Use of major-label distribution for My Ghetto Report CardStrategy

  Background

  E-40's growing audience created an opportunity to combine Sick Wid' It's independent identity with the reach of larger music companies.

  Action taken

  My Ghetto Report Card was released through a Sick Wid' It/BME/Warner Bros. Records arrangement.

  Aftermath

  The album became a major national breakthrough for E-40 and increased visibility for the Sick Wid' It name.

  Source

• 2012

  Sick Wid' It continues multi-project release strategy[1]E-40en.wikipedia.org

  Product launch

  The label ecosystem supported E-40's three-part The Block Brochure: Welcome to the Soil series and the E-40 and Too Short collaboration albums History: Mob Music and History: Function Music.

• 2006

  My Ghetto Report Card reaches a wider audience[1]E-40en.wikipedia.org

  Product launch · Product generation

  E-40's My Ghetto Report Card was released through the Sick Wid' It/BME/Warner Bros. arrangement and became a major national breakthrough associated with the label.

• 1995

  Sick Wid' It expands its Bay Area catalog[1]E-40en.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The label's mid-1990s catalog included releases by E-40, the Click, B-Legit, Celly Cel, Suga-T, and other affiliated artists, reinforcing its collective identity.

• 1992

  E-40 releases Federal through Sick Wid' It[1]E-40en.wikipedia.org

  Product launch

  E-40's early solo album Federal was released by Sick Wid' It in association with regional distributor Solar Music Group.

• 1990

  Sick Wid' It issues The Click's Let's Side[1]E-40en.wikipedia.org

  Product launch

  The label released the Click's early EP Let's Side, an important formative entry in the label's Bay Area catalog.

1. 1E-40en.wikipedia.org
2. 2Sick Wid' It Recordsen.wikipedia.org