{"id":224689,"date":"2026-03-12T08:59:21","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T07:59:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blackouthiphop.com\/blog\/?p=224689"},"modified":"2026-03-12T08:59:21","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T07:59:21","slug":"30-years-deep-wise-intelligents-killin-u-for-fun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blackouthiphop.com\/blog\/30-years-deep-wise-intelligents-killin-u-for-fun\/","title":{"rendered":"30 Years Deep: Wise Intelligent\u2019s Killin\u2019 U&#8230; For Fun"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Today, <strong>March 12<\/strong>, 2026, marks exactly <strong>thirty years<\/strong> since Timothy Grimes, better known in the hip-hop world as <strong>Wise Intelligent<\/strong>, released his first solo project, <strong>Killin&#8217; U&#8230; For Fun<\/strong>. For those who followed the 90s scene, Wise was synonymous with the sharp and eloquent energy of the <strong>Trenton<\/strong>, <strong>New Jersey<\/strong> trio <strong>Poor Righteous Teachers (PRT)<\/strong>. However, 1996 was a turning point\u2014the moment this &#8220;teacher&#8221; decided to step outside the group\u2019s framework and test his skills on his own terms.<\/p>\n<p>The mid-90s were a tough era for &#8220;conscious&#8221; emcees. While the charts were dominated by <strong>Biggie<\/strong>, <strong>Pac<\/strong>, and the rising wave of mafioso rap, <strong>Wise Intelligent<\/strong> remained loyal to the doctrine of the Nation of Gods and Earths (Five Percent Nation). The album was released through a partnership between <strong>Contract Recording Company<\/strong> and <strong>Profile Records<\/strong>, at a time when PRT was battling major label bureaucracy. <strong>Kevon Glickman<\/strong> recognized the potential to showcase Wise as the most technically gifted emcee of his generation, free from corporate filters.<\/p>\n<p>The sonic identity of the album was almost entirely crafted by the legendary <strong>Tony D<\/strong> (Anthony Depula). His ability to create &#8220;thick&#8221; jazz textures perfectly complemented Wise\u2019s fast and syncopated flow. Tracks like &#8220;<strong>My Sound<\/strong>&#8221; and &#8220;<strong>Steady Slangin<\/strong>&#8216;&#8221; are prime examples of that &#8220;butter-smooth&#8221; production that defined the Trenton sound of that era. Tony D masterfully used eerie bass lines and hypnotic piano loops, giving Wise the space to explore various vocal styles, from traditional rapping to ragga-chanting.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/1uyHRazfLBI?si=2iVZxiOKu1zhgVJv\" width=\"100%\" height=\"500\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>One of the most intriguing stories surrounding this release is the controversy over the cover art. Wise originally intended to use a photograph depicting the lynching of an African American, serving as a direct and brutal commentary on America\u2019s history of violence. The title Killin&#8217; U&#8230; For Fun was ironic in that context. However, Profile Records and distributors deemed the visual too radical for retail shelves, forcing a change to the cover we all know today. Reportedly, only <strong>100 copies<\/strong> of the &#8220;Advance&#8221; version with the original artwork exist, making it a <strong>holy grail<\/strong> for crate diggers.<\/p>\n<p>Trivia buffs still debate the track &#8220;<strong>I&#8217;ll Never Kill Again<\/strong>.&#8221; It features <strong>Foxy Brown<\/strong>, but the voice doesn&#8217;t sound like Inga Marchand (the famous Foxy from The Firm). The guest vocal is high-pitched, almost childlike, leading to theories that it was a different artist or a very early, unpolished recording before Foxy became the &#8220;Ill Na Na&#8221; . Regardless, the song remains a highlight due to its strong reggae fusion.<\/p>\n<p>Lyrically, Wise was at his peak here. In &#8220;<strong>Black Juice<\/strong>,&#8221; he directly called out corporations like Timberland and Ralph Lauren for exploiting Black culture, while in &#8220;Shitty Inna City,&#8221; he showed rare vulnerability, discussing how he remained broke despite having four albums out.<\/p>\n<p>While Killin&#8217; U&#8230; For Fun might not have reached the commercial heights of other 1996 blockbusters, it stands as a monument to artistic integrity. Wise Intelligent proved that one could &#8220;kill the ego&#8221; for the sake of higher knowledge and that a true emcee doesn&#8217;t need to chase trends to stay relevant. Thirty years later, these joints still hit with the same power, reminding us of an era when every bar carried weight.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/videoseries?si=6AD_bFw_LkU1SbZI&amp;list=OLAK5uy_mXWT2DcqaGC7CcxVRkQL71EIlRnWo-h8w\" width=\"100%\" height=\"500\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Today, March 12, 2026, marks exactly thirty years since Timothy Grimes, better known in the&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":224696,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[146,767,766],"class_list":["post-224689","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dig-of-the-day","tag-30th-anniversary","tag-killin-u-for-fun","tag-wise-intelligent"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blackouthiphop.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/viber_image_2026-03-12_08-55-57-862.avif","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pG6fW-Ws1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blackouthiphop.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224689","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blackouthiphop.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blackouthiphop.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blackouthiphop.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blackouthiphop.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=224689"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blackouthiphop.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224689\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":224698,"href":"https:\/\/blackouthiphop.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224689\/revisions\/224698"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blackouthiphop.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/224696"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blackouthiphop.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=224689"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blackouthiphop.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=224689"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blackouthiphop.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=224689"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}