Before the Platinum Records, Hip-Hop Legend E-40 Was a Student at Grambling State University

Did you know that Bay Area rap legend E-40 got his start at a historically Black university in Louisiana? Before the platinum records and the business empire, Earl “E-40” Stevens was a student at Grambling State University.

Earl Tywone Stevens was born on November 15, 1967, in Vallejo, California. In the mid-1980s, he enrolled at Grambling State University, the historically Black institution known around the world for its academics, its legacy of Black excellence, and its World Famed Tiger Marching Band. As Grambling State University notes, his time on campus, where he was a student alongside a young Erykah Badu, helped shape the man and entrepreneur he would become. “Grambling State really helped mold me,” he later said.

E-40 went on to become one of the most influential figures in the history of West Coast hip-hop. Founding his own label, Sick Wid It Records, he built a career defined by independence and longevity, and he became famous for inventing slang that spread throughout the culture. He has placed a record number of solo albums on Billboard’s charts and has collaborated with artists ranging from Kendrick Lamar and Lil Wayne to his supergroup Mount Westmore, formed with Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, and Too $hort.

His success reached far beyond music. E-40 became a savvy entrepreneur, launching popular beverage and food brands and investing in dozens of startups, turning his name into one of the most respected brands in and out of hip-hop.

He never forgot the school that helped raise him. In 2023, E-40 donated 100,000 dollars to Grambling State to support its music department, the Tiger Marching Band, and a campus recording studio named in his honor. That same year, the university awarded him an honorary Doctor of Music degree.

From the campus of Grambling State University to the top of the rap game, E-40 turned an HBCU education into a legendary career, and he has spent his success lifting up the school that helped mold him.

We at Watch The Yard would like to commend E-40 for his contributions to hip-hop culture and his support of HBCUs.