Steady B: Филадельфиялық рэпердің трагедиялық тағдыры

American rapper

Warren Sabir McGlone (born September 17, 1969), known by the stage name Steady B, is an American hip hop emcee who, along with Schoolly D, the Fresh Prince, and Three Times Dope, was one of the first wave of Philadelphia area emcees to gain notoriety in the mid to late 1980s. Steady B was a member (and de facto leader) of Philadelphia's Hilltop Hustlers crew. His musical career was relatively short lived, and he is currently serving a life sentence in a Pennsylvania state prison for his role in the murder of Philadelphia Police officer Lauretha Vaird during a botched bank robbery in 1996.

Steady B's original DJ was Grand Dragon K. D., later replaced by DJ Tat Money, who later became the DJ for Kwamé and a New Beginning. He released five albums over the course of his career, with mixed success. Steady B and Grand Dragon K. D. released a few early hip hop 12" singles on the Pop Art label in 1985. These included "Take Your Radio" (an answer record to LL Cool J's "I Can't Live Without My Radio"), "Fly Shanté" featuring Roxanne Shanté, and "Just Call Us Def". The album was poorly received.

On January 2, 1996, Steady B, along with C. E. B. bandmate Cool C and another local Philadelphia rapper, Mark Canty, attempted a bank robbery at a PNC bank branch in Feltonville, Philadelphia. During the botched heist, in which Steady B served as the getaway driver in a stolen minivan, Philadelphia Police Officer Lauretha Vaird, who responded to the bank's silent alarm, was shot and killed by Cool C. Vaird, an African American woman and the single mother of two, was the first female Philadelphia police officer killed in the line of duty. At his trial, the State presented evidence, including testimony from Steady's wife, that Steady B, Cool C, and Canty met at Steady B's apartment shortly after the robbery, where they watched coverage of the event on television and discussed their escape.