Cool C

Cool C
Birth name	Christopher Roney
Born	December 15 1969 (1969--) (age 37)
Origin	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Genre(s)	Old School rap East Coast hip hop Hardcore rap
Years active	1987–1996
Label(s)	Hilltop Records City Beat Records Atlantic Records Philadelphia International Records Ruffhouse/Columbia/SME Records
Associated acts	C.E.B.

Christopher Roney (born December 15, 1969 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), known by the stage name Cool C, is an American rapper whose musical career peaked in the late 1980's. He is perhaps best known today for the notoriety surrounding his involvement in the murder of a Philadelphia Police officer in a bank robbery in January 1996. He is currently incarcerated in a Pennsylvania state prison awaiting execution. He was to have been put to death on March 9, 2006, but his execution has been stayed.

Music career

Early career

In the mid-1980s, Roney was an original member of the Philadelphia-based Hilltop Hustlers hip hop crew. His 1987 debut single, "Juice Crew Dis," which took aim at the New York-based hip hop crew run by influential rap producer Marley Marl (a group that included heavyweights Kool G. Rap and Big Daddy Kane), gained Roney a good amount of attention.

A pair of 1988 singles for Hilltop and City Beat Records landed Roney a contract with Atlantic Records, where he released two full-length solo albums: his debut I Gotta Habit in 1989 (which included the hit title track and "Glamourous Life") and Life in the Ghetto, in 1990.

C.E.B.

In 1991, Roney put his solo career aside to join hardcore rap group C.E.B. (which stood for "Countin' Endless Bank"), with fellow Philadelphia rappers Warren McGlone (Steady B) and Ultimate Eaze. The trio released their only album, Countin' Endless Bank, on Ruffhouse Records in 1993, to disappointing sales and reviews.

Legal issues

On January 2, 1996, during the same time period that he was recording a comeback EP,^[1] Roney, along with C.E.B. band mate McGlone, and another local Philadelphia rapper, Mark Canty, attempted a bank robbery at a PNC bank branch in Philadelphia. During the botched heist, Roney shot and killed Philadelphia Police Officer Lauretha Vaird, who responded to the bank's silent alarm.^[2][3] As he exited the bank, Roney exchanged fire with another police officer, before he and Canty dropped their weapons at the scene and fled in a stolen minivan driven by McGlone.^[4]

Vaird, an African-American woman and the single mother of two children, was the first female Philadelphia Police officer killed in the line of duty.^[5]

Roney was arrested and on October 30, 1996, convicted of first degree murder.^[2] At his subsequent sentencing hearing, Roney was sentenced to death by lethal injection. On January 10, 2006, his death warrant was signed by Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell and his execution date was set for March 9, 2006.^[6] He was granted a stay of execution from Pennsylvania Judge Gary Glazer on February 1, 2006 until all post-conviction litigation is resolved.^[7]

Roney has steadfastly maintained his innocence throughout the trial and appeals process, despite the testimony of three eyewitnesses who placed him at the scene of the robbery, as well as ballistic and forensic evidence that linked him to the murder.^[1][4] He is currently an inmate at Pennsylvania’s State Correctional Institution at Greene.^[6]

Discography

Solo albums

Group album

References

External links

• AllMusic.com Biography - Cool C

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