{{Short description|American rapper (1974–2007)}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Big Moe | image = Kenneth Moore.jpg | caption = Moore in 2001 | image_size = | birth_name = Kenneth Doniell Moore | alias = {{hlist|Barre Baby|Drank Baby|MoYo|Modeine|Motorola|Da King of Purp}} | birth_date = {{Birth date|1974|8|20|mf=y}}<ref name="HoustonChron2007" /> | birth_place = Houston, Texas, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|2007|10|14|1974|6|27|mf=y}}<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t3zGCwAAQBAJ&q=Big+Moe&pg=PA10 |title = Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2007: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture|isbn = 9780786434817|date = 2008-05-20| publisher=McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers }}</ref> | death_place = Houston, Texas, U.S. | genre = {{hlist|Southern hip hop|chopped and screwed}} | occupation = {{hlist|Rapper|songwriter}} | years_active = 1993–2007 | label = Wreckshop Records | past_member_of = {{hlist|Screwed Up Click}} }}
'''Kenneth Doniell Moore'''<ref name="birth">{{cite web|url=http://www.familytreelegends.com/records/txbirths?c=search&first=Kenneth&last=Moore&spelling=Exact&11_year=1974&11_month=8&11_day=20&4=&14=&SubmitSearch.x=23&SubmitSearch.y=10|title=Texas Births 1926–1995|publisher=Family Tree Networks}}</ref> (August 20, 1974 – October 14, 2007),<ref name="HoustonChron2007" /> better known by his stage name '''Big Moe''', was an American rapper from Houston, Texas.
==Early life== Kenneth Doniell Moore was born in Houston, Texas on August 20, 1974, and he grew up in Third Ward, southeast Houston.<ref name="HoustonChron2007">{{cite news |last1=Peralta |first1=Eyder |title=KENNETH "BIG MOE" MOORE, 1974-2007 / Not just a rapper but 'a singer,' too |url=http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=2007_4443125 |access-date=August 20, 2021 |work=Houston Chronicle |date=October 16, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604125210/http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=2007_4443125 |archive-date=June 4, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1992 he graduated from Yates High School, where he was a football star.<ref name="Houston Press">{{cite web |last=Plocek |first=Keith |url=http://blogs.houstonpress.com/rocks/2007/10/big_moe_rip.php |title=Big Moe, RIP – Houston Music – Rocks Off |publisher=Blogs.houstonpress.com |date=2007-10-15 |access-date=2012-03-07 |archive-date=2013-10-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131022022558/http://blogs.houstonpress.com/rocks/2007/10/big_moe_rip.php |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==Career== Originating from Houston, Texas, and as one of the founding members of the "Original Screwed Up Click," Big Moe started out in music by freestyling on DJ Screw mixtapes like many of his Houston peers before being signed to Wreckshop Records.<ref name="Koch">[http://www.kochrecords.com/artists/detail/?Artist=Big+Moe Big Moe], Koch Records website</ref><ref name=Chronobit>Peralta, Eyder. "[http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5214956.html Houston rappers remember Big Moe, dead at 33]." ''Houston Chronicle''. October 16, 2007. Retrieved on September 20, 2009.</ref> Wreckshop Records released Big Moe's debut album, ''City of Syrup'' in (2000); the title was a nod to Houston's reputation for drinking codeine-laced syrup, which Moe pours from a Styrofoam cup on the album's cover. The album featured the single "Mann!", which Moe intended to be the South Side's answer to Black Rob's East Coast hit "Whoa!"
In 2002, Moe returned with his second album, ''Purple World''. This release showcased a "who's who" of Houston vocalists and two versions of Moe's breakthrough single, "Purple Stuff." The ''Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory''-themed video for "Purple Stuff" was played on MTV, and the album peaked at No. 3 on ''Billboard''{{'}}s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.<ref name=Chronobit/> Big Moe's third and last album, ''Moe Life'', was issued in 2003, including the commercially successful single "Just a Dog."<ref name=Chronobit/> A posthumous album entitled ''Unfinished Business'' was released on March 18, 2008, via Wreckshop Records and Koch Records. In 2009 his album ''City of Syrup'' was named number 25 on houstonpress.com's list of the 25 Best Houston Hip-Hop Albums.<ref>Serrano, Shea. "[http://blogs.houstonpress.com/rocks/2009/08/the_h-town_countdown_no_25_big.php The H-Town Countdown, No. 25: Big Moe's City of Syrup]." ''Houston Press''. Thursday, August 6, 2009. Retrieved on September 20, 2009.</ref>
==Death== Moe died on October 14, 2007, at 33 years old, after suffering a heart attack one week earlier that left him in a coma.
==Discography== === Studio albums === {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" |+List of studio albums, with selected chart positions and information ! rowspan="2" style="width:33px;" |Year ! rowspan="2" style="width:300px;" |Title ! colspan="4" |Peak chart positions |- ! style="width:5em;font-size:75%;" |''Billboard'' 200<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/big-moe/chart-history/billboard-200|title=Big Moe Chart History|work=Billboard 200|access-date=March 19, 2018|archive-date=May 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180521223346/https://www.billboard.com/music/big-moe/chart-history/billboard-200|url-status=dead}}</ref> ! style="width:5em;font-size:75%;" |Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/big-moe/chart-history/r-b-hip-hop-albums|title=Big Moe Chart History|work=Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums|access-date=March 19, 2018|archive-date=May 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180521223420/https://www.billboard.com/music/big-moe/chart-history/r-b-hip-hop-albums|url-status=dead}}</ref> ! style="width:5em;font-size:75%;" |Independent Albums<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/big-moe/chart-history/independent-albums|title=Big Moe Chart History|work=Independent Albums|access-date=March 19, 2018|archive-date=May 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180521223455/https://www.billboard.com/music/big-moe/chart-history/independent-albums|url-status=dead}}</ref> ! style="width:5em;font-size:75%;" |Heatseekers Albums<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/big-moe/chart-history/heatseekers-albums|title=Big Moe Chart History|work=Heatseekers Albums|access-date=March 19, 2018|archive-date=May 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180515075639/https://www.billboard.com/music/big-moe/chart-history/heatseekers-albums|url-status=dead}}</ref> |- | style="text-align:center;" |2000 |'''''City of Syrup''''' * Label: Wreckshop Records | style="text-align:center;" |176 | style="text-align:center;" |52 | style="text-align:center;" |8 | style="text-align:center;" |9 |- | style="text-align:center;" |2002 |'''''Purple World''''' * Label: Wreckshop Records, Priority Records | style="text-align:center;" |29 | style="text-align:center;" |3 | style="text-align:center;" |— | style="text-align:center;" |— |- | style="text-align:center;" |2003 |'''''Moe Life...''''' * Label: Wreckshop Records | style="text-align:center;" |— | style="text-align:center;" |33 | style="text-align:center;" |29 | style="text-align:center;" |— |- | style="text-align:center;" |2008 |'''''Unfinished Business''''' * Label: Wreckshop Records, Koch Records | style="text-align:center;" |— | style="text-align:center;" |73 | style="text-align:center;" |— | style="text-align:center;" |— |- |}
===Guest appearances=== {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" |+ List of single and non-single guest appearances, with other performing artists, showing year released and album name ! scope="col" style="width:19em;" | Title ! scope="col" | Year ! scope="col" | Other artist(s) ! scope="col" | Album |- ! scope="row"| "Ain't No Doubt" | rowspan=| 2001 | R.W.O., Mr. 3-2, Big T | ''Book of Game: Chapter 1'' |- |Dixie's Land |}
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Screwed Up Click}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Big Moe}} Category:1974 births Category:2007 deaths Category:21st-century American male rappers Category:21st-century American rappers Category:20th-century American male rappers Category:20th-century American rappers Category:Drug-related deaths in Texas Category:MNRK Music Group artists Category:Gangsta rappers Category:Place of death missing Category:Priority Records artists Category:Rappers from Houston Category:Screwed Up Click members Category:Underground rappers Category:20th-century American male musicians Category:20th-century African-American musicians Category:21st-century African-American rappers Category:21st-century African-American male rappers