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Jacky Jasper
Background information
Birth nameSean Merrick
Also known as
  • H-Bomb
  • HDV
BornToronto, Ontario, Canada
OriginHollywood, California
GenresG-Funk
Years active1990–2000s
LabelsSony Records

Sean Merrick, professionally known as Jacky Jasper, Hollywood Street King, H-Bomb and simply, H, is a Canadian-American rap pioneer, funk musician, social media influencer, Hollywood producer and the first Black celebrity blogger to introduce a "word from the street" perspective to pop culture news coverage.[1][2][3] Regarded for his distinct G-funk hip hop sound, H is a renowned musical protege of Ike Turner,[4] with an iconic catalogue of musical works highlighted by historical collaborations with artists including Rick James, Roger Troutman, Bootsy Collins, Ohio Players and The Brides of Funkenstien.[5]

Music career

[edit]

In 1991, as the artist formerly known as Toronto rapper HDV, the "Pimp of the Microphone" emcee made a historical contribution to the revolutionary Can't Repress The Cause Movement.[6][7]

In 1993—three years before the 1996 release of Tupac's Jesus-inspired Makaveli album cover captioned, "In no way is this portrait an expression of disrespect for Jesus Christ,"[8]—Jacky Jasper marked the release of his album debut as HDV—an acronym for 'Higher Deeper Values' -- with a socially-charged, Jesus-inspired key art album cover that depicted him nailed to the cross above a shocking pictorial of references to the KKK holding up a sign that read "N***ers DIE", alongside a sketched-portrayal of an angry nationalist-feminist-type caricature holding up a sign that read "chauvinist pig!". The fearless visual art statement was the cover that packaged the raw "pimp of the microphone' street-prose of lyrical content presented in rhyme that solidified the artist formerly known as HDV's pioneering role as the first Toronto rapper to openly address the systematic effects of political colonization, racial discrimination and economic oppression -- that he witnessed in Canada, and thereby introduced to the Canadian media and socially conscious Toronto hip hop movement. However, despite the raw and innovative artistic expression contributed to Canadian music, the artist formerly known as HDV was promptly blacklisted in Canada and quietly censored off music store shelves (including Sam The Record Man).[9][10][11]

In 1994, Higher Deeper Values, the album, was released thorugh ISBA Records/Sony Records. Recorded at Toronto's Wellesley Sound Studios, album features the productions of Toronto-based music producer Phil Cold and Toronto rappers K-4ce, 10K and Kevin "Ice" White.[12]

In 1996, after being recruited by Eric B to serve as a valuable contributor to the American rap music movement, the censorship of HDV would turn to a situation best described as being a case of that which Canada shunned, American rap innovators recognized and welcomed.[13][14][15][16]

In 1997, H was invited to record his next album in America. The NYC-LA bi-coastal studio production led to the artistic reinvention of HDV to H-Bomb dropping the 1998 studio album titled Narcissism -- a 15 track album featuring Ice T, Coolio, Kool Keith and Domino.[17] The title track of the Narcissism album "Playaz Need No Love," featuring Roger Troutman, charted on Billboard's Hot Rap Tracks for 1999 and peaked at number 33.[18]

In 1998, H Bomb and Roger Troutman co-starred in the Las Vegas film production of "Playaz Need No Love," the official music video.[19]

In 1999, H Bomb introduced the new moniker 'Jacky Jasper' when he teamed up with Kool Keith for the album First Come First Served.[20] The track titled 'Call the Cops' off the First Come First Served album, which featured Jacky Jasper as an uncredited vocalist, was later listed in the movie soundtrack for the 2006 film titled Grandma's Boy.[21]

In March 2002, the artist known as Jacky Jasper dropped the "Keep My Shit Clean" album. Co-produced by Sean Merrick and Toronto music producer Phil Cold, the 16-track studio album includes special homage to Roger Troutman; features Chino XL, Esham and Trigger Tha Gambler; and the return features of Ice T, and Kool Keith.[22] Keep My Shit Clean peaked at number 60 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and number 24 on the Independent Albums chart.[23]

In November 2002, the release of the studio album titled Game presented Jacky Jasper as H-Bomb in the debut of the supergroup KHM, the initials for Kool Keith, H-Bomb and Marc Live,[24]

In 2005, production of the Jacky Jasper and Kool Keith joint album-project titled "7th Veil - Stoned" was underway.[25] With Chilly Chill in the production seat, and Phil Cold as a credited producer on the project, the "7th Veil - Stoned" album was recorded at the legendary Hollywood "flower shop" recording studio. Released in 2009, the "7th Veil - Stoned" album features Ike Turner, Rick James, Snoop Dogg, Kurupt, Sillk the Shocker, Jewell, Ice T, Flavor Flav, Roscoe, Coco and Bombshell.[26]

Blogging career

[edit]

In 2009, the launch of with the artist known as Jacky Jasper as the face of news site Diary of a Hollywood Street King under his pseudonym Jacky Jasper.[27] Merrick would also become the main contributor to the site.[27] The site was the first to publish Charlie Sheen's HIV status in April 2014.[28]

In the Media

[edit]

On June 15, 2012, Jacky Jasper appeared on Dateline NBC for the featured investigation into 1990's rapper Timothy Blair, aka Tim Dog.[29] The two-part documentary-stye series titled "The Perfect Catch," credited the Diary of a Hollywood Street King blog platform for serving as a noted "message board" that connected a set of alleged online dating scam victims of Tim Dog.[30] [31]

August 2016, mainstream news outlets reported Jacky Jasper[32] had been impersonated by a noted celebrity stalker[33] in order to "get close" to the Kardashian family matriarch, Kris Jenner.[31][34]

Discography

[edit]
Studio albums[35][36][37]
Year Title Peak chart positions Notes
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[38][39] Independent Albums[40][41] Heatseekers Albums[42]
1990 Sex, Drugs + Violence
  • Label: ISBA Records
 — — —
  • Credited as HDV
1993 Higher Deeper Values
  • Label: ISBA Records
 — — —
  • Credited as HDV
1996 In Yo' Face
  • Label: Spoiled Brat Entertainment
 — — —
  • Credited as H-Bomb
1997 Narcissism
  • Label: Insomnia Records
 — — —
  • Credited as H-Bomb
2002 Keep My Shit Clean
  • Label: Number 6 Records
 60 24 —
  • Credited as Jacky Jasper
Game
  • Label: Number 6 Records
 42 33 26
  • Recorded with Kool Keith and Marc Live
  • Credited as H-Bomb
2004 Jacky Who?
  • Label: Junkadelic Music
 — — —
  • Recorded as Jacky Jasper
Clayborne Family
  • Label: Threshold Recordings
 — — —
  • Recorded with Kool Keith and Marc Live
  • Credited as Jacky Jasper
2008 Stoned
  • Label: L.A. Hill Records
 — — —

Singles

Year Song Peak chart positions Album
Hot Rap Songs[43]
1990 "Pimp Of The Microphone" — Sex, Drugs + Violence
1990 "Secret" —
1992 "Sex Drugs + Violence" —
1993 "Sindy" — Higher Deeper Values
1999 "Playaz Need No Love" (featuring Roger Troutman) 33 Narcissism
2005 "Whats Up Now" (featuring Kool Keith & Chilly Chill) — Collabs Tape

Guest appearances

Title Year Other artist(s) Album
"Neighbors Next Door" 1999 Kool Keith First Come, First Served
"Call the Cops"
"War" 2000 Analog Brothers, DJ Cisco Pimp to Eat
"We Sleep Days" Analog Brothers
"Blackula" 2001 Kool Keith Spankmaster
"Mental Side Effects" 2004 Kool Keith, KutMasta Kurt, FatHed Diesel Truckers and Collabs Tape
"Bamboozled" Kool Keith, KutMasta Kurt, Marc Live

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Baron, Zach (2013-08-26). "MediaTakeout: Fear of a Black TMZ". GQ. Retrieved 2025-04-19.
  2. ^ Jasper, Jacky (2020-04-03). "Big U Speaks On Nipsey Hussle's Impact, Developing Options Program And Crenshaw's Legacy". VIBE. Retrieved 2025-04-19.
  3. ^ Moynihan, Colin (2016-01-05). "The Path to Charlie Sheen's H.I.V. Disclosure". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-07-18.
  4. ^ Hollywood Street King (2010-12-13). Life Lesson from Ike Turner. Retrieved 2025-04-19 – via YouTube.
  5. ^ H-Bomb Feat. Roger Troutman - Playaz Need No Love, 1998, retrieved 2025-04-19
  6. ^ Campbell, Mark V. (November 8, 2023). "Black music in Canada exists, thrives and survives — but it's not because of the mainstream music industry". CBC News.
  7. ^ We Are Dream Warriors (2017-02-09). Can't Repress the Cause. Retrieved 2025-04-20 – via YouTube.
  8. ^ Funaro, Vincent; Reporter, Christian Post (2011-09-13). "Tupac Shakur: Still Classified As a Martyr 15 Years After Death?". www.christianpost.com. Retrieved 2025-04-20.
  9. ^ Barr, Greg (January 25, 1991). "Rap and Metal: Both music forms on centre stage this weekend". The Ottawa Citizen. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. p. D3. Retrieved March 10, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Troper, Harold Martin; Weinfeld, Morton (1999). Ethnicity, Politics, and Public Policy: Case Studies in Canadian Diversity. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: University of Toronto Press. pp. 72–77. ISBN 0802080278.
  11. ^ Starr, Larry; Waterman, Christopher Alan; Hodgson, Jay (2009). Rock: A Canadian Perspective. Oxford University Press. p. 391. ISBN 0195427610.
  12. ^ HDV - Higher Deeper Values, 1994-07-04, retrieved 2025-04-20
  13. ^ D’Amico-Cuthbert, Francesca (December 1, 2021). "We Don't Have Those American Problems, Anti-Black Practices in Canada's Rap Music Marketplace, 1985–2020". Canadian Journal of History. 56 (3): 320–352. ISSN 0008-4107 – via Canadian Journal of History.
  14. ^ Perlich, Tim (September 30, 2004). "Trucker style: Kool Keith turns 18-wheeler". Now Magazine. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Now Communications. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
  15. ^ HDV - Higher Deeper Values, 1993, retrieved 2025-04-20
  16. ^ Mitchell, Tony (2001). Global Noise: Rap and Hip Hop Outside the US. Middletown, Connecticut, United States: Wesleyan University Press. p. 310. ISBN 0819565024.
  17. ^ H-Bomb - Narcissism, 1998, retrieved 2025-04-20
  18. ^ devops (2013-01-02). "Rap Airplay". Billboard. Retrieved 2025-04-20.
  19. ^ Jacky Jasper (2024-02-26). H Bomb & Roger Troutman - Playaz Need No Love (Official Music Video 1998). Retrieved 2025-04-20 – via YouTube.
  20. ^ "Jacky Jasper". Genius. Retrieved 2025-04-20.
  21. ^ Grandma's Boy (2006) - Soundtracks - IMDb. Retrieved 2025-04-20 – via www.imdb.com.
  22. ^ Jacky Jasper - Keep My Sh*t Clean, 2002-03-12, retrieved 2025-04-20
  23. ^ "Jacky Jasper". New Bedford Standard-Times. Retrieved 2025-04-20.
  24. ^ KHM - Game, 2003, retrieved 2025-04-21
  25. ^ "7th Veil - Stoned". New Bedford Standard-Times. Retrieved 2025-04-20.
  26. ^ 7th Veil - Stoned, 2009, retrieved 2025-04-20
  27. ^ a b "Jacky Jasper Presents: Diary of a Hollywood Street King" (Press release). Los Angeles, California, United States: Marketwired. AOne Entertainment. January 13, 2009. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
  28. ^ Moynihan, Colin (January 6, 2016). "Sheen's path to HIV disclosure". The Santa Fe New Mexican. Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States. The New York Times. p. A10. Retrieved March 10, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  29. ^ "Additional resources for 'The Perfect Catch'". NBC News. 2012-06-15. Retrieved 2023-07-18.
  30. ^ ATLien (2012-06-22). "jacky jasper dateline-nbc". Straight From The A [SFTA] - Atlanta Entertainment Industry Gossip & News. Retrieved 2023-07-18.
  31. ^ a b "Feds arrest Newark woman for allegedly cyberstalking reality TV star Kris Jenner". ABC7 San Francisco. Retrieved 2023-07-18.
  32. ^ "Bond granted for Bay Area woman accused of cyberstalking Kris Jenner". FOX 5 New York. 2016-08-22. Retrieved 2023-07-18.
  33. ^ Evans, Erica (2016-08-19). "Woman arrested on suspicion of cyberstalking and threatening Kris Jenner". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2023-07-18.
  34. ^ Sibor, Doug. "Kris Jenner Was Stalked, Hacked, and Impersonated". Complex. Retrieved 2023-07-18.
  35. ^ "HDV". Discogs. Retrieved 2018-02-17.
  36. ^ "H Bomb". Discogs. Retrieved 2018-02-17.
  37. ^ "Jacky Jasper". Discogs. Retrieved 2018-02-17.
  38. ^ "Jacky Jasper Chart History". Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. Retrieved 2018-02-17.
  39. ^ "KHM Chart History". Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. Retrieved 2017-11-27.
  40. ^ "Jacky Jasper Chart History". Independent Albums. Retrieved 2018-02-17.
  41. ^ "KHM Chart History". Independent Albums. Retrieved 2017-11-27.
  42. ^ "KHM Chart History". Heatseekers Albums. Retrieved 2017-11-27.
  43. ^ "H-Bomb Chart History". Hot Rap Songs. Retrieved 2018-02-17.
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