Z-Ro

Joseph Wayne McVey, known as Z-Ro and, under some releases, the Mo City Don, is a Houston rapper whose dense, street-level records earned him a following well beyond Texas. The New York Times named him one of America's most underrated rappers in 2007. His route to the microphone ran through hardship: after his mother died when he was six, he was passed from household to household, and in his late teens he was dealing drugs on the streets before discovering a gift for freestyling.

His Rap-a-Lot debut, The Life of Joseph W. McVey, widened his audience beyond the South, and 2005's Let the Truth Be Told was well received. I'm Still Livin' came out in 2006 while he was imprisoned on a drug possession charge, and drew praise from The Village Voice and the Houston Chronicle. Three albums followed: Heroin in 2010, Meth in 2011 and Angel Dust in 2012. He then issued the Tripolar EP under the Mo City Don name in August 2013 through One Deep Entertainment, and in 2021 teamed with Mike D of S.U.C. on the collaboration 2 The Hardway, featuring Slim Thug, Lil' Keke and Big Pokey.