Herbert Brown, better known by his
stage name McGruff (also known as
Herb McGruff) is an American
Hip hop recording artist from
Harlem,
New York City,
New York. Brown started
rapping in his early teens. He embarked on his music career in the hip hop group Bronx Most Wanted, alongside rappers Jay Q and Tee U.B.. Brown later became a member of the hip hop collective
Children of the Corn. As a member of Children of the Corn, Brown worked alongside
Big L,
Cam'ron, Bloodshed and
Mase, all of whom would go on to have successful careers in the music industry. After the group disbanded without releasing any material, Brown made his first appearance on Big L's debut album,
Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous (1995), on the tracks "8 Iz Enuff" and "Dangerzone". Eventually, Brown signed a deal with popular hip hop label,
Uptown Records and began recording his debut album,
Destined to Be. In early 1998, the album's lead single "Before We Start" became a minor hit, charting on several
Billboard charts. In the Summer of 1998,
Destined to Be was released but failed to sell many copies, only peaking at 169 on the
Billboard 200, and Brown was released from his contract. Brown would make appearances with
Heavy D on his album,
Waterbed Hev and the
Woo soundtrack. In 2009, Brown appeared on Mase's
mixtape I Do the Impossible. In 2010, he was featured heavily on
The Diplomats mixtape,
The D.I.P. Agenda. In 2014,
DJ Kay Slay, enlisted Brown, along with
Raekwon,
Fat Joe,
Ghostface Killah,
Sheek Louch,
N.O.R.E.,
Lil' Fame,
Prodigy and
Rell, for a song titled "90s Flow".