Bone Crusher/Wayne Hardnett Jr (1971- )

December 07, 2021 
/ Contributed By: Samuel Momodu

Bone Crusher

Bone Crusher

Image Courtesy of Crusher Consulting

Wayne โ€œBone Crusherโ€ Hardnett Jr. is a rapper and actor who are best known for his 2003 single โ€œNever Scared.โ€ Hardnett was born on August 23, 1971 to unnamed parents in Atlanta, Georgia. Hardnett was originally part of the group Lyrical Giants that also included Donald โ€œBaby Dโ€ Jenkins, and Bizar. The group however lasted less than a year before disbanding.

Hardnett then signed with Jermaine Dupriโ€™s So So Def music label and in 2003, he released his debut album, AttenCHUN! which featured the single โ€œNever Scaredโ€ with Clifford โ€œT.Iโ€ Harris and Michael Santiago โ€œKiller Mikeโ€ Render. The album peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 music chart at no. 11 and charted at no. 1 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums and sold 500,000 units. Hardnettโ€™s single, โ€œNever Scared โ€œcharted on the Billboard Hot 100 at no. 26 and no. 8 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip Hop Singles & Tracks. The song was adopted by the Atlanta Braves baseball team during their 2003 MLB season and would be used in the Madden NFL 2004 video game. โ€œNever Scaredโ€ would be Hardnettโ€™s only hit that charted on the Billboard charts.

In 2006, Hardnett released his second studio album, Release The Beast that featured the single โ€œSouthern Gorillasโ€ followed in 2007 by Free. Neither album sold 500,000 copies.

During his career Hardnett worked with other artists including T.I., Killer Mike, Jay Young Jeezy Jenkins, and Marah Carey. Hardnett also appeared in a video game called Def Jam: Fight For NY and made a television appearance on the weight loss VH1 show, Celebrity Fit Club season four in 2006. He was team captain of The Fight Crushers along with Carnie Wilson, Nicholas Turturro, and Erika Elenaik. His team won the season contest against Hot Buttered Soul that included Tina Yothers, Vincent Pastore, Angie Stone, and Ted Lange. He also appeared in movies including ATL (2006) and Dead Heist (2007) and made an appearance as a guest judge on the Food Network cooking show Iron Chief America.

Hardnett married Aneesah Hardnett in 1994.ย  The couple divorced in 2009. Hardnett remarried Jennay Frazier in 2013.ย  Hardnett also has five children.

About the Author

Author Profile

Samuel Momodu, a native of Nashville, Tennessee, received his Associate of Arts Degree in History from Nashville State Community College in December 2014 and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History from Tennessee State University in May 2016. He received his Master of Arts Degree in history from Southern New Hampshire University in June 2019.

Momoduโ€™s main areas of research interest are African and African American History. His passion for learning Black history led him to contribute numerous entries to BlackPast.org for the last few years. Momodu has also worked as a history tour guide at President Andrew Jacksonโ€™s plantation home near Nashville, the Hermitage. He is currently an instructor at Tennessee State University. His passion for history has also helped him continue his education. In 2024, he received his Ph.D. in History from Liberty University, writing a dissertation titled The Protestant Vatican: Black Churches Involvement in the Nashville Civil Rights Movement 1865-1972. He hopes to use his Ph.D. degree to become a university professor or professional historian.

CITE THIS ENTRY IN APA FORMAT:

Momodu, S. (2021, December 07). Bone Crusher/Wayne Hardnett Jr (1971- ). BlackPast.org. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/bone-crusher-wayne-hardnett-jr-1971/

Source of the Author's Information:

โ€œBone Crusher,โ€ Internet National Database (IMDb), https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1687327/; โ€œBone Crusher,โ€ Rollingout.com, https://rollingout.com/2019/06/11/bone-crusher-focus-on-fatherhood/; โ€œBone Crusher,โ€ last.fm, https://www.last.fm/music/Bone+Crusher

Further Reading