(another aside: I know Brew and I e-dapped over this sentiment in another GD thread sometime in the last two years or so, but I still can't believe both how alone I felt ranting about the awfulness of this music when it was relevant or how giddily nostalgic it makes me feel now)



We came up off Michael Jackson, my mama listening to James Brown, my grandpa was really into Curtis Mayfield, my uncle listening to Run-DMC, New Edition. We were singers — I came up in the era where you were still going out there trying to sing to the girl to catch her, you know?

My very first memory of hip-hop was sitting down with my brother, rewinding BONE THUGS-N-HARMONY trying to learn “1st of tha Month”: “Wake up, wake up, wake up.” That was when it really hit me, like, this is what I want to do.

I’m from Bankhead, so I seen Kilo, the dope boy in the neighborhood who had made it, in his money-green Cadillac all the time. And I came in the rap game up under Raheem the Dream. These was our local heroes. They mean everything. That was our inspiration, but the world didn’t know them like that.

I was freestyling, winning the local talent show every week. And I started singing this song called “If You’re Down on Your Luck Say (Ow),” and everybody started singing it.

In the apartments, it was me and Young Dro. We ended up sparring against each other all the time, freestyling. This guy takes us down to Raheem the Dream. The rest is history.

When we left Raheem, I went to Shawty Lo. I’m in high school, and I was playing the tenor drums at the time. He was taking care of us. I moved right in and we started recording. He wasn’t a rapper at this time, mind you. Never asked me for rent, never asked me for anything. He did these basketball tournaments where all the neighborhoods would come play each other. That’s what brought a lot of Atlanta together.

When Jeezy and GUCCI was going at it — that was when everybody in Atlanta was just, like, boom. I remember being in the club when “Stay Strapped” was out — like, “We need a song.” Killer Mike, T.I., all of them had those songs bunking. That was the moment. The old 112 was just closing down and Visions was the hottest club in Atlanta.

Lo used to always be pushing us. When Dem Franchize Boyz jumped off, I developed my style right there. I was like, they’re trying to rhyme like this, so I’m going to do something totally different. I started yelling and screaming on everything. I was, like, ain’t nobody doing this.

Right to this day, put “Tatted Up” on — you can put it up against any Grammy that’s ever been won. Just the end of the song — “Barbaraaaaaa!” People would be like, “Who is Barbara!?” That’s what I heard in the track, bro.

I’ve always been dancing. When the other guys made “Lean Wit It, Rock Wit It,” I was, like, “No, this is our movement.” I felt like I should’ve been given some type of credit. You can hear me on “Betcha Can’t Do It Like Me” — I felt offended.

I seen them on “Rap City” or something, and they asked who came up with the dance. And this guy goes, “Me.” I leaned back in my chair and was like, “Yo, turn the beat on.” And I got right in the booth. The snap era was intense, the competition.

With “Laffy Taffy” we went straight to MTV — BET wasn’t playing the song. We didn’t understand what crossing over was. We didn’t know that this was another level — like, “You’re No. 1.” I think we wanted to prove for a while that we wasn’t pop.

Anytime you see something that you don’t understand or that’s different, you’re going to look at it with that side-eye, you know? Nas said “hip-hop is dead,” I seen Ghostface Killah imitating the leg thing. But I’m just trying not to eat ketchup sandwiches anymore, dude.

I think when BUSTA RHYMES kicked it with us and jumped on the album, we started getting a little respect. And then Twista jumped on the record. People was like, “OK, well, these guys must have something.” These are two different characters from two different places that bought into the movement.

Future, Young Thug, all these cats showed me love. Drake, when he put that “snappin’ like you Fabo” in “Nice for What,” bro, my grandmother was like, “Drake said your name!” I’m one of the only artists to have a No. 1 single and have my name called in another No. 1 single.

Related Artists
KRAYZIE BONE
BUSTA RHYMES
GUCCI MANE


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"This is the streets, and I am the trap." � Jay Bilas
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517
Hip Hop Handbook: http://tinyurl.com/ll4kzz