Atlanta rapper Lil Scrappy has had his fair share of ups and downs in his decade-long career behind the mic. After first finding success with singles like “Money in the Bank” and “No Problem,” Scrappy became a victim of bad business decisions and legal trouble. Despite becoming known more for his personal life than his music, Scrappy still continued to record. He dropped an independent album called the “Prince of the South” in 2008 and its sequel followed two years later.
Just when the casual Lil Scrappy listener was wondering where Scrappy went, he reemerged on the hit VH1 reality show “Love and Hip Hop Atlanta.” Although the title mentions the music, Scrappy kept audiences entertained with his unique “thizz-ny-ee” lingo and watching how he deals with the women in his life like his mother Momma Dee, his ex-fiancee and mother of his daughter Erica Dixon, and his friend with benefits Shay “Buckee” Johnson.
Now that Scrappy has his love life squared away (he’s currently dating Bambi, one of the cast members of “Basketball Wives LA”), he’s finally getting back to the Hip-Hop. The Urban Daily got a chance to talk to the ATL’s crowned prince about his new label deal with Gri$tle Gang Records/Chinga Chang Records/Sony Entertainment, how to deal when your mother doesn’t like your woman, and if the new music he’s working on will position him to be the new King of the South.
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TUD: Let’s talk about your new label deal with Gri$tle Gang Records/Chinga Chang Records/Sony Entertainment. How did this deal come about?
LS: I guess basically they seen that I was definitely a hard worker. I still got some youth in me. And I do actually make banging music. Plus, I’m still relevant right now, you know. So why not give it a chance and do something where you can make millions?
What’s different about this label situation than the ones with BME and later DTP you had in the past?
With this one, I got a lot of creative control. I do what I wanna do with it.
Will we get to see you building the new label as part of your storyline on “Love and Hip Hop Atlanta”?
It definitely will. It’s just apart of love and hip-hop. So that’s just the hip-hop part of it. [laughs] I’m getting a new deal, got new music, and getting ready for the new album.
Speaking of the new album, why did you decide to name it “Reparations”?
Because I feel like they owe me. I feel like the whole game owes me. Even some of the people in the game, I feel like they owe because I done helped a lot of people in the game when I was on and then when I needed the favor back, I needed the love, they ain’t wanna do it.
What type of sound are you going for on the album?
I wanted to go in a like club slash…I don’t wanna say conscious, but I’ll say a real direction. I wanna touch people’s hearts and I want them to party at the same time. So I’m coming at them in that route right there.
You want your music to be real, but you still want people to party to it as well. Do you think the message in the music will fall on deaf ears if people are too busy partying to your music?
Nah. I mean sometimes it does get lost, but you not only listening to music in the club. Plus, you know, there’s a time for everything. There’s a time to party and a time to listen. Ya dig? So I think everybody will use both of those when they listen to music.
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You put out a single “Put the Paws On ‘Em” a little while ago, but it was a few months after the catchphrase blew up. How come you didn’t capitalize on that a little sooner? I was expecting you to announce the single and merchandise as soon as that episode aired.
I mean I have but it’s gonna come slowly but surely. I got merchandise with that phrase coming real soon. Also, you want people to have fun with it at first. You know, let them do what they do. I was kinda worried about some other stuff at the time. You watched the show. [laughs]
One of the major things we see on the show is the relationship between you and your mom, Momma Dee. We saw you trying to assert a little more independence in your life. How is y’all’s relationship now?
I’ve always been independent. It’s just when it comes to women, you feel me? Your mom’s a woman. So you bring your woman to your mama and she is gon tell you what it is. Your mama gon always know what a snake look like and what a regular creature look like. If it’s a snake, your mama gon tell you it’s a snake. Now if you keep messing with the snake and it bites you, that’s your fault.
That’s true, but being in a relationship, how do you navigate those murky waters when your mother isn’t feeling the woman you’ve chosen to be with?
Well, you’re chosen to be with one person and God is going to put that person in your life regardless because that’s what God wants. But if it doesn’t work out that means it wasn’t meant to be. Beyond the pain, the hurt, and the what ifs, you can be as famous as possible or the best rapper in the world, but if you ain’t meant to be on top and stay on top in God’s eyes, you’re gonna fall right back down. You’re gonna be at a level that He wants you to be at. That’s the same thing with relationships. If you ain’t meant to be with her, it don’t matter what you do to make her happy, you still gon wind up apart.
Now that we’ve had our Dr. Phil moment, let’s get back to you and the music. You’re called the Prince of the South. Who gave you that nickname?
I took it just like everybody else take their names. I knew that I was the only young dude who was rocking and was on some ignant stuff. You already had the King of the South and I didn’t wanna step in anybody’s toes. But as you grow, there has to be another king. You feel me?
Do you feel like your upcoming album will position you to become King of the South?
That ain’t my goal, but if it does it does. My goal is to get back in these folks face, they ears, and they brain. I want everybody to feel me-my anger, my pain because I wanna fill my pockets. I have a lot of admirers and I have a lot of admirers who confuse themselves as haters. I want them to feel it the most.
It’s about showing people you can fall down and it might take a little minute to get back up, but you gon get back up. Please believe it. If you believe in yourself and God, you gon get back up.
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