Shawty Lo
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| Shawty Lo | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Carlos Walker |
| Born | March 31, 1976 (age 33) |
| Origin | Bankhead, Atlanta, Georgia, United States |
| Genre(s) | Hip hop |
| Occupation(s) | Rapper, songwriter, producer |
| Years active | 2002 - Present |
| Label(s) | Asylum Records |
| Associated acts | D4L, Fabo, Gucci Mane, Rocko, Gorilla Zoe, Yo Gotti, Ludacris, Lil Wayne, OJ Da Juiceman, Yung Joc |
| Website | Shawty Lo at MySpace |
Carlos Walker (born March 31, 1976 in Atlanta, Georgia)[1], better known by his stage name Shawty Lo, is an American rapper and CEO of D4L Records Inc. His debut album, Units in the City, was released on February 26, 2008. He is one of the founding members of the rap group D4L, and signed to Asylum.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Shawty Lo was born Carlos Walker in 1976
at Grady Hospital[2], Atlanta, Georgia. He was raised in the Bowen Homes housing project, located in Bankhead, Atlanta.[2][3].
Walker had a tough upbringing, with his mother a drug user and an absentee father. His grandmother was left to provide for Walker and his sister. In his teens, Walker became a drug dealer, making a reputation for himself on the westside of Atlanta. It is this lifestyle that garnered him the reputation as being the King of Bankhead.[citation needed]
By the age of 17, Walker had fathered his first child. He now has a total of nine children; seven girls and two boys.[3] After over a decade of hustling and drug dealing, Walker decided to turn his attention to music.
[edit] 2003-2007:D4L Records and I'm Da Man
In 2003, Shawty Lo founded D4L Records, with Fabo, Stuntman and Mook B. His associates are each from different Bankhead housing projects; Bankhead Courts, Hollywood Courts and Perry Homes respectively.
Shortly after releasing their second single Betcha Can't Do It Like Me, Shawty Lo was arrested on three felonious charges, which could have seen him jailed for forty years.[2] Shawty Lo was incarcerated for one year, during which time he decided to make the transition to becoming a solo artist.
In the summer of 2006, Shawty Lo released his debut solo mixtape, I'm Da Man, with DJ Scream. The mixtape sold over 40,000 copies, not including give-aways and bootlegging.[2] The lead single, also titled I'm Da Man, formed the foundation of Shawty Lo's solo career. A popular remix to the song I'm Da Man was recorded featuring Lil Wayne, Rick Ross and Yung Joc.
[edit] 2008: Units In The City
On February 26, 2008, Shawty Lo's debut album Units in the City was released. The album peaked at #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at #2 on the Top Rap Albums chart, selling over 350,000 copies to date. The debut single from the album, Dey Know, charted at #3 on the Hot Rap Tracks chart. The other two single releases from the album were Dunn Dunn and Foolish.
The album features no famous guest appearances from major label artists. All featured artists, such as Gucci Mane, hail from the Atlanta area. Aside from the album-singles, several other tracks have received heavy underground play, most notably 'Got Em 4 The LO' and 'Lets Get It'. Got Em 4 The Lo, featuring Gucci Mane and Stuntman is the only non-single track to have had a music video made for it.[4]
The songs Dey Know and Foolish have both been officially remixed including many famous guest appearances. These include Ludacris, Young Jeezy, Plies, Lil' Wayne, DJ Khaled, Birdman, Rick Ross and Jim Jones. The Foolish video also included cameo appearances from Pitbull, Jadakiss and Ace Hood. These high-profile remixes helped to cement Shawty Lo's place as a major rapper, as well as increasing his exposure and fanbase.
[edit] 2009: I Am Carlos
Shawty Lo's is a sophomore album, I Am Carlos is due to be released in June 2009. Featured artists include Chris Martin of Coldplay, Mya, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, T.I., T-Pain, Lil Kim, Ludacris, Gucci Mane and Trey Songz.
Shawty Lo has confirmed that Atlanta GA, which features Gucci Mane, Ludacris and The Dream, will be the first single released from the album. The album is also notable for Roll The Dice, a song which marks the end of the beef between himself and rapper T.I.
[edit] Controversy
[edit] T.I.
In 2008, Shawty Lo was involved in a highly publicized feud with T.I.
The feud was characterized by Shawty Lo's track Dunn Dunn, and T.I.'s reply What Up, What's Haapnin. The song Dunn Dunn appears to question T.I.'s roots in Bankhead. The music video for What Up, What's Haapnin was shot in Shawty Lo's housing project Bowen Homes, an apparent diss towards Shawty Lo. In an interview, T.I. insisted that his song No Matter What was only partially aimed at Shawty Lo.[5]
The beef reached its climax at the November 2008 Dirty Awards where the entourages of both artists clashed during the ceremony, forcing it to be shut down.[6] Two incidents forced police to use pepper-spray and evacuate the audience.[7]
The beef was publicly squashed on March 7, 2009, when Shawty Lo and T.I. appeared on-stage together at Club Crucial in Bankhead, for T.I.'s farewell concert.[8][9] After this performance, T.I. gave an interview to MTV, in which he stated that the feud with Shawty Lo was exaggerated by the media, and was not a 'beef'.[10]
[edit] Discography
- 2008: Units in the City
- 2009: I Am Carlos
[edit] Awards
- BET Hip Hop Awards
- 2008, Rookie of the Year [Won]
- 2008, Track of the Year, "Dey Know" [Nominated]
- Ozone Awards
- 2008, Best Rap Album, Units in the City [Nominated]
- 2008, Breakthrough Artist [Won]
- 2008, Club banger of the Year, "Dey Know" [Nominated]
- 2008, Best Mixtape/Street Album, "I'm Da Man 2" with DJ Scream [Nominated]
[edit] External links
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Info". LastVid.com. http://www.lastvid.com/index.php?artist=Shawty+Lo. Retrieved on 2009-05-27.
- ^ a b c d "Shawty Lo Biography". asylumrecords.com. Asylum Records. http://www.asylumrecords.com/shawtylo/bio. Retrieved on 2009-04-23.
- ^ a b "Shawty Lo Recalls". mtv.com. MTV. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1607727/20090325/shawty_lo.jhtml. Retrieved on 2009-04-23.
- ^ "Got Em 4 Da LO - Music Video". Raw Report DCD. YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zB6k5W3Ong. Retrieved on 2009-04-23.
- ^ "T.I. Insists 'No Matter What' Is Only Partly About Shawty Lo". MTV. mtv.com. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1586755/20080502/t_i_.jhtml. Retrieved on 2009-04-23.
- ^ "Shawty Lo Blames T.I. For Dirty Awards Trouble". Daniel Melia. taletela.com. http://www.taletela.com/news/822/shawty-lo-blames-ti-for-dirty-awards-trouble. Retrieved on 2009-04-23.
- ^ "Shawty Lo Blames T.I. For Dirty Awards Trouble". Rap Weekly. rapweekly.com. http://www.rapweekly.com/news.asp?id=2788. Retrieved on 2009-04-23.
- ^ "T.I., Shawty Lo Squash Beef, Team Up Onstage In Atlanta". MTV. mtv.com. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1606593/20090309/shawty_lo.jhtml. Retrieved on 2009-04-23.
- ^ "T.I. and Shawty Lo Squash Beef". Sandra Rose. sandrarose.com. http://sandrarose.com/2009/03/07/ti-and-shawty-lo-squash-beef/. Retrieved on 2009-04-23.
- ^ "T.I. Says Feud With Shawty Lo Wasn't A Beef". MTV. mtv.com. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1606662/20090310/t_i_.jhtml. Retrieved on 2009-04-23.
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