Webbie

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Crappy
Birth name Webster Gradney, Jr.
Also known as Savage Life, Young Savage
Born September 6, 1985 (1985-09-06) (age 22)
Origin Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States
Genre(s) Southern rap, gangsta rap, pop rap
Years active 2000–present
Label(s) Asylum Records/Trill Entertainment/Atlantic/Warner Bros. Records
Associated acts U.G.K., Trill Entertainment, Lil Boosie
Website www.webbiemuzik.com

Webster Gradney, Jr. (born September 6, 1985) better known by his stage name Webbie, is a rapper from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He was signed to the independent Trill Entertainment label from 2003 to 2005[1] and later came into the hip-hop scene in 2005 with "Gimme That" featuring U.G.K. rapper Bun B. His songs "Bad Bitch" and "Swerve" were featured on Gangsta Musik, his 2003 group album with Lil' Boosie, and in the 2005 movie Hustle & Flow. Both songs are also on Webbie's debut album Savage Life which was released on the summer of 2005 under Atlantic Records.[1] He is currently planning an independent biography movie called Ghetto Stories: The Movie with Lil' Boosie based on their lives and lyrical themes.[2]

Contents

[edit] Early life

Gradney was raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. His mother Jocelyn died of cancer when he was eight years old, so his parental care was split between his father and grandmother.[3] Ever since he was five years old, he had been writing rhymes, and throughout his childhood he had become an avid fan of hardcore rap artists including Southern hip hop performers Master P, Eightball & MJG, the Geto Boys, and UGK, as well as West Coast rap such as 2Pac, Eazy-E, and Snoop Dogg. His admiration for hip-hop is attributed to his cousin from California.[3] He attended Broadmoor Middle School, where he played fullback for the football team. Former math teacher Sean Fluharty described Gradney as a "quiet, well-behaved student... he never gave me any problems... he did his work and was actually pretty good at math." Because of his focus on rapping, Webbie struggled academically and thus could not play his favorite sports, football and basketball.[3]

Things changed for him one day in the fall of 2001 after he made a freestyle rap about his late mother.[4] Thus, he was signed to independent label Trill Entertainment by rapper Pimp C of UGK.[1]

[edit] Music career

Under Trill, he recorded two albums in collaboration with fellow Baton Rouge-based rapper Lil' Boosie, Ghetto Stories in 2003 and Gangsta Musik in 2004. As Webbie's solo tracks "Gimme Dat" (featuring Bun B of UGK) and "Bad Bitch" were frequently featured in mixtapes, Trill began a deal to sign Webbie to the Warner Bros. Records subsidiary label Atlantic Records. He was signed there, and his major-label debut Savage Life was released in 2005[1], debuting at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[5] In 2007, he wrote and performed on the track "Wipe Me Down" by rapper Foxx and began work on his follow-up album Savage Life 2 in January 2008.[6] It debuted at number four on the Billboard Hot 100, selling 72,000 copies its debut week.[7] Singles from Savage Life 2 include "Independent" featuring Lil' Boosie and Foxx and "I Miss You" featuring LeToya Luckett.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

  • Ghetto Stories (With Lil' Boosie)
    • Released: 2003
    • Label: Asylum Records
    • U.S. Sales: 15,000[4]
  • Gangsta Musik (With Lil' Boosie)
    • Released: 2004
    • Label: Asylum Records
    • Singles: "Swerve"

[edit] Singles

[edit] Solo

Year Song U.S. Hot 100 U.S. R&B U.S. Rap Album
2005 "Give Me That" (featuring Bun B) 29 8 4 Savage Life
"Bad Bitch [Remix]" (featuring Trina) 62 48 -
2007 "Independent" (featuring Lil Phat & Lil Boosie) 9 5 1 Savage Life 2
"I Miss You" (featuring LeToya) - 64 -

[edit] Featured

Year Song U.S. Hot 100 U.S. R&B U.S. Rap Album
2007 "Wipe Me Down" (Foxx featuring Lil Boosie & Webbie) 38 8 4 Trill Entertainment Presents: Survival of the Fittest

[edit] Mixtapes

  • Gangsta Grillz #14 (With DJ Drama)

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d Jeffries, David (2005). Webbie - Biography. All Music Guide. Retrieved on 2008-04-19.
  2. ^ Trill Fam - Survival of the Fittest. Asylum Records (2007). Retrieved on 2008-04-19.
  3. ^ a b c Webbie - Biography. Yahoo! Music. Atlantic Records (2005). Retrieved on 2008-04-19.
  4. ^ a b Webbie - Full Biography. MTV. Retrieved on 2008-04-19.
  5. ^ Whitmire, Margo. "R. Kelly "Reloads" at No. 1", Billboard, 2005-07-13. Retrieved on 2008-04-19. 
  6. ^ a b c Crosley, Hillary. "Webbie's Next "Life" Due In Late February", Billboard, 2008-01-07. Retrieved on 2008-04-19. 
  7. ^ Harris, Chris. "Janet Jackson Teaches Jack Johnson Discipline, Claims Sixth #1 Debut", MTV News, 2008-03-05. Retrieved on 2008-04-19. 
  8. ^ Webbie - Billboard Albums. All Music Guide (2008). Retrieved on 2008-04-19.
  9. ^ a b Webbie - Billboard Singles. All Music Guide (2008). Retrieved on 2008-04-19.
  10. ^ "Survival of the Fittest" - Charts & Awards. All Music Guide (2007). Retrieved on 2008-04-19.
  11. ^ UKMIX - Forums - View topic - US Billboard Charts (24/05/2008)

[edit] External links

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Webbie
Albums
Singles
"Give Me That" · "Bad Bitch" · "Independent"  · "I Miss You"
Featured singles
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