| Bubba Sparxxx | |
|---|---|
Bubba Sparxxx in 2007. |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Warren Mathis |
| Also known as | Bubba |
| Born | March 6, 1977 LaGrange, Georgia |
| Origin | Atlanta, Georgia, United States |
| Genres | Hip Hop, Southern Rap, Country rap |
| Years active | 1993-Present |
| Labels | New South Entertainment |
| Associated acts | Attitude, Ying Yang Twins |
| Website | www.bubbasparxxx.com |
Warren Anderson Mathis (born March 6, 1977), known by his stage name Bubba Sparxxx, is an American Southern rapper. His biggest hit is "Ms. New Booty" featuring The Ying Yang Twins which peaked at #7 in the United States. He is also noted for his hit singles "Back in the Mud" and "Ugly".
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Born Warren Anderson Mathis on March 6, 1977, Sparxxx grew up in a rural area north of LaGrange, Georgia, a town 65 miles southwest of Atlanta.[1] His father was a school bus driver, and his mother was a grocery store cashier.[2] His closest neighbor, who lived half a mile away, introduced Mathis to rap music through mixtapes mailed from New York City. The music of 2 Live Crew was his introduction to hip-hop; he began listening to West Coast gangsta rap such as N.W.A and Too Short and the Atlanta duo OutKast. With rapping as a hobby, Mathis was a tight end and linebacker for his high school's football team and earned All-Region honors in his senior year.[1] Steve Herndon, a former offensive lineman for the NFL teams Atlanta Falcons and Denver Broncos, played football with Mathis during high school, according to an interview with Down-South.com.[1][2] In 2007, he moved from Atlanta to Tampa.[3]
After high school Sparxxx moved to Athens, Georgia in 1996. He met industry veteran (and now manager and business partner) Bobby Stamps after Stamps noticed him rapping after a University of Georgia football game. Stamps arranged for Sparxxx to work with many artists in Athens and Atlanta to complete his first CD. His first commercial CD release saw some success in Georgia, and the album Dark Days, Bright Nights caught the attention of Jimmy Iovine of Interscope Records. Sparxxx signed to Interscope Records and began working with record producers Timbaland and Organized Noize.[1] The major-label reissue of Dark Days, Bright Nights, released via Timbaland's Beat Club Records imprint, which now included five collaborations with Timbaland and two with Organized Noise, debuted at #3 on the Billboard 200. In 2002, he had a minor hit being featured on Archie Eversole's "We Ready", which became popular for being played at sport events, such as football and basketball games. His 2002 London debut was described by Caroline Sullivan, Guardian music critic, as the worst gig she had been to.[4] Also in 2002 Bubba made an appearnce at the In late 2003, he returned with his second album, Deliverance, which was critically acclaimed but sold poorly.[1]
Sparxxx signed a deal with Virgin records in 2004; under Virgin, Sparxxx released The Charm with singles "Ms. New Booty" and "Heat It Up". He left Virgin to establish his own label, New South Entertainment, which is distributed by E1 Records. In 2007, he released a mixtape with DJ Burn One titled Survive Till Ya Thrive. He stated in an interview that he planned on releasing an album to be called Miracle on Gamble Road, in spring 2011.
Sparxxx has also appeared in the video games Def Jam: Fight for NY and Madden NFL 2004. Bubba's song "Back in the Mud" was used by ESPN's "College Gameday" as the 2003 and 2004 theme song. Bubba has participated in a number of television productions and collaborated with the popular "Girls Gone Wild" brand to shoot two DVD's detailing life as a rap star. Bubba has recently been featured on MTV's "My Super Sweet Sixteen" (Kristy Landers episode) and was a mentor in MTV's "Celebrity Rap Superstar". Bubba has been a guest on each major late-night show, including "Saturday Night Live", as well as "The Late Show with David Letterman" and "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno." In 2003, Bubba donated his time to travel to Kuwait and Iraq to perform for U.S. troops along with Blink-182, Wayne Newton, Kid Rock, and many other musicians, actors and pro athletes.
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales threshold)[5] |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [6] |
US R&B [6] |
US Rap [6] |
NZ [7] |
||||||
| 2001 | Dark Days, Bright Nights
|
3 | 3 | * | — | ||||
| 2003 | Deliverance
|
10 | 9 | * | 30 | ||||
| 2006 | The Charm
|
9 | 3 | 2 | — | ||||
| 2011 [9] | Miracle on Gamble Road
|
TBA | |||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [10] |
US R&B [10] |
US Rap [10] |
UK [11] |
NZ [12] |
||||
| 2001 | "Ugly" (featuring Timbaland) |
15 | 6 | 6 | 7 | — | Dark Days, Bright Nights | |
| "Lovely" | — | 77 | — | 24 | — | |||
| 2003 | "Jimmy Mathis" | — | 98 | — | — | — | Deliverance | |
| "Deliverance" (featuring Timbaland) |
101 | 107 | 22 | 55 | — | |||
| "Back in the Mud" | — | — | — | — | 3 | |||
| 2005 | "Hey! (A Lil' Gratitude)" | — | — | — | — | — | The Charm | |
| "The Otherside" (featuring Petey Pablo and Sleepy Brown) |
— | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Ms. New Booty" (featuring Ying Yang Twins and Mr. ColliPark) |
7 | 7 | 3 | — | 22 |
|
||
| 2006 | "Heat It Up" | 103 | 57 | 24 | — | — | ||
| 2008 | "I Like It Alot" | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | |
| "She Got Me Like (Ahh Shit)" (featuring Ray J) |
— | — | — | — | — | The New South | ||
| 2009 | "Beatin Down the Block" (featuring Dirt Reynolds) |
— | — | — | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or receive certification. | ||||||||
| Year | Song | Artist(s) | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | "White Gutz" | Dungeon Family | Even in Darkness |
| "Rearranged (Timbaland Remix)" | Limp Bizkit | New Old Songs | |
| "They Ain't Ready" | Jadakiss | Ryde or Die Vol. 3: In the "R" We Trust | |
| 2002 | "We Ready (Remix)" | Archie Eversole | Ride Wit Me Dirty South Style |
| "Oh My God" | Haystak | The Natural | |
| 2003 | "Dat Look" | Turk | Raw & Uncut |
| "Shenanigans" | Timbaland & Magoo | Under Construction, Part II | |
| 2004 | "Get On Dis Motorcycle" | Petey Pablo | Still Writing in My Diary: 2nd Entry |
| 2005 | "Oh No" | Big Boi, Killer Mike | xXx: State of the Union (soundtrack) |
| "Claremont Lounge" | Purple Ribbon All-Stars | Got Purp? Vol. 2 |