Baby D’s been bubbling just under the surface for over nine years, but now emerges as Big Oomp Records get down with a major. The indie game was sweet but the joining the league has been tastier as the whole Big Oomp crew is on the verge of extreme success. Baby D is right there on the front line with alliances with Pastor Troy, Bone Crusher and Lil’ Flip. Get to know him before the rest of the nation catches on.
AllHipHop.com: Talk about yourself a little bit what’s up with you?
B: I’m born and raised in the ATL. Well right now, “The Shining” that’s like my third album I did two independent albums. The off the chain and the lil chopper joint, the lil chopper joint album got nominated for the best independent album of the year at the source awards. That was a blessing and we just got the big deal with Sony, and the first single is “it’s going down” featuring bone crusher and another guy that’s signed to our independent label called DRU.
AllHipHop.com: You down with What’s up with Big Oomp, your lable CEO? He’s looked like the Down South Suge Knight?
B: Yeah he still doing it he still got the same look, but we’ve been doing it independently for a long time and just got blessed with this major deal we was in the little league now we in the big leagues just hoping to make a mark on the industry and do this thing.
AllHipHop.com: How long have you been in the game?
B: I’ve been in the game for about 9 years, but I’ve been in the game all my life because I’ve always been into music. I played the band in school, the drums in church. I’ve always been into music since day 1 but physically doing it it’s been like 9 years even though I was just a little guy.
AllHipHop.com: When did your first album come out?
B: My first album dropped in 2000.
AllHipHop.com: What label were you under at that point?
B: Big Oomp.
AllHipHop.com: So you always been with big Oomp? Doesn’t he own like a stream of record stores down there?
B: Yeah we got seven Soundscan stores. We got the biggest mom and pop chain stores in Atlanta. I host a TV show its called “Live with the Oomp Camp” and its like a video show but it’s a little more in the crowd like if Nelly performs somewhere we actually go in the club to let people know that rappers are entertainers but we real people too we like to go chill and drink. So we go behind backstage and stuff, you don’t have the everyday video show where you’re just sitting on the couch. We’ve had everybody from Busta Rhymes, Outkast everybody been on the TV show. That’s a big thing we doing but other than that I’m on number three on the young bloods album me and this guy named loco. They went gold so we seeing if we get a gold plaque for that one.
AllHipHop.com: Now I’m looking at a quote from you and its saying” I’m not trying to knock southern artists but I feel they haven’t really brought the people into the south and show them what we do, everybody’s talking about rims and partying.” What did you mean when you said that?
B: It’s more to it. Everybody talk about rims but there are certain things that we do that I feel nobody else does. Like I gotta song on my album called “Shawty” and shawty is a word that we say down here like it’s a noun, like look at shawty, shawty tripping’. So I gotta song on my album that’s using the word in everyway we use it, and nobody else do it. Shawty’s a big word down here like in new York they’ll say “What up son” or “kid.” In California they’ll say, “What’s up Cuz.”
AllHipHop.com: Atlanta is doing it real big right now, you have T.I. on one level, Luda on another level, Outkast and Lil Jon what is up with so many different sounds and styles out of one area. You can’t put a sound on it?
B: Well the south is not just Atlanta; it is a lot of different sounds, Texas, Florida, and Alabama. When you go to these different states they listen to different kinds of music like in Florida they listen to bass music its southern music its just bass music. If you go to Houston they like the screwed up music its still southern music its just what they like, its just so many different parts of the south you get so many different varieties of music that come from the music. So many backgrounds and different types of ways of expressing yourself. That’s why you get that different sound it also depends on what side of town you come from. T.I. is from the Westside and that’s like considered the hardest side of Georgia so it consists of a lot of drugs and stuff and I come from the eastside and it has that it just doesn’t have that much drugs and stuff we considered the rich side we get a lot of money. We’re all individuals and we try to make our own point. We together but we not, we’re together when it comes to shows but we’re not because of our different sounds and we like to portray our music in different ways. A lot of stuff that your seeing the Southern artists coming out with right now it started off the Big Oomp record label.
AllHipHop.com: I remember your album Off Da Chain.
B: Independently it was doing real well but then the bootleggers came and they messed up the whole situation. That was when the bootlegging first got popular. I got a big song on there called the ATL with me Pastor Troy and Archie. We been putting it down for the ATL.
AllHipHop.com: Is Hitman Sammy Sam still down with ya’ll?
B: Nah he down with Universal.
AllHipHop.com: Pastor Troy had a few words for him on his album?
B: Yeah they are feuding. I don’t know I try to stay out the middle of that, Pastor Troy he on my new album we always going to work together.
AllHipHop.com: Have you maintained the same formula as always because remember your album had the crazy rims and all that.
B: Yeah, I kept the same formula kept sticking with the same producers. They kept staying in our family because its been working for so long and I’ve been taught if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. Same people I worked with, Pastor Troy, Youngbloods, Ying Yang Twins, just keeping it simple and not putting too much stress on the project because sometimes ni**as overdue it.
AllHipHop.com: The money ya’ll made off of independent is it more than what you make now? Independent is good but mostly people say the majors is the way to go.
B: Well…when we were doing it we were successful but then like I said when the bootleggers came it messed up things. I remember independent money was the best money you sell 100,000 copies for $9.00 a piece that’s almost a million dollars going directly to your pocket, that’s not even gold or anything but its out your trunk. I don’t know who say major money is better, it is after you sell a lot of copies But the major is good for the exposure I’m not knocking it. It gives you the exposure you need to get out there.
AllHipHop.com: What do you think about the Internet?
B: It really helps us. Its like a person never heard of you and they curious they go look you up on the internet and download a couple of your songs to see if its what they want and they’ll go purchase the whole album. But it will hurt you if you a wack artist. It all depends on the artist.
AllHipHop.com: I heard Atlanta has beefs, like with T.I. and Luda. Do you get into that?
B: I have never had a rap beef. And if I did I never knew about it nobody came up to me and that just comes from speaking it real and being real with you. You know how some people forget where they come from. Some people look at us rappers like we unstoppable because they a fan, they don’t know we go through everyday problems like everybody.
AllHipHop.com: Can you sum up everything else you want to tell your fans?
B: “The Shining” February 6th go get it, Baby D, look out for the second single featuring Lil Flip and anything else with the Big Oomp logo on it go get it.