Disturbing Tha Peace’s most recent acquisition, Lil’ Scrappy, is ready to unveil a side of his artistry that has only been witnessed by a few so far in his career.
The rapper, originally introduced to the world as ‘The Prince of Crunk,’ held a listening session in Atlanta Tuesday night (October 27), offering DJs and the media a preview of his forthcoming sophomore album and DTP debut The Grustle, due in stores December 15.
“It’s always good when an artist knows the direction they wanna go with a project,” DTP’s CEO Chaka Zulu told AllHipHop.com. “Scrappy came in with a focus and a work ethic, which helped materialize this project called The Grustle: his grind and his hustle. The album is the s**t! Go get it!”
Before presenting the album, Scrappy promised that the album presents a more mature artist.
What the music would reveal is also a much more diverse body of work than most might expect, a fact largely attributed to the fact that this is Scrappy’s first release, since quietly leaving Lil Jon’s imprint BME Recordings last year.
“I never did me,” Scrappy explained to AllHipHop.com. “Everytime y’all heard me, that was somebody telling me to do that. ‘You gotta be crunk, ‘cause you’re the Prince of Crunk.’ And once you put that out there, that’s who you gotta be. But n***as grow up.”
While refusing to address his former mentor by name, Scrappy reveals what he has been through in the last year and the circumstances that lead to his break from the BME camp on “I’m Coming.”
From there he continues on a musical journey that runs the gamut from the braggadocios “Expensive;” to the soulful Don Cannon-produced “Ya Dig,” featuring former Warner Brothers Records labelmate Ms. Brown; to the introspective “Thug It to the Bone,” featuring Trey Songz.
“That’s the most lyrical spiritual, real, heart touching [song] and people can feel that,” Scrappy told AllHipHop.com. “What people can’t feel, they don’t remember. Dance songs, crunk songs, all that s**t good. But when it come to songs that’ll be around forever, that’ll get you that publishing check forever, those are the ones that go. I don’t give a f**k about that club s**t for real. Thug It to the Bone is one of those you can make a movie off just what I’m saying in all the verses…”
Additional features on The Grustle include Gucci Mane, Maino, Diamond (formerly of Crime Mob), and even Scrappy’s daughter Emani, who provides the hook on “Big Boy Talking,” produced by Don Vito.
Also lending to the album’s cohesive sound is Scrappy’s selection of mostly Atlanta based producers, including LT Moe and DJ Montay.