

The sound was synthy, the voice shrill, the material rough. in 1982, the artist formerly known as Lil Boosie got his first boost from UGK’s Pimp C in the early 2000s, leading to a series of albums and mixtapes-try 2006’s Bad Azz or 2009’s SuperBad-that cemented a reputation.

Like Gucci Mane in Georgia or Scarface in Texas, Boosie-born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana-isn’t just an MC, but a kind of folk hero, the eternal outsider whose career represents the idea that real success isn’t conferred by the outside, but written from within.īorn Torrence Hatch Jr. But where a lot of regional rappers of his generation seemed torn between local love and mainstream appeal, Boosie has always been unapologetically himself, forgoing radio singles and crossover features for a hardcore sound indifferent to the winds of style or trend. Not like he hasn’t been successful-he has. One of the great narratives of ’90s rap was the steady migration of Southern artists toward the national stage.
