Young Buck

These days it's hard out here for a rapper. Being lyrical is not enough. You have to make up the complete package. You have to look the part, act the part, and be the part. The girls have to love you and the guys have to want to be you. You have to have that swagger, energy, attitude and talent all combined into the perfect package to make today's rap star. And that's exactly what Southern soldier Young Buck brings to the hip-hop world. It's been two years since Buck dropped his smash debut Straight Outta Cashville but the Tennessee titan has kept himself relevant with hit guest appearances and mixtapes galore. Now gearing up for his second album, the much anticipated and aptly titled Buck the World, Young Buck is more than prepared to show folks he's what they've all been waiting for. Young Buck was born David Brown 25 years ago in Nashville, TN. He grew up hard, living with his single mother, sister and cousins in Nashville, dubbed Cashville, Ten-A-Key. At 14 young David took to the streets of Cashville selling drugs to survive. At the same time he began a new hobby: rapping, which soon became a major focus in the young hustler's life. The Nashville hip-hop scene was just beginning to bubble and Buck wanted to be a part of it. By 1997 Buck caught the attention of the then growing and eventual powerhouse, Cash Money Records. The new-jack spent the next four years off-and-on with Cash Money before aligning with the label's biggest star, Juvenile, who had jumped shipped to build his own company, UTP Records. Buck joined UTP on the road and spent 2001 grinding cross-country. During a visit to New York City UTP recorded with Sha Money XL and 50 Cent, a local rapper who had created quite a buzz for himself and his G-Unit crew. Fif took a liking to the young buck and by 2002 Buck was signed to G-Unit/Interscope Records. Soon after G-Unit released the crew's double platinum Beg For Mercy album, which featured plenty of Buck's Southern twang and laid-back yet aggressive flow, helping make Cashville's finest an official hip-hop fixture. In 2004 Buck dropped the platinum-plus selling Straight Outta Cashville, a decade after he first picked up the mic. “I was blessed to get the success that I got on that album,” the rapper says. “It really was good material, but it wasn't the best Buck material.” Which brings Young Buck to his second effort. “Buck the World is a representation of the way I feel and it matches the identity of the records that fit my album and it's a promotion of my muthafuckin' self,” Buck explains. And Buck the World is loaded with bangers as can be seen with the first single, the Jazze Pha produced “I Know You Want Me.” Other guaranteed hits include “Hold On” with 50 Cent and “You ain't Going Nowhere” both produced by Dr. Dre. There's also “Four Kings” produced by Jazze Pha and featuring Young Jeezy, T.I. and Pimp C and “I ain't Fucking With You” with a Hi-Tek beat and verses from Snoop Dogg and Trick Daddy. Eminem joins the project with a record called “Murder, Murder.” Also appearing on the LP are artists Trey Songs, Lyfe, Bun B, 8Ball & MJG, the whole G-Unit family and 615, Buck's group made up of artists Lil' Murder, D-Tay, and Hi-C and named after the Nashville area code. “I got my own label Cashville Records and I'm bringing other artists in the game,” Buck explains. “50's 100 percent behind everything I'm doing.” Even though Buck hasn't released an album in the past two years he hasn't been bored. He's been busy plotting and planning. “I'm looking forward to having success with Buck the World, and from there I got movie scripts and everything on the line,” the MC says. “You got to grow as an artist. You got to reinvent yourself every time you come out. I don't believe in staying in the same space. I believe in getting better. At the end of the day, ain't too much change as far as life. I still wake up and smoke a blunt before I eat.” Spoken like a true rap star. YOUNG BUCK, CASHVILLE RECORDS IN THE BUILDIN'