Micah LeVar "Pastor" Troy (born November 18, 1977) is an American rapper from
Augusta, Georgia
Augusta is a city on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies directly across the Savannah River from North Augusta, South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Augusta, the third mos ...
. He is best known for his 2002 single "Are We Cuttin'" (featuring
Ms. Jade), which entered the
''Billboard'' Hot 100. The year prior, he signed with
Universal Records
Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...
to release his fourth album and
major label debut, ''
Face Off'' (2001), which entered the
''Billboard'' 200. "Are We Cuttin'" spawned from his sixth album, ''
Universal Soldier'' (2002), which peaked at number 13 on the chart. His seventh, ''
By Any Means Necessary'' (2004), served as his final release with the label.
Along with his solo career, he was the lead member of the Southern hip hop group D.S.G.B. (Down South Georgia Boyz).
Early life
Micah LeVar Troy was born on November 18, 1977, in
College Park, Georgia. His father, Alfred Troy, is a former
drill instructor turned
pastor
A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...
.
Troy graduated from
Creekside High School and attended
Paine College in Augusta, Georgia, before deciding to fully pursue his career in rap. His rap name comes from his last name and his father's profession as a pastor, and is also a pun on the name Castor Troy, a character from
John Woo's 1997 film ''
Face/Off'', played by
Nicolas Cage and
John Travolta
John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He began acting in television before transitioning into a leading man in films. List of awards and nominations received by John Travolta, His accolades include a Primetime Em ...
. His fourth album is titled ''
Face Off'' in reference to the movie.
Career
He released his first album, ''We Ready (I Declare War)'', in 1999. To generate attention and buzz, he attacked record producer
Master P
Percy Robert Miller (born April 29, 1967), better known by his stage name Master P, is an American rapper, record producer, record executive, dancer, actor and entrepreneur. He founded the record label No Limit Records in 1991, which was relau ...
verbally on the song "No Mo Play in G. A."
Fellow Georgia-based rapper
Ludacris enlisted Troy to appear on his
Jermaine Dupri
Jermaine Dupri Mauldin (born September 23, 1972) is an American rapper and record producer. Raised in Atlanta, Georgia as the son of Columbia Records executive Michael Mauldin, he began his career in music at the age of nine. He discovered th ...
-produced song "Get Off Me", from the former's
Def Jam Recordings debut, ''
Back for the First Time''. Troy also formed the
Augusta, Georgia
Augusta is a city on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies directly across the Savannah River from North Augusta, South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Augusta, the third mos ...
-based hip hop group D.S.G.B. (Down South Georgia Boyz) during this time, for which he served as frontman. He guest appeared on
Lil Jon
Jonathan H. Smith (born January 17, 1971), better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, DJ, and record producer. Regarded as a progenitor of the club-oriented hip-hop subgenre crunk, his production and voice presence were inst ...
& the Eastside Boyz' song "Throw It Up", from their collaborative album ''
Kings of Crunk'' (2002). In 2002, Troy's album ''
Universal Soldier'' became popular in the
South; it spawned the single "Are We Cuttin'" featuring
Ms. Jade, which was also featured on the soundtrack for the action film ''
xXx'', released that year. The album debuted at number 13 on the
''Billboard'' 200. In 2003, Troy appeared on
Young Jeezy's 2003 album ''
Come Shop wit' Me'' on the track titled "GA".
Troy released ''
By Any Means Necessary'' in 2004. Following this album, Troy was released from his Universal contract due to creative disputes.
He then released ''
Face Off, Part II'', which addressed some issues with Lil Scrappy and BME. In 2005, he appeared with
Killer Mike on
Chamillionaire's track "Southern Takeover" off of ''
The Sound of Revenge.''
He released three albums in 2006, starting with ''
Stay Tru'', followed by ''By Choice or By Force'' and ''
Atlanta 2 Memphis'', the latter on which in collaboration with
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...
, rapper
Criminal Manne. ''Stay Tru'' entered the ''Billboard'' 200 at number 150, selling 6,000 copies its first week.
Troy released his sixteenth solo album, ''Ready for War'', in June 2009, and released seven follow-up studio albums until 2011. In 2012, he released ''The Last OutLaw'', and in 2013, he released ''The Streets Need You''. In 2014, he released the mixtape ''Crown Royal Part 4'', as well as the album ''Welcome to the Rap Game'', while he released the sixth installment of his ''Crown Royal'' mixtape series in 2015, along with ''WAR (We Are Ready) in Atlanta'', which featured
Paul Wall
Paul Michael Slayton (born March 11, 1981), better known by his stage name Paul Wall, or the Ice Man, is an American rapper and DJ. He has spent much of his career affiliated with Swishahouse, and has released several albums under the label and ...
and
Bun B.
In 2017, Troy announced his retirement, and released his last album ''O.G.P.T'' in July of that year. He also announced he was in the process of completing his second film, titled ''Down 2 Come Up'', which he wrote, directed, and starred in, which was slated for released on March 17, 2020. Despite announcing his retirement, his career continued with the release of two albums: ''Clubber Lang'' (2018) and ''Enemy of the State'' (2019).
Personal life
In January 2020, Pastor Troy made
homophobic comments on the outfit
Lil Nas X wore during the
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
s. In a subsequent interview, Pastor Troy said he was not being homophobic but then claimed that "being gay isn't right" and made several other homophobic comments.
Awards
On April 5, 2016, Pastor Troy received the Legends of ATL Award from
BMI for his contributions to music in Atlanta.
Discography
Studio albums
Collaborations
With D.S.G.B.
Other collaborations
Mixtapes, compilations and remix albums
Singles
Collaboration singles
Production credits
Pastor Troy
*''
Book I (by Pastor Troy & The Congregation):''
"Havin' A Bad Day"
*''
Face Off:''
"This Tha City"
"My Niggaz Is The Grind"
"Move To Mars"
"Throw Your Flags Up"
"No Mo Play In GA"
"Eternal Yard Dash"
with Big Toombs
"Oh Father"
*''
Universal Soldier''
"Universal Soldier"
"Bless America"
*''
Face Off (Part II):''
"WWW (Who, Want, War)"
"Where Them Niggaz At"
"Respect Game"
*''
Tool Muziq:''
"I'm Down"
D.S.G.B.
*''The Last Supper:''
"We Dem Georgia Boyz"
"My Folks"
"Brang Ya Army"
"Above The Law II"
"Southside"
"Repent"
*''Til Death Do Us Part:''
"I'm Outside Ho"
"Sittin' On Thangs"
with Taj Mahal
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Troy, Pastor
1977 births
Living people
African-American crunk musicians
American crunk musicians
African-American male rappers
20th-century American male rappers
African-American record producers
American hip-hop record producers
American rappers of Haitian descent
Paine College alumni
Musicians from Augusta, Georgia
Prophet Entertainment
Southern hip-hop musicians
Gangsta rappers
Hardcore hip-hop artists
21st-century American rappers
21st-century American male musicians
21st-century African-American musicians
20th-century African-American musicians