Webster Gradney Jr. (born September 6, 1985) who performs under the

mononym A mononym is a name composed of only one word. An individual who is known and addressed by a mononym is a mononymous person. A mononym may be the person's only name, given to them at birth. This was routine in most ancient societies, and remains ...

Webbie, is an American rapper. He has been signed to the independent

Trill Entertainment Torence Ivy Hatch Jr. (born November 14, 1982), better known by his stage name Boosie BadAzz or simply Boosie (formerly Lil' Boosie), is an American rapper. Hatch began rapping in the 1990s as a member of the Southern hip hop collective Concentr ...

label since 2003. In 2005 he came into the hip hop scene with "Gimme That" featuring

Bun B Bernard James Freeman (born March 19, 1973), known professionally as Bun B, is an American rapper. He is best known as one half of the Southern rap duo UGK (Underground Kingz), a group he formed in 1987 alongside Pimp C. Aside from his work wi ...

. His songs "Bad Bitch" and "Swerve" were featured on ''

Gangsta Musik ''Gangsta Musik'' is the second collaboration album from the duo Lil Boosie and Webbie. The album had well-known hits such as "Swerve" (which would be later used on the film ''Hustle & Flow'') and " Give Me That" (featuring Bun B Bernard Jame ...

'', his 2003 group album with Lil Boosie, and in the 2005 movie ''

Hustle & Flow ''Hustle & Flow'' is a 2005 American drama film written and directed by Craig Brewer. The film stars Terrence Howard as a Memphis hustler and pimp who dreams of becoming a rapper. The ensemble cast includes Anthony Anderson, Taryn Manning, Ta ...

''. Webbie's second album, ''

Savage Life 2 ''Savage Life 2'' is the second studio album by American rapper Webbie. The album was released on February 26, 2008, by Trill Entertainment, Asylum Records, and Atlantic Records. The album debuted at number four on the US ''Billboard'' 200 with ...

'', was released in early 2008 with the hit single "

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

" featuring

Lil Boosie Torence Ivy Hatch Jr. (born November 14, 1982), better known by his stage name Boosie BadAzz or simply Boosie (formerly Lil' Boosie), is an American rapper. Hatch began rapping in the 1990s as a member of the Southern hip hop collective Concentr ...

and

Lil Phat "Independent" is the first single by Webbie from his second album '' Savage Life 2''. It features Lil Phat and Lil Boosie and a sample of Webbie's "Bad Bitch" in the chorus. Rapper Macklemore would later sample "Independent" on his #1 hit, "Can' ...

Early life

Webbie was born on September 6, 1985, in

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

. His mother died when he was nine years old, and his parental care was split between his father and grandmother. Ever since he was five years old, he had been writing rhymes, and throughout his childhood he had become a fan of

hardcore rap Hardcore hip-hop (also known as hardcore rap) is a subgenre of hip hop music that developed through the East Coast hip hop scene in the 1980s. Pioneered by such artists as Run-DMC, Schoolly D, Boogie Down Productions and Public Enemy, it is ...

artists including Southern hip hop performers

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 ...

8ball & MJG 8Ball & MJG is an American hip hop music, hip hop duo from Orange Mound, Memphis, Orange Mound, Memphis, Tennessee. They met at Ridgeway Middle School (Memphis, Tennessee), Ridgeway Middle School in 1984. In 1993, the duo released their debut al ...

Geto Boys Geto Boys (originally spelled Ghetto Boys) were an American hip hop group originally formed in Houston, Texas. They saw commercial success in the 1990s with the lineup consisting of Bushwick Bill, Scarface and Willie D. The group became best ...

UGK UGK (short for Underground Kingz) was an American hip-hop duo from Port Arthur, Texas, formed in 1987, by Mitchell "Big Mitch" Queen who would eventually leave the group to pursue a football career and Chad "Pimp C" Butler with Bernard "Bun B" ...

, along with DjTrillReed (Second Cousin).

Music career

Webbie first appeared on Lil Boosie's album ''For My Thugz ''on the track "Gotta Get It" in 2001. He and

released '' Ghetto Stories'' in 2003 and ''

'' in 2004. As Webbie's solo track "

Give Me That Give Me That may refer to: * ''Give Me That'' (EP), a 2024 EP by WayV, or the song of the same name * "Give Me That" (song), a 2005 song by Webbie * "Give Me That", a 2020 song by Erica Banks {{disambiguation ...

" featuring

was frequently featured in mixtapes, as a label

was growing in popularity & was signed for a distribution deal at

Asylum Records Asylum Records is an American record label, founded in 1971 by David Geffen and partner Elliot Roberts. It was taken over by Warner Communications (now the Warner Music Group) in 1972, and later merged with Elektra Records to become Elektra/As ...

along with (Webbie). After he was signed there, his major-label debut ''

Savage Life ''Savage Life'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Webbie. It was released on July 5, 2005, by Trill Entertainment, Asylum Records, and Atlantic Records. The album lead single, " Give Me That" became a certified as gold by the Recordin ...

'' was released in 2005, debuting at number eight on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart. Trill began a deal to sign Webbie to the subsidiary label

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

& was successful. Singles from his next album, ''

'', include "

" featuring Boosie and

. As of 2020, it is Webbie's most successful song to date, peaking at number nine on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and reaching the top of the

Rap Songs Hot Rap Songs (formerly known as Hot Rap Tracks and Hot Rap Singles) is a chart released weekly by ''Billboard'' in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio statio ...

chart. Webbie released his third studio album ''

Savage Life 3 ''Savage Life 3 '' is the third studio album by American rapper Webbie Webster Gradney Jr. (born September 6, 1985) who performs under the mononym Webbie, is an American rapper. He has been signed to the independent Trill Entertainment lab ...

'' on November 15, 2011, under Trill Ent. The first single from the album was "What's Happenin'". The album has currently sold over 50,000 copies. Webbie's fourth album ''Savage Life 4'' is the fourth in the ''Savage Life'' album series. The first single from the album "What I Do" was released on April 16, 2013. The album was released on November 19, 2013.

Acting career

He has made an independent biographical movie, '' Ghetto Stories'' in October 2010, with Lil Boosie, based on their lives and lyrical themes. He also appeared in the 2011 film ''Video Girl'', which featured actress

Meagan Good Meagan Monique Good (born August 8, 1981) is an American actress and model. She first gained critical attention for her role in the film '' Eve's Bayou'' (1997) prior to landing the role of Nina in the Nickelodeon sitcom '' Cousin Skeeter'' (199 ...

Controversies

On the October 14, 2011, episode of BET's ''

106 & Park ''106 & Park'' is an American hip hop and R&B music video show, set up in a countdown format, that was broadcast on weekdays at 6:00 pm ET/5:00 pm CT on BET; it aired on a one-day delay on BET International. It was the network's highest- rated ...

'', Webbie was banned from further appearances on the countdown show. Webbie appeared that day on the show as a guest judge for Freestyle Friday. The reason behind his ban was tied to allegations that he made sexually inappropriate comments to the show's hostess, Rocsi. On September 13, 2012, Webbie was arrested in Baton Rouge on suspicion of robbery and battery. He was accused of kicking and pushing a woman down the stairs before stealing $340 from her purse.

Discography

;Studio albums * ''

'' (2005) * ''

'' (2008) * ''

'' (2011) * '' Savage Life 4'' (2013) * ''Savage Life 5'' (2016) * ''Savage Life 6'' (2020) ;Collaboration albums *2003: '' Ghetto Stories'' (with

) *2004: ''

'' (with

) *2007: '' Trill Entertainment Presents: Survival of the Fittest'' (with

Foxx Foxx is a surname. People with the surname Notable people with the surname include: * Foxx (rapper) (born 1984), American rapper * Anthony Foxx (born 1971), American politician * Dion Foxx (born 1971), American football player * Inez and Charl ...

and Trill Fam) *2010: '' Trill Entertainment Presents: All or Nothing'' (with

and Trill Fam) *2016: ''Trill Entertainment Presents: Trill Fam – Respect Is a Must'' (with Trill Fam)

Filmography

;Films * ''Gangsta Musik'' (2005) * ''On The Grind'' (2006) * '' Ghetto Stories: The Movie'' (2010) * ''Video Girl'' (2011) * ''I Got the Hook up 2'' (2019)

References

External links

Official TwitterTrill Ent.Profile
at ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' {{Authority control 1985 births Living people Rappers from Louisiana African-American male rappers 20th-century American male rappers Southern hip-hop musicians Gangsta rappers Musicians from Baton Rouge, Louisiana RBC Records artists 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American musicians