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 "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and t ...

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 By any means necessary is an English phrase, or a translation of a French phrase that has been attributed to at least three famous sources. The earliest of these three sources is French leftist intellectual Jean-Paul Sartre in his 1948 play '' Di ...

'' (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 College Park is a city in Fulton County, Georgia, Fulton and Clayton County, Georgia, Clayton counties, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States, adjacent to the southern boundary of the city of Atlanta. As of the 2020 United States census, ...

. His father, Alfred Troy, is a former

drill instructor A drill instructor is a non-commissioned officer in the armed forces, fire department, or police forces with specific duties that vary by country. Foot drill, military step, and marching are typically taught by drill instructors. Australia Aust ...

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 Paine College is a private, historically black Methodist college in Augusta, Georgia. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. Paine College offers undergraduate degrees in the liberal arts, ...

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 John Woo Yu-sen ( zh, t= ; born 22 September 1946) is a Hongkongers, Hong Kong film director known as a highly influential figure in the action film genre. The recipient of various accolades, including a Hong Kong Film Awards, Hong Kong Film Award ...

's 1997 film ''

Face/Off ''Face/Off'' is a 1997 American science fiction action film directed by John Woo, from a screenplay by Mike Werb and Michael Colleary. It stars John Travolta as an FBI agent and Nicolas Cage as a terrorist, who undergo an experimental surg ...

'', played by

Nicolas Cage Nicolas Kim Coppola (born January 7, 1964), known professionally as Nicolas Cage, is an American actor and film producer. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Nicolas Cage, various accolades, including an Academy A ...

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 Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), known professionally as Ludacris (, spoken as "ludicrous" in American English), is an American rapper and songwriter. Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludacris moved to Atlanta, Georgia, at age ...

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 Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The l ...

debut, '' Back for the First Time''. Troy also formed the

-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 ''Kings of Crunk'' is the fourth studio album by American Southern hip hop group Lil' Jon & the East Side Boyz. It was released in October 2002 through BME Recordings/TVT Records. There are conflicting reports about the album's release date, wit ...

'' (2002). In 2002, Troy's album '' Universal Soldier'' became popular in the

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

; it spawned the single "Are We Cuttin'" featuring Ms. Jade, which was also featured on the soundtrack for the action film ''

xXx XXX may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''XXX'' (film series), American action film series ** ''XXX'' (2002 film), an action film starring Vin Diesel ** '' XXX: State of the Union'', 2005 ** '' XXX: Return of Xander Cage' ...

'', released that year. The album debuted at number 13 on the ''Billboard'' 200. In 2003, Troy appeared on

Young Jeezy Jay Wayne Jenkins (born September 28, 1977), known by his stage name Jeezy (or Young Jeezy), is an American rapper. He is credited, alongside fellow Georgia-based rappers T.I. and Gucci Mane, with pioneering the hip hop subgenre trap music fo ...

's 2003 album '' Come Shop wit' Me'' on the track titled "GA". Troy released ''

'' 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 Michael Santiago Render (born April 20, 1975), better known by his stage name Killer Mike, is an American rapper, singer and activist. He made his recording debut on Outkast's fourth album ''Stankonia'' (2000), and guest appeared on the duo's Gr ...

Chamillionaire Hakeem Temidayo Seriki (born November 28, 1979), better known by his stage name Chamillionaire (), is an American rapper. He began his career in Houston's hip hop scene in the late 1990s. He was briefly signed with the local record label Swishah ...

's track "Southern Takeover" off of ''

The Sound of Revenge ''The Sound of Revenge'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Chamillionaire. It was released on November 22, 2005, by Chamillitary Entertainment and Universal Records. The album features guest appearances from Lil' Flip, Lil Wayne, Ras ...

.'' 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 Vanda L. Watkins (born August 7, 1976), known professionally as Criminal Manne, is an American rapper and actor from Tennessee. He is a former member of the Memphis-based hip hop trio the Project Playaz. As a solo artist, his second album, ''Str ...

. ''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 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 ...

. 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 Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...

comments on the outfit

Lil Nas X Montero Lamar Hill (born April 9, 1999), better known by his stage name Lil Nas X ( ), is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He rose to prominence with the release of his 2018 country rap single "Old Town Road," the longest-running nu ...

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 ''Book I'' is an album by Pastor Troy and The Congregation, released in 2000. Critical reception AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more th ...

(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