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One of the most thuggish rappers ever embraced by the mainstream, Trick Daddy broke out of the
South in 2001 with "I'm a Thug" and established himself as an unlikely national superstar. Before his breakthrough, he scored
a few regional hits here and there but remained largely an underground rapper. In particular, he became known for his club
anthems, which were characterized by their rousing beats and his rowdy lyrics. "Nann Nigga" and "Shut Up" became his best-known
early successes, each featuring a feisty young rapper named Trina, who would go on to her own success in subsequent years.
When Trick Daddy finally did break into the mainstream in 2001 with the appropriately titled "I'm a Thug," it came as somewhat
of a surprise. No one questioned his talent, but his image hardly matched that of other mainstream rappers. He certainly lived
up to his thug billing, known as much for his rapping as his trademark omnipresent grimace, bald head, prickly whiskers, forearm
tattoos, and gold grill. Nevertheless, thug or not, Trick Daddy became a national superstar, earning substantial mainstream
airplay and climbing atop the Billboard charts.
Born Maurice Young in Miami, FL, the rapper originally known as Trick Daddy Dollars earned his stripes in 1996 as one of
the lead rappers on Luke's "Scarred," the leadoff track from the former 2 Live Crew leader's Uncle Luke album. The song became
a sizable hit among the booty crowd, and listeners were drawn to the remarkably fluid and quick flow of Trick Daddy Dollars.
Among those drawn to him was Ted Lucas, a former concert promoter who signed the rapper to his newly formed Slip-n-Slide Records.
The debut Trick Daddy Dollars album, Based on a True Story, came soon after, released in late 1997. The album sold well for
an independent release, driven by some regional hits, but didn't impress too many people outside of the Miami area.
A year later everything changed with the release of www.thug.com (1998). Trick Daddy dropped the "Dollars" from his name
and scored himself a breakout hit with "Nann Nigga," a club-banger that pitted him against a female nemesis, the then-unknown
Trina. The hit spread throughout the South and even trickled out into the Midwest and Southwest, so much so that Atlantic
Records took interest and signed Trick Daddy to a record deal. The first Atlantic release, Book of Thugs: Chapter AK Verse
47 (2000), fulfilled its promise, setting the stage for the rappers eventual commercial breakthrough. Driven by "Shut Up,"
a rowdy club hit similar to "Nann Nigga" and again featuring Trina, Book of Thugs extended Trick Daddy's reputation from coast
to coast and established him as one of the Dirty South's more promising talents.
The big payoff came a year later with the release of Thugs Are Us (2001), the album that catapulted Trick Daddy alongside
Ludacris and Mystikal as one of the few nationally championed Dirty South rappers; and it similarly catapulted him onto the
play list of every urban radio station in America, not to mention MTV. In particular, the album boasted "I'm a Thug," Trick
Daddy's biggest hit yet; and, more importantly, his most accessible. Despite his tattoos, gold grill, and overall thuggish
aura, Trick Daddy earned mainstream airplay and climbed the Billboard charts. A year later he did so again with his fifth
album in six years, Thug Holiday (2002), and its lead single, "In da Wind," perhaps Trick Daddy's most inventive work yet.
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