The South has been a dominating presence in hip-hop from several necks of its woods and hoods. But the heartbeat of Birmingham, Alabama has yet to be heard. One fierce young rapper has made it his mission to put "The Ham" on the hip-hop map. His name is Lil Haze. Born and raised in the place to be, Lil Haze is about to prove that Birmingham is bangin' out club hits and positive messages as strong or stronger than what radio plays every hour on the hour. The 17 songs on his tellingly titled debut, DOIN' DA MOST (the inaugural release for Birmingham Records), reveals an artist capable of holding his own in styles ranging from Hummer anthems like the first single "Whut It Iz," to the current party single "Girls In Da Club;" to the strip club joint (the hypnotic erotica) of "No Drawls;" to a heartfelt statement aimed at children missing one or both parents, on "Haze Cares."
To give his techno funk debut DOIN' DA MOST the maximum lift off, Lil Haze worked with several producers. In Los Angeles, he got down with veterans Jimmy Varner, Jon Nettlesbey and newcomer Big Ken. In Atlanta, he worked with Hall of Tunez but he also made sure to represent "The Ham" by using his longtime friend and mentor Ole Tyma.
It was on a local program that Lil Haze experienced his first taste of recognition. "The first record I ever got played on the radio was "Drop Down" in 0-5," Haze says. "It was on the station's contest 'Beat Down' and was winnin' for two weeks straight. But on the last day of the battle, I lost to Bobby Valentino and Lil' Wayne's "Tell Me." Determined to come back even stronger, Haze continued honing his skills. He wound up in Atlanta and cut a few more jams, the hottest of which was "Whut It Iz," featuring the Ying Yang Twins - a group that understood the benefit of help from an established star when their song "Salt Shaker" was helmed by Lil Jon. Seeing the hungry Haze in need, they blessed his follow-up "Whut It Iz," which got Haze on the air beyond Birmingham as well as on video outlets. Next, Haze followed up with the explosive party song "Girls In Da Club," which got him airplay on XM satellite radio and even more terrestrial outlets from Florida to the Carolinas.
Coming of age in the Sheptown Projects, Haze is lucky to even have this chance at hip-hop domination at all. He watched his mother hold down three jobs to make ends meet for him and his sister. "We were home alone a lot with my grandmother or my aunt taking care of us," he states. "I was out there in these streets and got kicked out of city and county schools because my school record was bad." Fortunately, Haze had an uncle, who would look out for him in more ways than one. "My uncle insisted that I get a GED (General Education Degree)," Haze continues. "He paid for my books and I buckled down, home studied and earned my diploma. It took me a while to complete it but I did it."
As a child, Haze had always been drawn to music, even playing the snare drum early on in school. As he got older, Haze found himself drawn to rap. The first song I ever learned was Ice Cube's "Today Was a Good Day." Cube was one of my favorites because even though he was hard, he could be positive." Haze later took further inspiration from artists that include Common, Bob Marley, OutKast, KRS-1 and MC Shan. He's also not afraid to share his admiration for "The Fresh Prince," a.k.a. Will Smith. "Some people think I'm crazy when I say that, but even Ludacris took a line from his hit "Summertime" talkin' about drivin' 'two miles per hour so everybody sees you!' He's a very positive brother who was never afraid to be himself."
As Haze got deeper into music, he found an unlikely ally in his barber, Ole Tyma, a pioneering rapper from the Birmingham scene who had a regional hit with "We Got Them G's and We Got Them Trees." "Ole Tyma was a major inspiration to the game," Haze acknowledges, "and he put me under his wing." Haze tightened his skills further by opening for such acts as Playaz Circle and Lil Boosie. Now, Lil Haze is dropping DOIN' DA MOST on an unsuspecting world.
For starters, the clockwork creep of the title track opener "Doin' Da Most" isn't the typical brag track you might expect. "That song relates to my chance to unite all people, exterminate mental slavery and heal my community. I say, "do the research/rebuild the streets first." And on what is easily the CD's most poignant track, he sends a shout-out to troubled kids everywhere with the album closer, "Haze Cares." "I was inspired to write that for my little daughter to let her know that even though her mother and I aren't together, I don't regret nothing I ever did and we will both love her until the end. That song is for kids that don't have a mother or father. I want them to get motivation from it. If nobody else cares, Haze cares."
Messages duly shared, Haze proceeds to bring on the heat with several sexy club bangers, beginning with "Whut I'm About," "Swang," and brings his hardest edge to the street targeted, "Snap Shawty." At the other end of the spectrum is the humorous, "Bounce" (with the line "keep bouncin' like a child dat needs Ritalin").
A day in the life of Lil Haze truly is about DOIN' DA MOST - a day of consistent grinding when he isn't chillin' with family or exercising his other skill for training dogs (something his father taught him). "I'm constantly setting new goals and trying to reach them," he says. "I'm giving people the crossover music they like to party to. On most records everybody wanna kill each other or see some girl's booty meat. I've been critiquing my style, bettering my writing and learning the business. My main focus is giving back to my community. I'm just trying to show them a new way."
