There is no question that hip-hop reigns supreme in the Southern-most region of the U.S, however when most people think of Southern rap, artists representing Atlanta, Houston, Miami and Memphis come to mind. Alabama, a.k.a. the "Heart of Dixie," is more often associated with its role in the U.S. Civil War and the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and '60s – not as a hot spot for hip-hop. Much has changed since then, and hip-hop has definitely taken hold of the "Cotton State" – busting onto the scene with the arrival of Mobile, Alabama's Rich Boy – and now with debut from the crew out Huntsville, PRGz aka Paper Route Gangstaz.
It's been a longtime coming for this hip-hop quartet comprised of Paper Route Recordz CEO Dawgy Baggz along with Mata The Dread Man, Jhi-Ali and Gunt, who have been stirring up a buzz in the underground scene for over 12 years. "We started off as a bunch of solo artists and groups who often collaborated with each other on songs and compilations, until we found a formula that worked which was the beginning of the PRGz," states Dawgy Baggz. "And luckily we happen to have a few tracks that caught the attention of some folks."
It has been a lengthy grind for the PRGz, having formerly been a part of a larger collective known as Slow Motion Sounds in the early 2000s. After Slow Motion Sounds garnered a buzz in Huntsville with their song, "I'm A Hustla," the momentum carried Slow Motion to record a track with upcoming superstar T.I., called "Lacs & Prices" which also featured SMS artists J-Sib, Big P.O.P.E. and Mr. Marcellous and the beginning of the extraordinaire Block Beattaz production company. In 2001 "Lacs & Prices" became a regional underground smash, also gaining attention on BET's late night Uncut TV Show. "We were already known around the city for putting it down," says Mata, "but when we did "Lacs & Prices," that pretty much solidified us [Alabama]."
Now 8 years, several crew reformations, a slew of mixtapes and street albums later, the Paper Route Gangstaz are ready to take their successes and lessons learned to a national stage with the release of their debut "Rocket Fuel EP". If you think the PRGz are your average, run-of-the-mill Southern-based hip-hop group, think again. Not only does their abundance of flows, choice of style and profile will instantly grab your attention, but the group's superior production quality will make fans out of grill sporters and hipsters alike. The highly acclaimed mixtape where the PRGz teamed up with Diplo & Benzi with standout tracks such as "Stuntastic (Ft. Blaqstarr & Jhi-Ali), "Bama Gettin' Money" (Ft. Kristmas, Mali Boi & Big P.O.P.E.) produced by famed Philadelphia DJ Diplo. On the surface PRGz and Diplo may seem like a strange marriage, but when their respective managers brought them together (Dan Weisman and Kevin Kusatsu),they soon found they had a lot more in common than originally thought. "Actually Diplo reached out to us first," recalls Dawgy Baggz. "He was born in Mississippi, so he has Southern roots. At first I was leery about the collaboration, but it all came together perfectly. Diplo complements our sound very nicely."
Other must listens include "Woodgrain", "Soul Glo", "Grind Baby" and Rocket Fuel EP lead single "Keyshia Cole" produced by Ben Frank, responsible for the production on Yung LA hit track "Ain't I". The "Fear And Loathing In HuntsVegas" project also features appearances from Wale, Blaqstarr, Untamed, G-Side, Money Addict, Big P.O.P.E. & Pluck which is sure to grab the industry's attention.
On May 27th, 2010 PRGz teamed up with DJBooth.net and TrapsNTrunks.com to release the 17 track "Hood Headlinaz 2: Still Headlinin" mixtape, almost forgot to mention its free to download just visit DJBooth.net or TrapsNTrunks.com to get this classic mixtape. Featuring artists such as: ST 2 Lettaz of G-Side, Big P.O.P.E., Mali Boi, Money Addict, Pluck, King Kuma, Nicky2States & Chester French with production from Block Beattaz, Fresh Prodeuce, Kash Kartel, Zaytoven, Benzi, Ben Frank and Million Billion Dollar Beats.
As of June 8th, 2010 the PRGz released their debut EP "Rocket Fuel" featuring 6 fresh tracks for a special price of $4.99 available only on iTunes. While the EP precedes the group's full-length album due out later this year, the Paper Route Gangstaz are steadily making fans one region at a time. "This ain't just regional music," states Mata. "We make music for all people whether you're in London or Brazil. We feel that we have a worldwide sound. We're about having fun and living life. That's what everyone is trying to do and that's the type of music they want to hear."
Paper Route Gangstaz Keyshia Cole
Manager
Daniel Weisman
Elitaste
boss@elitaste.com
![Mr. Windowz: Paper Route [Official Video]](https://img.youtube.com/vi/7yNoVOu90pQ/hqdefault.jpg)
