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Atlanta-born and bred trap rapper Shawty Lo, aka Carlos Walker, did not reach national prominence with his street-hustling raps, but by ushering in the "snap dance" craze with the Billboard-topping "Laffy Taffy" as part of his four-man crew, D4L, in 2005. He co-founded both the group and, acting as CEO, the D4L Records label two years earlier with the intention of only working behind the scenes and never really contributing many verses to the group. D4L's debut single, "Betcha Can't Do It Like Me," was a big local hit in Georgia in 2004 and hinted at the group's potential crossover success. Before Shawty Lo saw any of that success, he was convicted on drug charges and had to serve a one-year prison sentence. By the time he was let out in July 2005, the "Laffy Taffy" song, which later would reach number one on the pop charts and break several digital and ringtone sales records, already had blown up. Moreover, D4L and their independent label earned a distribution deal with Atlantic via Asylum Records, who issued their Down for Life (2005) album debut nationwide. Gaining more confidence about his own rapping abilities, Shawty Lo took his solo feature on the Down for Life album, "I'm da Man," and released it locally as an independent single in 2006. After a pair of solo mixtapes with Atlanta's DJ Scream, Shawty Lo obtained his own record deal with Asylum in summer 2007 and delivered his debut album, Units in the City, the following year. The LP was preceded by the hip-hop/R&B chart-climbing single "Dey Know." ~ Cyril Cordor Follow @THATSSHAWTYLO on twitter! instagram.com/shawtylo_kob facebook.com/thatsshawtylo

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Transferring the reflective style of rappers like Drake to the genre of gangsta rap, Louisiana-based MC Kevin Gates spent five-plus years on the mixtape circuit before climbing into the Top 40 of the Billboard 200 album chart with his 2013 release, Stranger Than Fiction. Born and raised in Baton Rouge, Gates made his mixtape debut in 2007 with Pick of da Litter. Mixtapes with titles like All In and I Don't Know What to Call It, Vol. 1 appeared over the next few years, but in 2013 he dropped the popular The Luca Brasi Story mixtape and things changed quickly. After appearing on high-profile mixtapes from Pusha T and Gudda Gudda, Gates signed a contract with major-label Atlantic. He completed his contract with the indie imprint Breadwinners Association by releasing Stranger Than Fiction that same year. The album featured guest spots from Wiz Khalifa, Juicy J, and Starlito, and debuted at number 37 on the Billboard 200 chart. Plies, 2 Chainz, and Doe B helped deliver his 2014, Atlantic-released mixtape By Any Means, and the next year saw the single "Kno One" preview his 2016 LP, Islah. ~ David Jeffries Follow @iamkevingates on twitter! kvngates.com/tour http://www.officialbwa.com