Webster Gradney, Jr. (born September 6, 1985), who performs under the mononym Webbie, is an American rapper from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He was signed to the independent Trill Entertainment label from 2003 to 2005.^[1] In 2005 he came into the hip hop scene with "Gimme That" featuring Bun B. His songs "Bad Bitch" and "Swerve" were featured on Gangsta Musik, his 2003 group album with Lil Boosie, and in the 2005 movie Hustle & Flow. Webbie's second album, Savage Life 2, was released in the fall 2008 with the hit single "Independent" featuring Lil Boosie and Lil Phat.

Early life[link]

Webbie was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.^[1] His mother died when he was nine years old, so his parental care was split between his father and grandmother.^[2] Ever since he was five years old, he had been writing rhymes, and throughout his childhood he had become an avid fan of hardcore rap artists including Southern hip hop performers Master P, Eightball & MJG, the Geto Boys, and UGK, as well as West Coast rap such as 2Pac, Eazy-E, and Snoop Dogg.^[2] Allthough his grades were poor through out school his math teacher said he did decent during math class.

Music career[link]

He began his career with Baton Rouge superstar Lil Boosie, being featured in Ghetto Stories in 2003 and Gangsta Muzik in 2004. As Webbie's solo track "Give Me That" featuring Bun B was frequently featured in mixtapes, Trill began a deal to sign Webbie to the Warner Bros. Records subsidiary label Atlantic Records. He was signed there, and his major-label debut Savage Life was released in 2005,^[1] debuting at number eight on the Billboard 200 chart.^[3] Singles from his next album, Savage Life 2, include "Independent" featuring Boosie and Lil Phat. It is Webbie's most successful song to date, peaking at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reaching the top of the Rap Songs chart. Webbie released his latest album Savage Life 3 on November 15, 2011 under Universal Records.

Acting career[link]

He has released an independent biography movie called Ghetto Stories: The Movie, released in October 2010, with Lil Boosie, based on their lives and lyrical themes.^[4]

106 & Park Controversy[link]

On the October 14, 2011 episode of BET’s 106 & Park, Webbie was banned from further appearances on the countdown show. Webbie appeared on the Oct 14th, 2011 show as a guest judge for Freestyle Friday. The reason behind his ban was tied to allegations that he made sexually inappropriate comments to the show's hostess, Rocsi. ^[5]

Discography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Twitter
• Trill Ent.
• Webbie at MySpace
• Profile at Rolling Stone

Torrence Hatch (born November 14, 1982), better known by his stage name Lil Boosie, is an American rapper from Baton Rouge, Louisiana.^[1] Hatch was bestowed the nickname Boosie by his family, and he was raised in southside Baton Rouge. He is currently serving time in the Louisiana State Penitentiary (Angola); Hatch was sentenced to eight years after pleading guilty to drug charges.

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

Hatch grew up in a poor neighborhood of Baton Rouge, and his father was absent from his childhood. He played basketball while attending high school but was expelled for drugs, so Hatch decided to become a rapper. He worked with rapper C-Loc and his group Concentration Camp and made his debut on C-Loc's fifth album, It's a Gamble in 2000 as his old alias Boosie. Shortly afterwards, Hatch joined growing record label Trill Entertainment which was backed by its CEO the late Pimp C of UGK. Soon after, Trill independently released his debut album For My Thugz as his new alias Lil Boosie in 2003.^[1] Later, Boosie teamed with label mate Webbie, on their collaboration albums Ghetto Stories and Gangsta Musik.

[edit] 2006-2008: Bad Azz & Survival of the Fittest

In 2006 Boosie's major label debut album Bad Azz, was released.^[1] It contained the single "Zoom" featuring Yung Joc. In 2007, Boosie & Webbie was on the remix of "Wipe Me Down" by rapper Foxx. It was put on the Trill Entertainment Compilation album Survival of the Fittest which was released in 2007, it also blew Boosie's career up as well. In 2008 Boosie was featured on the singles "Independent" by Webbie and was among several rappers to be featured on "Out Here Grindin" by DJ Khaled.

[edit] 2009: Superbad & Bad Azz Entertainment

In 2009 Lil Boosie released his second major album Superbad: The Return of Boosie Bad Azz. The first single from the album, "Better Believe It", featured Webbie and Young Jeezy. There were promotional music videos from the album such as "I'm a Dog" & "Loose as a Goose". Also in 2009 Lil Boosie had presented his debut label Bad Azz Entertainment.

[edit] 2010: Incarcerated album

As of 2010 Lil Boosie has announced while he is still in prison on charges of murder and conspiracy, and potentially facing the death penalty, he wants to move forward with his rap career. Boosie released his fourth studio album Incarcerated on Sept. 28 on Asylum Records. According to MTV News, the project is almost entirely produced by B.J., although Mouse on Tha Track did some work on it as well. Webbie, Foxx and Lil Trill are among the featured guests.^[2]

Personal life[link]

Lil Boosie is married to Walnita Decuir-Hatch. The couple has three children: Torrence Hatch, Jr., Ivyana Hatch, and Tarlaysia Hatch. His mother is Jacquelyn Hatch.^[3] Shortly after Bad Azz was released, Boosie announced that he had diabetes.^[1] On October 22, 2008, Boosie was arrested after East Baton Rouge sheriff's deputies found marijuana, another unidentified drug, and a gun in Boosie's car. Boosie pled guilty to third-degree possession of marijuana on September 22, 2009 and was sentenced to two years in prison the next day.^[4] Judge James Moore doubled the sentence on November 10 after finding Boosie had violated probation while awaiting sentencing. Between his plea and sentencing, Boosie was electronically monitored and placed under house arrest.^[5]

Legal issues[link]

On June 17, 2010 Lil Boosie was indicted on federal charges on first-degree murder of Terry Boyd.^[6] He also faces charges for three counts of possession with intent to distribute narcotics (Schedule II-Codeine, Schedule I-Ecstasy and Schedule I-Marijuana), three counts of "conspiracy to commit possession with intent to distribute narcotics", and two counts of "conspiracy to introduce contraband into a penal institution".^[6] He has stated that he is innocent of these charges.^[7] District attorney Hillar Moore stated that the killing seemed to be "over turf". If convicted, Lil Boosie may face the death penalty. Prosecutors have stated that they believe the rapper may have been involved in at least five other murders.^[8] On June 28, Lil Boosie entered a not-guilty plea in a Louisiana court room. While Boosie's defense addressed the fact that the rapper has several ongoing cases, they emphasized that he is not a murderer.^[9]

On November 29, 2011, Hatch was sentenced to eight years in state prison after pleading guilty to drug charges. ^[10]

On May 11, 2012, a jury found Hatch not guilty of first degree murder. ^[11]

Discography[link]

Filmography[link]

Films[link]

• Ghetto Stories: The Movie (2010)

Awards[link]

• Ozone Awards
  • 2008: Club Banger of the Year ("Independent") [Won]
  • 2007: Best Rap Album (Bad Azz) [Nominated]
  • 2007: Best Breakthrough Artist [Won]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Lil Boosie on Myspace

DrJays.com’s "Boss Lady", Simone Amelia, is an international journalist who's currently the host of DrJays.com Live.

Published in magazines from the age of 17 in her home country of Australia and abroad, she has interviewed stars such as Jennifer Lopez, Beyoncé, Afeni Shakur, Diddy, Usher and Aaliyah.

Boss Lady is currently the Content Manager of DJ Networks, a multifaceted company composed of leading online street fashion retailer DrJays.com, upscale style destination DJPremium.com, online service provider to lifestyle brands Akademiks and CAVI and social networking site StreetStyle.com.

Born and raised in Sydney's Inner West and of Lebanese and Greek Cypriot heritage, Boss Lady graduated from the University of Technology, Sydney with a journalism degree in 2002. In late 2003, she became the Founder/Editor of Urban Hitz, Australia and New Zealand’s longest-running, highest-selling and much loved on-sale urban music and culture magazine.

In 2003 she starred in the SBS documentary Under One Roof, a series focusing on the varying lives of Australian families. Her family was chosen as the "multicultural single parent family", and in addition to Boss Lady, her mother and younger sister were featured.

Boss Lady has previously appeared on MTV Australia reporting urban music news, and is now based in New York City as not only DJ Networks' Content Manager where she manages the blogs, forums and major contests, but is also the creator and host of the entertainment channel of the company's flagship website, DrJays.com Live.

Boss Lady is a featured speaker at Pharrell Williams's inaugural Kidult Leadership Conference, held in New York City in June 2010. She is currently the Co-Host of DJ Green Lantern's Invasion Radio show on Sirius/XM's Hip-Hop Nation channel every Monday night at 10pm ET.

External links[link]

• BossLady.tv (Official Site)
• DrJays.com Live