LiL TROY BACK - BUT NOT iN THE STUDiO
Written in cookbook form with ingredients, measurements and step-by-step instructions, The Heat In the Kitchen discloses Troy’s road to stardom and empowers independent artists with the necessary tools needed for success in the music industry.
Through clear, concise and well-written chapters, Troy details how to gain radio play, land distribution deals and build a studio. It offers advice in choosing the right entertainment lawyer and emphasizes the importance of well-written bios, demos, street team promotions, business cards and lyric sheets. He lays out the roles of producers, obtaining royalties and offers the pros and cons of independent verses major label deals.
“I see so many aspiring artists going down the wrong path. Most of them want to rap because of the fame, but the major record labels are taking advantage of them,” says Troy. “We have all of the talent and do all of the work but we are not reaping all of the monetary rewards. I saw a problem with that. This is my solution. Artists need to learn how to make our money work for us, not the other way around.”
Troy lends himself of prime example of music industry self sufficiency. Laying down the independent framework that so many artists follow today, Troy’s music career started almost 15 years ago. Through his label Short Stop Records, he launched the careers of Houston artists his son T2 and rap legend Scarface.
For more info on the book or for contact email: divadend@bellsouth.net
HOUSTON RAP PIONEER LIL TROY RESPONDS TO PIMP C’S RECENT MEDIA RANTS
(Houston, Texas) - Days after the release of an Ozone Magazine article and subsequent radio interviews where rapper Pimp C implicates Russell Simmons of being homosexual, accuses Atlanta artists of stealing their trademark crunk sound from Memphis and shoots verbal slugs at several entertainers, Houston rap pioneer and Short Stop Records owner Lil Troy steps up to respond to the attacks on his character.
At the top of Pimp C’s (born Chad Butler) laundry lists of disrespectful comments, he repeatedly refers to Troy as “Lil bitch-ass Troy” and accuses him of snitching on “the whole Northside of Houston… and put a bunch of people’s daddies, brothers, uncles and sons in the penitentiary.”
“That man is coming after me because I exposed (fellow veteran Houston rapper) Scarface of being a snitch and introducing his friends George Washington Simmons and Byron Keith Harris to the Feds as his cocaine suppliers,” says Troy. “I went to jail because I was illegally pulled over with two kilos in the car.
“That beef was between me and Face. It didn’t have nothing to do with Pimp C. Pimp ain’t even no gangster. I went to jail on drug charges. He got locked up for pulling a gun on a woman in a mall. Is that gangster? You can’t compare your rap sheet to mine.”
The drama all started when Troy released his straight-to-video independent DVD Paperwork in 2006. On the video, Troy shows the federal paperwork which lists Brad Jordan (alias Rap-A-Lot artist Scarface) as being a federal informant and even includes copies of his indictment papers which say the same. Troy also uses old album covers, photos and studio sessions on the video to support these claims.
In addition, Troy recently won a $511,000 lawsuit against Brad Jordan for defamation of character and slander. The case is now in appeal.
A 20-year veteran on Houston’s local rap scene, Troy was actually the first label owner to record Scarface’s first commercial release. Amongst his catalogue of recordings, Troy’s biggest national hit was southern anthem “Wanna Be A Baller,” a single which pushed his 1999 major label debut album Sittin’ Fat Down South to platinum status. But after Scarface publicly called Troy a “snitch” in a videotaped concert and named him as such on Geto Boys’ song “Don’t Talk to Police,” Troy responded to the allegations with his now-infamous DVD Paperwork.
“I didn’t call Face out first. He called me out,” says Troy. “I used the DVD to respond to it. He shot first, so I had to shoot back.”
Now a year and some months later after the DVD’s release, Pimp C publicly responds on behalf of Scarface.
“I’m from Houston, and I still live in Houston. He’s not from Houston, but if wanted to stick his nose in my business or had something to say to me, he could’ve come to me,” says Troy. “I’m not hard to find.”
Along with disrespectful comments about Troy, Pimp implies in the Ozone interview that R&B singer Ne-Yo is gay, claims that Atlanta is not in the south because “Atlanta is on East Coast time” and accuses certain unnamed rappers (fans are guessing Young Jeezy) of turning his back on powerhouse label BMF after drug charges.
“When I came out with my DVD, (Ozone publisher) Julia Beverly did the interview with me but she watered it down. She wouldn’t print the real story about my indictment. She said the paperwork was fake,” explains Troy. “But I’ve seen this all before- divide and conquer. People like her are not from our background. She ain’t from our hoods. She don’t give a damn about our music or our culture or us.
Troy continues, “I’m not talking about race or color. I’m talking about class and struggle. She don’t got love for me, for Scarface or for Pimp C. We both can die, and she wouldn’t lose a wink of sleep. Dead rappers make money. And those people who are outside of our culture make millions off our bloodshed, prison sentences and beefs.”
Troy is now readying the release of his Universal-distributed independent album Sittin’ Fat Down South 2 and lead single “We Swangin’” featuring late Houston martyr Fat Pat, Screwed Up Click alumnus Lil Keke and Troy’s son T2.
