Black Rob "The
Story"
Black Rob is
certainly no stranger to classic hip hop. After
guest appearing on a string of timeless Bad Boy
cuts from artists like Mase and the Chairman of
the Board himself, P. Diddy, Rob finally bum
rushed the streets on his own with the
unforgettable hit, "Whoa!"
The track, produced by Buckwild, proved to be a
phenomenon, immediately engaging listeners and
holding dance floors hostage with its blend of
traumatic bass and synthesizers underneath Rob's
glowering snarl, which dropped the word "Whoa!" at
the end of every line. Not surprisingly, the
undisputed street anthem and instant club staple
would go on to be the biggest record of the year
in 2000 and parlay a platinum album for its
author.
"'Whoa!' is unstoppable," laughs Rob. "To this
day, you could put that record on in any club or
drive through any hood pumping it in your car and
people are going to stop and sing along with it.
I'm sure I made the history books with that one!"
Raised in Spanish Harlem, making rap history
wasn't always a priority to Robert Ross. In his
early years finding his way around the streets of
Harlem he was just trying to survive from day to
day. Rob was forced to grow up quick and, without
a father figure, became victim to the trappings of
the streets, eventually running away from home,
living in group-homes and ultimately, prison. As a
young adult, he began to put crime life behind him
and was soon discovered by P. Diddy and Bad Boy
music man Harve Pierre. Black Rob inked a deal
with Bad Boy Records in 1995.
"When Puff came across me, it was in a time in my
life when I was just doing a lot of wrong things,"
Rob says. "For him to give me that hand and let me
do what I do, was a blessing. I just needed a
chance."
It's been five years since Black Rob dropped his
classic debut "Life Story" on the heels of the
groundbreaking single "Whoa!." Still B.R. has
proven that not only is he getting better at
dismantling mics, but his fans have an undying
allegiance for him.
"This is B.R. I'm futuristic, daddy," Rob said
while taking a break from working on his new album
with legendary Bad Boy producer Deric "D-Dot"
Angeletti, at Daddy's House recording studio. "My
creativity is at an apex. It's through the roof.
Understand me? I'm 150 songs strong right now and
I could keep this up for a minute. I could sit at
the round table and play my cards right now.
You're going to understand the validity of what
I'm saying when you hear what I got."
"It's a beautiful thing man," Rob said about the
support of his label Bad Boy and its CEO Sean "P.
Diddy" Combs. "That just shows me that they're
still behind me. They got faith in B.R. It's
loyalty. This Bad Boy thing been a (space) part of
me for ten years. I can't even see myself on no
other label. They stuck behind me through
everything I've had to endure. So I had to come
back like crazy." Black Rob's new album, "The
Black Rob Report," is being released in the fall.
"The Black Rob Report" not only details some of
its author's trials, tribulations and ultimate
triumphs, it finds B.R. returning to form as one
of hip-hop's premier gutter griots, never
relinquishing his mastery of slick word play and
story telling.
There's "Watch Your Movements" featuring Akon, on
which Rob speaks the truth about his life then and
now. "Rapping since the day of my birth I was
coming up the worst./ Snatch the purse, put my
hand up the skirt./ Put the body in earth./ Then I
thought 'what's it worth.' Now forever I'm cursed/
I'm cursed, bowing down in the church praying to
stay away from the hearse."
"Star in Da Hood" is vintage Robbie O club-land
flavor spread over heavy bass and synths,
celebrating ghetto celebrities everywhere. On this
track Rob trumpets the fact that you can still
walk with a special swagger even though you don't
have paparazzi chasing you everywhere. Just to
receive praise from everyone in your neighborhood
is an accomplishment.
Other highlights are the hard-hitting and brutally
honest, "She's A Pro," the witty street classic
"Ready," and the soon-to-be club hit "Fire in the
Hole," featuring Ness and produced by Tony Dofat.
"Brothers that belong here, stay here," Rob says.
"We can get money forever, bottom line, man.
People are going to say 'he came back after five
years and killed them again and kept killing 'em.'
That's 'cause I belong here," Rob boasts.
Unfortunately the story behind Rob's five year
layoff wasn't the usual relaxing and enjoying
success while finding inspiration to write and
record his next project. He's had run-ins with the
law and also fought his way back from a rare
kidney disorder.
"A while ago when I was in Atlanta, I just was
feeling like I wasn't myself," he reveals. Rob,
however, didn't get the help he needed right away
and the delay took its toll on him physically and
professionally. "I wasn't focused and I couldn't
focus," he remembers of his sickness. "I was sick.
Puff would come over and be like 'Yo what
happened?' He could see I was sick and I had to
straighten my act up. I'm good now. I try to stay
healthy, get a lot of rest, do what my doctor
tells me and just do what I do and make it
official."
While Rob is back in good form, he reflects on his
illness and says it turned out to be a blessing in
disguise. "It's alright, man," he smiles. "I
needed to slow down. It's always something that's
gonna happen in your life to make you realize you
got only one life. That's' what happened with this
kidney thing. It was a wake up call to me to
'chill!'"
Now refocused, healthy and poised to once again
sit at the head of the table amongst the street's
most heralded microphone marksmen, "The Black Rob
Report" proves that true legends continue to grow
stronger, even if they take a break every now and
then.
Rob is also making moves as a business man. He's
taken a group of young MC's under his wing and is
grooming them to become the next new crew on the
hip hop horizon. Besides getting back in the
studio and stepping out into the business world,
Black Rob hit the stage recently with Jay-Z as
part of the sold out "Jay-Z and Friends" tour
where stars like Diddy, Ja Rule, T.I., Foxy Brown
and Busta Rhymes made appearances in different
cities.
Black Rob is back and "The Black Rob Report" will
prove to be some of his best work ever. "This
album is the next phase of Bad Boy, and B.R. is
coming up in the journals of hip hop history as
one of the best to ever do this thing. This
project is going to be something different,
something special. I can feel it."
Black Rob in April
2006, was sentenced to 7 years in prison from
previous robbery charges.
Credit:
ejams.com
|
Bad Boy Latino |
 Hip-hop power broker Sean ''Diddy'' Combs is
venturing into the Latin music world with Bad
Boy Latino, a new label the famed producer has
launched with Cuban-American Miami rapper
Pitbull. The new venture took off with a
party at Miami's Bongos Cuban Cafe. (Bad
Boy Latino) |
|
