Originally known as
Lil' Boosie,
Boosie Badazz's hard Southern style comes from growing up in one of Baton Rouge, Louisiana's more notorious neighborhoods, one that was known for drugs and gunplay. Not having his father in his life was another challenge, but things began moving in a positive direction when
Boosie immersed himself in basketball. It looked like it could be his ticket into college, but getting involved in drugs got him kicked out of high school. He turned to rapping and eventually hooked up with
C-Loc. An appearance on
C-Loc's 2000 effort, It's a Gamble, became
Boosie's debut. He soon released the full-length CD
Youngest of da Camp on his own. His big breakthrough began when he joined
Pimp C's Trill Entertainment camp. He was paired with fellow Trill artist
Webbie for the 2003 release
Ghetto Stories and again for 2004's
Gangsta Musik, which featured the first appearance of
Webbie's future hit "Give Me That." Trill then worked a deal with the Warner Bros.-associated Asylum, and both
Webbie and
Boosie were now on a major label.
Webbie released his album in 2005;
Boosie's landed in 2006. Titled
Bad Azz, the release featured
Yung Joc,
Pimp C, and
Webbie as guests. The
Bad Azz DVD soon followed, featuring interview footage where
Boosie explained the drug-related death of his father and revealed his own battle with diabetes. Late in the year, the Streetz Is Mine mixtape appeared in cooperation with
DJ Drama. His slick album
Superbad: The Return of Boosie Bad Azz landed in 2009 along with the single "Better Believe It." The next year,
Boosie followed up with
Incarcerated, which was issued while he served time for drug possession. After his 2014 release from prison, he changed his name to
Boosie Badazz and was featured on several tracks, including ones by Jeezy ("Beez Like") and
T.I. ("Jet Fuel"). He also issued
Life After Deathrow, a mixtape, as a free digital download. The proper album
Touchdown to Cause Hell was planned for a February 2015 release date on Atlantic. ~ David Jeffries