Based in Mobile, Alabama, rapper
Rich Boy (born Maurice Richards) didn't enter the music industry until after he enrolled as a mechanical engineering major at Tuskegee University. Before then, he made music in his spare time, but eventually dropped out of school and released some independent material that caught fire locally. Producer
Polow (
Ludacris,
Jamie Foxx,
Fergie) was impressed enough to have the MC flown into his base in Atlanta, where the two worked on furthering the progress.
Rich Boy landed a contract with Interscope and began working on his first album. In the meantime, he appeared on one of
Ludacris'
Disturbing tha Peace compilations and dropped in on a handful of mixtapes -- including
DJ Ideal and
Jermaine Dupri's Da Bottom, Vol. 5. With
DJ Drama, he released the Bring It to the Block mixtape in late 2006. His official, self-titled debut was released during March 2007.
Maino, Hemi, and
Bobby V landed on 2013's LP
Break the Pot, which was promoted by the Back to Class mixtape. As the name suggested, his 2015 album
Featuring was loaded with guests, including
the Game,
Curren$y,
Trinidad James, and
Yelawolf. ~ Andy Kellman