Bubba Sparxxx

By J.R. Reynolds

Jan 2 2002

With fertile lyrical rhymes that are backed with catchy, infectious beats, Georgia rapper Bubba Sparxxx has once and for all shattered all notions that the best rappers come only from the big city. In fact, this hip-hop head is as country as they come. But that hasn't stopped him from hitting the top of the charts with standout rap singles like "Ugly."

With a Southern pride that exudes from his every pore, Bubba has made rap music his own by writing personal stories of rural life in a way that even the most urban city-slicker can relate.

Bubba grew up in LaGrange, Georgia, which is 65 miles southwest of Atlanta. His closest neighbor was more than half a mile away, but that person was the one who turned Bubba on to rap music.

"He was a black kid and his cousin was sending him mix tapes from New York," the rapper reports. It was the inspiration he needed.

Bubba started writing rap lyrics when he was 15 and would participate in rhyme battling in the cafeteria, gym class, and after school. His first foray into rap as a professional was under the name of Lil' Devil with a group called One Card Shi.

After that false start, he changed his name to Bubba Sparxxx and tried again. This time his song, "Dark Days, Bright Nights," received regional airplay and garnered record sales that attracted the attention of Interscope recording exec Jimmy Iovine, who signed the artist.