Bubba Sparxxx
By All Music Guide
By All Music Guide
While Sparxxxs rhymes initially drew attention to the rapper -- and rightfully so -- you cant help but marvel at his story. Yes, he was white and large. But he was also from the backwoods of the South -- about as far from the streets as you could get. Born Warren Anderson Mathis on March 6, 1977, Sparxxx grew up in the country on a dirt road 15 minutes north of LaGrange, GA, a rural town itself 65 miles southwest of Georgia. As you can imagine, he lived a sheltered youth, with his closest neighbor over a half mile away. Yet it was that neighbor, a black kid, who turned him onto ap via mix mailed tapes from New York.
Sparxxxs introduction to ap music was through 2 Live Crew -- a far stretch from Rakim or Grandmaster Flash. It caught his attention, though, and soon Sparxxx began broadening his taste for ap music, taking a particular liking for early-90s West Coast gangsta rap: N.W.A., Too Short, and Eazy-E. Later, when he discovered Altanta rappers OutKast, Sparxxx knew his interests were moving into the forefront of his mind. He began writing rhymes at age 15 and would battle with fellow ap-minded students at school. His rapping was more of a hobby than a possible profession for Sparxxx at the time, though. Throughout high school, football took precedence over everything else for the young Sparxxx; he played tight end and linebacker, earning All-Region honors as a senior.
When a football career never happened for Sparxxx and a brief stab at college didnt hold his interest, he turned to ap. His break came when he met Shannon Houchins, a staff producer for Jermaine Dupris So So Def label in Atlanta. In late 1996, Houchins paired Sparxxx with then-So So Def rapper Lil Devil for a group called One Card Shi. Though the duo did record some material together, it never saw the light of day and Sparxxx began pursuing a solo career, working with Houchins again in 1999 on some songs. These recordings resulted in the 12-song Dark Days, Bright Nights indie release on Sparxxxs own Nocents Records. After moving a surprising number of units after getting radio play in the surrounding Georgia area, Nocents became 11th Hour Entertainment, and the album fell into the lap of Interscope Records head honcho Jimmy Iovine.
Iovine liked what he heard and flew Sparxxx out to California to discuss a label deal. Offers soon came in from a number of labels, and suddenly Sparxxxs breakthrough seemed just on the horizon. He decided to stick with Iovines Interscope empire and soon found himself working with Timbaland. Over the course of two weeks, the two recorded six songs and Sparxxx also worked with other producers like Organized Noize and Houchins. Ugly became the lead single; an all-important video communicating Sparxxxs rural, white, country-boy background hit MTV; the evidence of his breakthrough came when the Interscope version of Dark Days, Bright Nights debuted at number three on the ~Billboard chart, making him the next in a short list of overnight-superstar white rappers. The follow-up, 2003s Deliverance, was an introspective album that found favor with critics but failed to sway the public. OutKast member Big Boi was a big fan of the album and felt it should have been a hit, and that it was just handled improperly by the label. He came to the rescue by signing Sparxxx to his new Purple Ribbon imprint and releasing the rappers third album, The Charm, in 2006.
