Pastor Troy
By All Music Guide
By All Music Guide
As a youth, Micah LeVar Troy grew up in the well-known College Park area of Atlanta, where he was exposed to the street life at an early age. His father, a former drill sergeant turned pastor, made sure Troy was exposed to the church life as well, though. These two often contrasting lifestyles presented a constant dilemma for Troy: he was drawn to street culture and, in particular, his Geto Boys and N.W.A albums, but his father wouldnt allow the music to be played in the familys home. Eventually, Troy began attending Payne College in hopes of becoming a history teacher. There, free of his fathers influence, he began devoting himself to ap, and before long he was making his own beats and writing his own rhymes.
It didnt take long before Troy put college behind him and funneled his efforts into the ap game. He organized a clique of friends called the Down South Georgia Boys (D.S.G.B.) and went about recording his debut album, We Ready - I Declare War (1999). Peddled out of the trunk, the album became a local success and eventually a regional success without any radio play or national distribution. Next, a much-publicized, drawn-out feud with Master P didnt hurt, and soon Universal Records came knocking and offered Troy a record deal. Led by the single This tha City, the resulting album, Face Off (2001), did well but enjoyed mostly regional success.
Troys next album, Universal Soldier (2002), extended his reach beyond the South a bit, propelled by the Timbaland-produced lead single, Are We Cuttin. He returned with another Universal album in 2004, By Any Means Necessary, and continued to flirt with crossover success without actually crossing over nationally. Face Off, Pt. 2 landed in March of 2005, with Hood Hustlin: The Mix Tape, Vol. 1 following in August. Two new albums, Stay Tru and By Choice or by Force, landed in 2006.
