For some Southerners, being called “country” is just as insulting as being slapped in the face.
To them, the term gives off an air of inadequacy; like they’re not good enough to be “normal,” so they’ve got to be categorized as something else. Others just think it makes ‘em sound dumb, slow and stupid. Fortunately, BOHAGON, co-CEO of Asylum-distributed Black Cartel Entertainment and proud native of tiny Talbotton, Georgia (population: 1500), is not one of these sensitive Southerners.
He was right beside Lil’ Jon as the popularity of Crunk music began to skyrocket, co-starring on a bevy of classics from Jon’s Eastside Boyz-assisted crunk compilation, Kings of Crunk, as well as tracks from other crunk artists like Trillville, Lil’ Scrappy and the Ying-Yang Twins. BOHAGON’s somewhat laid-back style – you could’ve called it “controlled crunk” – even caught the attention of artists who didn’t specialize in the new sub-genre and landed him spots on records with the likes of Jagged Edge, Xtaci, Yo Gotti, Rico Love and E-40; the latter appearing on the wildly popular soundtrack to the film Hustle and Flow. BOHAGON has performed on MTV to an audience of approximately 200 million, and has traveled the world as part of the BME Clique. They’ve sold out 30,000-seat arenas in places like Australia, Canada, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Germany, giving these foreign nations a firsthand look at that good ol’ Southern crunk. Life at BME seemed to be pretty good for BOHAGON, but, like Mama used to say: “all that glitters aint gold.”
The first release from Black Cartel Entertainment will be BOHAGON’s solo debut Who Am I?, slated for an early ‘08 release, followed soon after by a one-of-a-kind rock remix version of the same name. Similar to how some artists release “chopped and screwed” versions of their LPs, BOHAGON plans to drop an alternate version of his album with his vocals over live rock band instrumentals. That may seem highly unusual to some, but that’s just the way the mind of this thinkin’ country boy works. BOHAGON also recently agreed to an endorsement deal with CRUNK Energy drink and has also filmed a cameo appearance for the upcoming Tyler Perry series Meet the Browns.
If that’s what it gets you, it’s a wonder why people aren’t clamoring to be called “country”. It seems to be working out pretty damn well for that country boy they call BOHAGON.
MySpace URL: www.myspace.com/BOHAGON
Band URL: www.BOHAGON.com
www.GEORGIADURT.com
Genre: Hip-Hop
Hometown: Atlanta/Talbotton, GA
