Webster Gradney (born
September 6, 1985) better known by his stage name Webbie,
is a rapper from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He came into the
hip-hop scene in 2005 with "Give Me That Pussy" which
featured U.G.K. rapper Bun B and the songs "Bad Bitch" &
"Swerve" (Lil' Boosie Feat. Webbie) were featured in the
2005 movie Hustle & Flow. Both singles are on Gangsta
Musik, his group album with Lil' Boosie, the album was
released in December 2003, both songs are on Webbie's
debut album Savage Life which was released on July 5,
2005.
Gradney was raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in the
Sherwood Forest section of the city. Webbie's upbringing
was anything but stable his mother, Jocelyn, died of
cancer when he was eight years old . He spent his early
teen years shuttling back and forth between the care of
his father and grandmother. Ever since he was five years
old, writing rhymes had been his release. "My big cousin
from California taught me how to rap," Webbie recalls,
adding that his mother was a music lover who often danced
to her favorite songs. Intrigued by music that reflected
his rough upbringing, he started listening to "all the
gangsta rappers, all that shit that hits hard," including
the Geto Boys, 2Pac, Eazy E, Snoop Dogg, 8Ball & MJG, UGK,
and Scarface. Webbie struggled throughout school, often
getting suspended for fights. He attended Broadmoor Middle
School, where former math teacher Sean Fluharty described
him as "a quiet, respectful student who liked to write
lyrics and rap quietly to himself... he never caused me
any problems; he did his work and was actually pretty
decent at math." He played fullback on his middle school
football team, but was seen in a bad light by his coach,
which sometimes chased Webbie's older brother (known for
selling drugs). He went on to attend Woodlawn High School
and later Belaire High School but was prevented from
playing his favorite sports, football and basketball, due
to his poor grades and discipline problems.
SAVAGE LIFE 3
ALL OR
NOTHING
From
the label that brought you Lil Boosie, Webbie and
Foxx returns with their second label compilation
album Trill Fam: All or Nothing. Trill Fam
contains the hit singles "My People", "Turn the
Beat Up" and introduces R&B newcomers Kim McCoy
"I Miss U" and KaDe "The Secret" to the world. Songs from this
album are also featured in the movie Ghetto Stories:
The Movie.
SAVAGE LIFE
2
After a three-year hiatus, Trill Entertainment's
Webbie returns in 2008 with SAVAGE LIFE 2, the
simply named sequel to his acclaimed debut. On
the opening single, "Independent," the Baton
Rouge MC sics his southern drawl on a song
that's both a sincere ode to powerful women and
a seriously narcotic grit-crunk beat. The track
is the perfect sampling of an album rife with
intelligent lyrics and stirring if comfortably
familiar beats. Highlights of SAVAGE LIFE 2
include the sinister, low-end hopping "Six 12's"
and the guitar-riff-centered anthem, "I'm
Hot."Pitchfork (Website) - "Webbie certainly
sounds like he's done some growing up since his
debut.
SURVIVAL
OF THE FITTEST
SAVAGE LIFE
Trill ushers Webbie onto the national stage with
SAVAGE LIFE. The young rapper's debut album is a
mixture of crunk-style production, gangsta
themes, and Dirty South attitude. The complex
verbal dance of some rappers is not for Webbie,
though. Instead he keeps his flow
straightforward and his wordplay concise. SAVAGE
LIFE's subject matter will be familiar to anyone
who's listened to Trillville or Lil Jon; such
perennial themes as women, street life, and the
pursuit of the gangsta lifestyle dominate the
album. Though there are guest artists aplenty (Mannie
Fresh, B.G., and others) the mixture of sparse
beats and Webbie's single minded, insistent
rapping style are what made SAVAGE LIFE a
success and a representative snapshot of the
crunk sound circa 2005.
