Plus: Akon talks about his latest signing, Ya Boy, in Mixtape Daily.
By Shaheem Reid, with additional reporting by Rahman Dukes
Alley Boy
Photo: Atlantic
This Week’s Main Pick
Street King: Alley Boy, DJ Holiday and the Empire
Holding It Down For: Zone Six in Atlanta
Mixtape: Definition of F— Sh–
Real Spit: “2010 is a new year,” DJ Holiday said. “I had to go get somebody more gutter, more street. I had to go to Zone Six. Have I ever let you down?”
Alley Boy gets the prize for wildest mixtape title this year (see above). The rapper said he wants to keep street rap in the spotlight. “I put that title on the mixtape because I wanted something to stand out,” Alley said. (Mission accomplished.) “Just to be different. The topics I went in on, it’s a lot of things people would call negative. My whole image, it seems it’s so negative. I went there with it. I feel that those words definitely represent my attitude. It’s so watered down in Atlanta right now. I wanted to let folks know I’m a force to be reckoned with. I wanted a strong concept and strong title.”
He also has a story behind his MC name: “I’m from Zone Six. Edgewood’s finest,” he said. “The way I came up in these hallways, these cuts, these alleys, it just fit me.” Alley has a slew of guest spots holding it down for the A as well.
“I wanted to go in with my boy [Young] Dro,” he said. “We got a song called ‘Tall.’ Yung L.A., we had some controversy goin’ on. I wanted to show I reach out. I’m about the A. Princess from Crime Mob is on there. She goes stupid hard.”
Waka Flocka Flame is also on the mixtape, as is Gucci Mane, who called in from jail on an interlude.
Joints to Check For
» “Heaven Sent.” “It’s an intro to the album,” Alley said. “I wanted to make a statement from the intro. It’s produced by the Runners. It’s one of them statement songs. It was something I wanted to go in on. Let them know dudes in the South can really spit. We’re not just out swaggin’ and dancing. I had to let them know it’s really ‘hood. But just because you’re ‘hood, doesn’t mean you’re not smart or lyrical. I wanted to go in and let them know I’m heaven-sent to the game. I mastered my craft. I’m a force to be reckoned with.”
» “Throw it Up.” “The second song I want y’all to check for is ‘Throw It Up,’ ” AB said. “It’s one of my classics. I did it for every ‘hood, every zone, every ward. It’s really a representation song. Wherever you’re from, throw it up. Whatever you represent, live for it, die for it.”
» “Shiester.” “It’s one of my favorites, because it is telling a lot of things I been through,” Alley said. “It sticks out so much. It’s really a true story I brought on wax. I’m really passionate about this song. I’m thinking about launching it out as my single.”
Streets Is Talking: News & Notes From the Underground
We told you about West Coast beat killer Ya Boy signing to Akon’s Kon Live imprint a little while back. Well, now we give you the man himself, ‘Kon, telling us why he decided to get in business with the newcomer.
“Ya Boy is one of the most versatile artists I’ve ever seen,” Akon said. “He can make music for the streets, the clubs and the ladies, which really puts him apart from every artist out there. An artist like YB has the ability to make music for the world!”
For other artists featured in Mixtape Daily, check out Mixtape Daily Headlines.
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