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White Dawg (also compounded as WhiteDawg) is an American gangsta rapper from Florida. He is best known for his 1999 top 20 hip hop hit "Restless."
Early career to Thug Ride
Born in Alabama, White Dawg moved to Florida as a young teenager. He began his music career in 1990, and first enjoyed some success in 1994 with the single "I Wanna Lick the Pussy," which became a major regional club hit without the assistance of radio airplay. [1] (http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:llcibkd9kak9/)
"Restless" was released as a single in 1999 and reached the top 20 of the Billboard rap charts, peaking at #18. The Thug Ride album was released in 1999 but was distributed poorly and failed to chart. Still, the album sold over 30,000 copies, many in small record stores across the South.
Although it was not widely heard, Thug Ride remains well-known among some hip hop fans, primarily due to White Dawg buying many full-page ads in The Source magazine to advertise for it. Reviews for the album were mostly positive. One could today view Thug Ride as an ahead-of-its-time example of the Crunk subgenre that would later find mainstream success with the likes of Lil Jon and others. The album is also notable for White Dawg's use of the word "nigga" to describe himself, something which was considered taboo for a Caucasian rapper.
Continuing career as an independent artist
White Dawg featured on the cover of Ozone Magazine After the relative success (for an independently-released album) of Thug Ride, White Dawg got back to the studio, working with Pastor Troy on the single "FL Boy" and releasing a follow-up album, Animosity. Animosity had even less distribution than Thug Ride, and sales suffered.
However, his music created enough of a buzz that White Dawg was around this time approached by several major labels seeking to sign him, including Def Jam, Epic, and EMI. He turned down these offers, preferring to stay the independent route where he could maintain artistic control over his work.
White Dawg has distributed his latest album, Bonified Platinum on his website. In Florida and across the South in 2004, radio stations gave rotation to his songs "Chevy Boy" and "Pop a Pill" from the Bonified Platinum album. The website Dirty South Radio [2] (http://www.dirtysouthradio.com/) has named White Dawg as its "artist of the month," and independent media, including Ozone Magazine, have praised White Dawg's music.
White Dawg has also produced for notable hip hop artists including Pastor Troy, Blac Haze, Guru from Gang Starr, and Skull Duggery. His collaboration with Lil' Flip, "Game Over", became a hit garnering significant radio airplay.
Discography
- Thug Ride (1999)
- Animosity (2002)
- Bonified Platinum (2004)
See also
External links
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White Dawg
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