Slim Figga

By: Daxx Khan - July 7, 2014

We have seen an abundance of musicians over the last 14 years either create custom music for boxers or accompany them to the ring live. In 2000 minutes prior to Naseem Hamed dismantling Vuyani Bungu he entered the arena on a Flying Carpet while Diddy’s music played in the background, as “The Prince” departed his carpet Diddy greeted him ringside.

In 2006 Bun B performed alongside Bernard Hopkins as he headed towards the ring to dethrone Antonio Tarver of his light Heavyweight crown. The song was entitled “The Executioner” Hopkins moniker. Adrien Broner has had Rick Ross perform during one of his entrances, Devon Alexander has had Drake while Floyd Mayweather has had 50 Cent and even Justin Bieber escort him to the ring.

In Europe elaborate ring entrances with custom sound tracks, live performances or legendary Rock hits like AC/DC’s “Hell’s Bell’s” used by Vitaly Klitschko are pre fight staples expected by fans. So long as once that opening bell rings and the fighters are all business I personally tend to enjoy these entrances. Should you happen to be a fan of the artist it’s almost a bonus for your buck especially if you are attending live.

Recently I was introduced to an upcoming rapper out of Sarasota Florida who goes by the moniker “Slim Figga”. His manager Dee Thompson contacted us at the TalkinBoxing With Billy C TV & Radio Show inquiring if we knew of any fighters interested in some entrance music and sent me two of Slim’s songs “Get it Ma” and “I don’t Wanna Die”. I gave both a listen then set up a time to speak with Slim, get some insight on his music, why he wants to have it played during fighters ring entrances and his outlook on boxing as a whole.

The name “Slim Figga” was given to him by classmates in Middle School due to his tall lanky build and stuck throughout the years so much to the point he decided to use it as a stage name after encouragement from friends. When asked if he is a fan of boxing and who are some of his favorite active fighters I was surprised by one name in particular mentioned but impressed with his explanation on why.

“I love boxing my favorite fighter is Tavoris Cloud, barring his last few fights in my opinion Tavoris is what you want to see in an upcoming fighter. If he is winning or losing it doesn’t matter he continues trying to score points. He knows that he might have to go the full 12 rounds and he is prepared to do so if need be. There are not a lot of fighters today who step into the ring and are prepared to do that. His mentality is like that of Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, ready to step in and do what he needs to for the distance I appreciate as a fan watching a fighter who has made up his mind before the bout starts on what he is going to do in the ring before it happens”

When asked why outside of exposure he wants to join the ever growing group of music artist that are becoming associated with boxing Slim’s passion for both his music and the sport were evident.

“Outside of exposure we want to brand ourselves, one of the things to do that is create movies for people. I want to go ahead and be the soundtrack that motivates these warriors for when they step into the ring and show the world what they have. It’s not easy doing what these fighters do and make the sacrifice’s they make. I remember meeting Jeff Lacy who lives about 20 minutes or so from me once telling me “You don’t know how bad I just want to eat a peanut butter & jelly sandwich”. It’s really tough what these fighters go through just to make weight so they can compete for 3 minutes of every round. I want to be the guy who gives these fighters the soundtrack that helps get them hyped up, puts them in the best mental state they can be in so they can go in there as Gladiators while showing the world what they have. Proving they belong there both defensively and offensively. I want to be that soundtrack while they are doing this and why I want to get involved with having fighters listen to and use my music”.

In reference to my personal favorite Slim Figga song I have heard thus far “I don’t Wanna Die” and where its lyrics were inspired from like many artist they come from his upbringing earlier on in life.

“I Don’t Wanna Die came from a good majority of event’s I experienced during my adolescence. Coming from an urban neighborhood you see and experience a lot of different things in terms of violence. I don’t always carry myself, speak like or come off as someone who comes from that sort of lifestyle. It was a struggle for me as a 14, 15, 16 year old kid trying to figure out and find myself while all this was going on around me. Seeing all these people you grew up with dying due to poor decisions they made. At the end of the day no matter what path you take we all feel the same way “I don’t Wanna Die”. It’s like pro fighters who have grown up in that type environment and make the decision on what to do with themselves. “Let me take this talent I was given and use it to better myself” boxing has saved many lives over the years or should I say helped to save lives just like music has. Those are reasons why I made that song and why I relate to boxing”.

When asked why in his opinion more and more music artist have gravitated towards boxing over the last decade and a half his answer was simple.

“I think it’s the lifestyle of it to succeed, it is very similar to what musicians go through outside stepping into the ring. You start off with nothing and you are competing against the world. I know a lot of people who don’t follow the music industry and I tell them rap or music in general is a lot like boxing. An example would be the rap battles you see, when you meet another musician you don’t know what they have to offer you don’t know what they bring to the table. You step into the ring to battle them and say to yourself “I have this I am going to murder them, I have so many words to give them”

You might know they are from New York and have that New York style but when things get started all of a sudden they have a twist you were not expecting that makes it so much harder for you. It’s like in boxing when you’re undefeated and you have never been knocked down but you meet that one guy you were not expecting and get pushed to the limits. You can go from nothing to something but there are no guarantees in boxing or music that you will succeed that’s why I think they parallel so much and gravitate towards one another. Of course you want to be on stage be it in music or boxing you want to hear people chant your name, support you, perform in front of your hometown.”

Outside of music Slim and his manager Dee participate in what’s called “Mastermind” classes taught to them by Nick Hendrix. The course teaches them how to succeed in business as they grown not only financially but in the way they carry themselves, so to help avoid any type possible career mistakes something else we see in fighters of this era that parallels upcoming musicians. Today’s fighters are more conscious of their career earnings and investments than those of the past.

Boxing and Music are very much alike as they are different, Slim Figga seems to be on the right track and has learned quite a bit from boxing that will hopefully help him succeed. You can hear his music featured during the week of July 14th on Talkin Boxing With Billy C TV & Radio show. Tune in Monday-Friday from 5-7pm on www.BillyCBoxing.com. - Daxx Khan

The summer he was 12, Allen Young Jr. talked his mother out of sending him to the summer camp he dreaded.
“I told her I'd do everything right if she'd just let me stay home and show her how responsible I was,” says Young, now 27. “That was the summer I fell in love with music.”

MTV all day long. Pop. Hip-hop. Jazz. Rock. Country. Hansen. Destiny's Child. Sheryl Crow. Fiona Apple. Garth Brooks.

“I listened to everybody and every song was a culture shock,” says Young, who grew up at 17th and Euclid, “across the tracks” from Newtown. “I found it very cool these people could create sounds that would take you to a different world.”

A skinny kid who “did not like eating school lunches,” Young had a lot of excess energy despite being on Ritalin, which he put “in the right places — mostly my mouth.” By 15, he'd decided he wanted to be a rapper and his schoolmates had tagged him “Slim Figga,” a facetious nickname that stuck.

Music helped him come off Ritalin — “Instead of creating issues in the classroom, I busted out and started writing some rap” — and his church choir and Booker High School's Visual and Performing Arts program's musicals gave him a place to sing. He can't remember the words to his first song, but he does recall it was to an Eminem beat and “horribly bad.”

But there was a bigger problem.

“I hated my voice,” Young says. “When I was 16 and heard my first recording, I said I would never rap again.”

A friend in the business — whose ex-wife is now his manager — convinced him otherwise. Besides, he found songwriting “therapeutic.” Lord knows life handed him plenty of subject matter.

At 20, just when he'd recovered from the death of his mother-in-law, a songwriting contract with Atlantic Records was tantalizingly dangled within his reach. That's when he lost his first child, stillborn at nine months.

The deaths of his father, a great-aunt and a cousin followed. The contract fell apart; so did his marriage.

The tumult influenced his songs. While his musical style was recognizably rap, the words had nothing to do with promoting drugs, degrading women or glorifying the streets. In fact, one of his most popular tunes, “I Don't Want To Die,” was a rejection of the environment that surrounded him.

“My approach...it wasn't a conscious thing,” he says. “But I knew people would not take me serious if I was not genuine. I was trying not to do any music where you couldn't see me in it.”

Young began performing — in clubs, at boxing events, on the radio, in Sarasota, Fort Meyers, Tampa and Georgia. Along the way he encountered a music industry machine that didn't always conform to his own beliefs and purposes. He decided he'd have to chart his own course, one not dictated by the world of commercial rap.

“A lot of rap is filtered through a corporation that's giving it to the masses,” he says. “It's given it a stigma that makes a lot of people want to walk away. That's not the true culture. The true culture of rap is talking about your struggles and how you got through them. It's about maturation.”

Young continues to work two jobs — about 16 hours a day — to spend time with his young sons, and to write, perform and market his work whenever and wherever he can. He aspires to a time when he can be “completely comfortable in my skin, financially free, and doing what I love.”

“As a musician, the major media lead you to believe you have to do it one way,” he says. “I've finally embraced that I am a professional at what I do and I'm trying to do it in my own unique way.”

He's already selected the title of his next album, turning what was once a joke into a defiant proclamation:

“I am Slim Figga.” - Carrie Siedman