Swagga Boyz

SWAGGA BOYZ

It all started with a dance. Country, a native of Mississippi, was "clownin’ in the club," as he recalls, in Toledo, Ohio, “mixed a little alcohol with a little personality and the ‘swagga’ came together.” The unique dance quickly caught on throughout the Ohio club scene, and soon captured the attention of hip-hop producer Mally Speaks, who offered to help create “The Swagga Song” to go along with the dance.

Mally and Country recruited a couple of other hot lyricists with incredible flow on the mic - namely Chief and Red – and the Swagga Boyz unit was complete. Red, described by his fellow group members as “the innovator,” creates many of the Swagga Boyz hooks and concepts; while Chief is considered "a phenom,” partially for his ability to memorize his rhymes without ever putting them on paper.

Armed with clever lyrics and bangin’ beats, the four entered the club scene, determined to build a buzz for their music and a name for themselves. “The crowd named us,” Chief recalls. After an especially rousing performance, fans shouted, “There go those swagga boyz.” The label stuck and the group now had a name.

Chief’s knack for remembering his rhymes is a skill he developed out of necessity while working at one of his day jobs. “I used to work at Budget Rent A Car,” Chief recalls. “I’d been cleaning cars and couldn’t use my hands to write my bars down, so I just wrote my verses in my head.”

Growing up in rural Mississippi, Country dreamed of becoming a professional athlete – music was simply never part of his game plan. He played basketball in junior high, and on little league teams in football and baseball. Then at age 13, Country’s mom relocated the family to Toledo, where his love of sports would be sidelined by what would become his passion to perform in another arena -- hip-hop.

“My whole plan as a child was to get up out of the hood and make it better than I had it,” Red reveals. He had a hoop dream at first, and although that fell through, Red graduated from college with a business degree. “If music doesn’t work, I’ll have something to fall back on,” he surmises. Red started writing poetry in elementary school and began rapping during his senior year in high school. “It was a natural move to put my poetry to beats.”

Despite its vibrant hip-hop scene, Toledo is a far cry from the music meccas of New York, Los Angeles, or Atlanta. The Swagga Boyz knew they faced an uphill battle to become contenders in the music industry. Though the geography made it harder to be heard, it also made them hungrier and more driven. “There’s a lot of hatin’ in our own city,” according to Red. “Toledo’s not too open to local artists, so if you can touch Toledo with your music, you’re doing well.” Chief adds, “I’ve always said I wanted to come out from my city. I’m trying to put Toledo on the map by living here and launching our music careers from here.”

Fortunately, the Swagga Boyz have some pretty big guns to help get them on the music industry map. Enter Shawn Stockman, of the Grammy-winning group, Boyz II Men. While in Toledo scouting new acts for his Soul Chemistry Projects imprint, Shawn watched the Swagga Boyz crash his talent showcase. During an intermission, the Swagga Boyz - who weren't scheduled to audition - just grabbed the mics and performed “The Swagga Song.” “What shocked the hell outta me was not only did everybody in the building know the song, but they also started doing the dance that went with it,” Shawn describes. “I was also impressed with how such a fledgling group performed like seasoned veterans.” Shawn immediately signed the Swagga Boyz to a production deal with Soul Chemistry Projects.

“We’ve got the soul, now Shawn brings the chemistry.” says Country. He points out that the Swagga Boyz sound is like no other. “We go in all directions -- from R&B, rapping, to slow songs or dance songs, to silly or serious life songs. There aren’t a lot of groups out there like us.” As Mally explains, “It’s music that makes you nod your head.” Red calls it real feel-good music. “We have fun on every track,” he insists. And as Chief notes, “everybody on the team is up to par, there are no slackers.”

The Swagga Boyz are a movement. Move with them – because they’re not stopping.