Shawty Lo’s Sophomore Album “Carlos”
In Stores 5/5
Listen To Shawty Lo’s 1st Single “Supplier” Feat Trey Songz
“Carlos”
In Stores 5/5
Before being named “Rookie of the Year” at the 2008 BET Awards, as well as taking home the honor of 2008’s “Breakthrough Artist” by Ozone Magazine and Radio One’s “Song of the Year” accolade, Carlos “Shawty Lo” Walker was already a ghetto superstar in his hood. No stranger to ice, chicks or whips, Shawty Lo had a rap sheet before becoming the rap sensation he is today. Back then, he was simply known as “Carlos”, the man who always played to win; and nothing’s changed.
Shawty Lo’s 2008 debut release Units In the City (D4L/Asylum Records) was a polished album with imagination, heart and make-or-break attention to detail that earned him a reputation as a viable hip-hop artist. Peaking at #13 on the Billboard 200 chart, the independent endeavor fired off one classic street hit after another including “Dunn Dunn”, “Foolish” and the instant monster jam, “Dey Know”. He also introduced audiences to his star-making team of Hitt Afta Hitt Entertainment and Hoodrich, in addition to his trademark sound he fittingly coined as “slow flow.” Now back with his sophomore effort simply entitled Carlos, the autobiographical CD captures everything that made Shawty Lo who he is. “The whole concept of this album is really an interpretation of how I and a majority of the people around me feel or have felt and the lives we’ve lived. This record is even more personal than Units in the City.”
On the first single “Supplier”, featuring Trey Songz and Grammy Award winning artist Lil Wayne, Shawty Lo pimp struts all over the track with bravado and a pulsating 808 drumbeat backing him up, while the Gucci Mane-assisted “Dope Boy Knot” finds him satisfying his core fan base. Enlisting the help of Lil Kim on “Get Money”, a catchy club anthem that is aimed to get the women on the dance floor, “Put ‘Em Up” does more of the same only it mainly celebrates thug life for the thugs. Perhaps his most defining moment is on the introspective single “Carlos”. (”Let me take you back before Shawty Lo, L-O, I’m talkin’ ’bout Carlos, L-O, burnt orange Monte Carlo, L-O, I’m talkin’ ’bout Carlos, GS 3-O-O, sittin’ on Momo’s, I’m talkin’ ’bout Carlos, L-O, Dope Boy turned C-E-O, I’m talkin’ ’bout Carlos.”) The ATL MC reveals his gangster sensibilities, chronicling his life to a seductive mid-tempo beat while simultaneously keeping it real, which is the backbone of his music and true to every fiber in his being. With a handful of diverse cuts, solid new production talent (G-Fresh, Mike Will, KE on the Track, Meal Ticket, Pauli Paul) and guest appearances from Rick Ross, Bun B, T-Pain and members of his D4L collective, Carlos is an ambitious yet deeply personal album that further distinguishes why Shawty Lo continues to stay on top of his game.
Born into an environment on the Westside of Atlanta where gangs, drugs, violence and rebelling were a way of life, Shawty Lo became a product of what he witnessed. From dealing to jail stints, the Bankhead boss ultimately chose to take a different route than most of his homeboys. Having only two options if he stayed in the streets: jail or death, he decided to roll the dice and gambled his street earnings on the one positive thing that motivated him more than money – music. With a winning hand known as D4L (Fabo, Mook B, Stuntman), Shawty Lo and his crew created a new SoundScan history for the digital download sales of the hit “Laffy Taffy”, in addition to their debut album Down For Life, peaking at the #22 position on Billboard’s Top 200 chart. Shawty Lo intended to stay behind the scenes, but as the group’s popularity grew he decided to take another chance, this time stepping from behind the desk to behind the mic cutting his first ghetto joint “I’m Da Man” in 2005, that turned out to be the launching pad for his solo career. The former trapper ignited an underground buzz with the homespun success of the DJ Scream-stamped mixtape series, I’m Da Man (2005), I’m Da Man Pt. 2 (2007) and I’m Da Man 2K9 (2008)..
Despite his headline-making triumphs and tribulations, Shawty Lo insists that he is still the underdog, who roots for the underdog and continues to remain loyal to the streets that raised him. “I know I’ve said it before but I came from nothing and have made it to the other side, but I can’t turn my back on my hood because that place (Bowen Homes) and my community (Bankhead) have made me who I am. I’ve never proclaimed to be no more than what I am, so if people love or hate me, at least they love or hate me for being exactly who I am and not some manufactured image.” And rowdy lifestyle of the past aside, that is simply Carlos.
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