ARTIST PANEL Bun B
Rap legend Bun B has garnered the respect of both fans and artists from coast to coast. With nearly 20 years in the game, Bun began his career as half of the seminal Port Arthur, TX group UGK along with partner Pimp C. Having collaborated with nearly every major artist including Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg and still showing love to independent artists as well, Bun is respected across the board. His 2005 debut Trill featured the Southern posse cut “Draped Up,” which featured Mike Jones, Paul Wall, Lil Flip, Slim Thug, Devin The Dude and Z-Ro. Still waving the UGK flag after the passing of Pimp C, Bun is still releasing music, with this year’s II Trill debuting at #2 on the Billboard charts and selling nearly 100,000 copies in its first week.
Flo Rida
Bursting onto the scene with his huge debut single “Low” featuring T-Pain, Flo Rida is making a strong case for rookie of the year. Collaborating with Timbaland for the follow up “Elevator,” his album Mail On Sunday is climbing the charts.
Gorilla Zoe
Straight out of the A, Gorilla Zoe has been doing his thing for a minute. One fourth of the Hip Hop group Boyz N Da Hood, Zoe has been dropping verses everywhere, including on Block Entertainment/Bad Boy South label mate Yung Joc’s smashes “Coffee Shop” and “Bottle Poppin’.” His 2007 debut Welcome to the Zoo helped solidify him as a force in Southern Hip Hop and peaked at #3 on the Billboard Rap Album charts.
Killer Mike
Also known as “Killer Kill from the ‘Ville”, Killer Mike is one of Atlanta’s most vocal rhymesayers. From his early days as part of Big Boi’s Purple Ribbon camp, Killer has always given standout performances. A previous OZONE Award winner, he has released three full length albums including his most recent, I Pledge Allegiance to the Grind II, on his own Grind Time Official label.
Rick Ross
Hailing from the “M-I-Yayo”, Miami artist Rick Ross has solidified himself as the biggest thing in the Sunshine State. The Slip-N-Slide/Def Jam artist exploded on the scene with his hit single “Hustlin’” off of his debut, Port Of Miami, and hasn’t looked back since. His follow-up LP, Trilla, debuted at the top of the Billboard charts and has spawned the singles “Speedin” featuring R. Kelly, “The Boss” featuring T-Pain and “Here I Am” featuring Nelly.
Shawty Lo
The self-proclaimed “King of Bankhead”, Shawty Lo has been making a name for himself as of late. A member of the Atlantabased D4L and CEO of D4L Records, Lo has found solo success with his mega-hit single “Dey Know” and the follow up, “Dunn It All.” He has maintained a presence via mixtapes as well. His debut project, Units in the City, was released in February of this year.
Slim Thug
Better known as the “Big Boss of The North,” Slim Thugga has been putting it down on the Houston scene since the 90’s, most notably making appearances on countless Swisha House mixtapes. He made his major label debut in 2005 on Star Trak with Already Platinum, which featured the singles “Like A Boss” and “I Ain’t Heard Of That” featuring Pharrell and Bun B. He released the follow-up, Boss Of All Bosses in 2007, and heads up his own Boss Hogg Outlaw imprint.
Webbie
One of the flagship artists in the Trill Entertainment camp, Baton Rouge, LA rapper Webbie has being doing his thing for a minute. With “Gimme That” featuring Bun B propelling his 2005 debut Savage Life to success, Webbie followed that with Savage Life 2 and his current hit, “Independent” featuring labelmates Lil Boosie and Lil Phat.
OZONE AWARDS 2008