SANTA
MONICA ,
California -- That you've only been hearing
about Young Buck (birth name: David Brown)
for a little over a year has its roots in
many different grounds, but lack of determination
isn’t one of them.
"I been doing music my
whole life," said the 23-year-old Nashville,
Tennessee native. "I started rapping
when I was about 12 or 13, just playing around
with it. Around the age of 14, 15, 1 was in
the studio, serious about it."
Nevertheless, Young Buck also had two feet
in the streets, peddling cheap drugs in his
early teens.
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Young Buck, pictured above, hopes
to make his mark on the entertainment industry.
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"I was
the youngest [hustler] in the field,"
he said. "There's really no age limit
when you out there in those streets. I was
out there doing grown man [things]."
Instead of urging him to do something positive
with his life, older hustlers schooled the
youngster to the ways of the streets, telling
the teen to listen to their warped words of
“wisdom.”
“Pay attention, you
young buck [expletive],” he said, when
asked about his moniker. It wasn't long before
"Young Buck" became a term of endearment
as well as name.
When Buck was 16, he
got word that New Orleans' Cash Money rap
troupe was recording in his town and scored
a chance to perform for the label's CEO, Brian
"Baby" Williams, who had him prove
his worth by battling Cash Money's younger
artists, including Lil Wayne.
Buck's performance was so
impressive that Williams offered him the chance
to become part of the Cash Money stable. Buck
accepted, dropping out of high school and
relocating to New Orleans. He subsequently
stayed in the city for the next four years.
But Buck had also been pushing
hard in the studio and, along with childhood
friend D-Tay, released an independent LP,
Thuggin' Til The End. Though the record didn't
sell many units, Buck gained invaluable experience-especially
when he tried to get out of his one-sided
contract.
"I was young and so eager to make some
money as well as get exposed and show my talent,"
Buck said. "When I started looking for
other opportunities, I realized this dude
had paperwork on me that was holding me. I
felt like, 'Let me get up off this here.'
He kinda didn't want to make it happen at
the time, but we wound up working it out."
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