MD

Arts

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Advertise with us »

With hit single under his belt, Atlanta rapper Yung Joc aims high

BY DANIEL NUTTERS

Published June 18, 2006

Packed into Scorekeepers Bar on a Thursday night, wet with sweat and cheap beer, drunken college students swarmed the dance floor.

Familiar weekend staples by Chamillionaire and LL Cool J blasted from the speakers. But this past Thursday, a new sound emerged. As Grey Goose-smooth keyboards filled the room, three men broke into a choreographed dance. With their hands bouncing down on their outstretched arms as if revving motorcycles, and their shoulders dipping to the beat, these three men were emulating a new dance started by recent rap sensation Yung Joc.

Touted as the next big rapper to emerge from the South, Yung Joc's track "It's Goin' Down" has taken America by storm. While solidifying Jocs place in rap scene, his single is rising up the Billboard charts, reaching No. 24 and No. 1, respectively, on the hip-hop and R&B charts.

Hailing from College Park, Georgia, a small city near Atlanta noted for such rappers as Ludacris and Jermaine Dupri, Yung Joc knew he was going to follow in their footsteps.

"I always knew I wanted to be a rapper," he said. "My mom had been encouraging me since I was 10. She was always entering me in contests and stuff."

Yung Joc said that the odds are in his favor that someone else from his hometown is bound to make it big as a rapper.

"For one thin,g Atlanta is a multicultural melting pot. Everyone loves their music, and rap is especially big. You just gotta look at the law of averages and it seems that one in 10 of us is gonna make it big."

Yung Joc's style is unique to Southern rap, combining his Southern twang with distinctive beats reminiscent of Lil' Jon, Dupri, Ludacris, Usher and the Ying-Yang Twins's production.

Already having toured with 8ball, T.I. and others, Yung Joc is getting a wealth of attention. He has also worked with other artists such as Keyshia Cole and Marques Houston, but Yung Joc said he still has much to accomplish. He aims to work with Snoop Dogg and Pharrell Williams in the near future.

"We have a lot in common. We got the same personality and the same taste in music," Joc said.

Yung Joc promises to keep the fans happy: "I'm going to keep putting my heart into my music," he said. "I got a lot of ideas and a lot of energy. I just wanna keep the energy coming and with the new hot hooks I'm going to be putting some good stuff out there."

Yung Joc's new album, New Joc City, is in stores now.