Lil' Troy

Lil' Troy
Birth name Troy Lane Birklett
Born (1966-02-24) February 24, 1966
Houston, Texas, United States
Genres Hip hop
Occupation(s) Rapper
Years active 1987–Present
Labels Short Stop, Me & Mine, Universal, Republic, 101, Koch
Associated acts Scarface, H.A.W.K., Fat Pat, Willie D

Troy Lane Birklett (born February 24, 1971),[1][2] better known by his stage name Lil' Troy, is an American rapper.

Life and career

Before his rapping career, Birklett was a drug dealer, who funded his music business with the money he earned from selling drugs. In 1987, he founded Short Stop and joined the group Mass 187 in 1987. Mass 187's song "Gangsta Strut" was featured on local radio.[3] He eventually was convicted of "using a communications device to commit a felony" and was sentenced to eighteen months in prison, and served his time in Beaumont, Texas, federal detention center .[4][5]

Lil' Troy, who featured in his songs many members of Houston's thriving rap scene of the late 1990s, managed to reach national audiences with his single "Wanna Be a Baller" produced by Bruce "Grim" Rhodes.[6] The song reached #70[1] on the Billboard Hot 100, and propelled his Shortstop/Me & Mine Entertainment debut album, Sittin' Fat Down South, to the Top 25 albums on the Billboard 200. After the success of the lead single, Lil' Troy was picked up by Universal Music Group, which re-released his debut album in 1999 with a larger national distribution. The debut album was a success, as it certified Platinum by the RIAA selling 1.9 million copies in America.[4][7] Lil' Troy released his follow up in 2001, titled Back to Ballin. This album did not contain a charting single and did not fare nearly as well as his debut. He released his third and to date last album, Paperwork, in 2006.

Discography

Albums

Year Title Chart positions[8] Certifications
US US R&B US Ind
1998 Sittin' Fat Down South 20 6 –
2001 Back to Ballin
  • Released: September 11, 2001
  • Label: Koch/Short Stop/Me & Mine Entertainment
 95 24 4
2006 Paperwork
  • Released: February 14, 2006
  • Label: Short Stop/101
 – – –

Singles

Year Title Chart positions Album
US US R&B US Rap
1998 "Small Time" – – – Sittin' Fat Down South
1999 "Wanna Be a Baller" (featuring Fat Pat, Yungstar, Lil' Will, and H.A.W.K.) 70 40 31
"Where's the Love" – – –
2001 "We Gon' Lean" — — — Back to Ballin
"Back to Ballin" – – –

References

  1. 1 2 Birchmeier, Jason (2008). "Lil' Troy > Biography". allmusic. Retrieved 2010-01-17.
  2. ↑ Family Tree Legends search
  3. ↑ O'Connor, Christopher (October 27, 1999). "Label Head Lil' Troy Turns Rapper". MTV News. Retrieved January 21, 2012.
  4. 1 2 Baker, Soren (October 8, 2001). "Lil' Troy, Free From Prison, Is Back To Ballin'". MTV News. Retrieved January 17, 2010.
  5. ↑ Mariani, Anthony (October 16, 2001). "Never Surrender". Village Voice. Retrieved January 17, 2010.
  6. ↑ http://www.mtv.com/news/519361/label-head-lil-troy-turns-rapper/
  7. ↑ "Recording Industry Association of America". RIAA. Retrieved 2012-03-27.
  8. ↑ "Lil Troy Billboard albums". allmusic.com. Retrieved January 22, 2012.
  9. ↑ http://riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?content_selector=gold-platinum-searchable-database
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