Warren Anderson Mathis (born March 6, 1977), known by his stage name Bubba Sparxxx, is an American Southern rapper. His most notable hit is "Ms. New Booty" featuring The Ying Yang Twins which peaked at #7 in the United States. In addition to the commercial success of his "Ms. New Booty," Sparxxx is notable for his hit singles "Back in the Mud", "Ugly", and "Deliverance" and for achieving success as a white rapper from the Deep South.
Personal background
Born Warren Anderson Mathis on March 6, 1977, Sparxxx grew up in a rural area north of LaGrange, Georgia, a town 65 miles southwest of Atlanta.1 His father was a school bus driver, and his mother was a grocery store cashier.2 His closest neighbor, an African-American who lived half a mile away, introduced Mathis to rap music through mixtapes mailed from New York City. The music of 2 Live Crew was his introduction to hip-hop; he began listening to West Coast gangsta rap such as N.W.A and Too Short and the Atlanta duo OutKast. With rapping as a hobby, Mathis was a tight end and linebacker for his high school's football team and earned All-Region honors in his senior year.1 Steve Herndon, a former offensive lineman for the NFL teams Atlanta Falcons and Denver Broncos, played football with Mathis during high school, according to an interview with Down-South.com.2 1 In 2007, he moved from Atlanta to Tampa Bay.3
Music career
After high school Sparxxx moved to Athens, Georgia in 1995. He met industry veteran Bobby Stamps after Stamps noticed him rapping after a University of Georgia football game. Mr. Stamps arranged for Sparxxx to work with many artists in Athens and Atlanta to complete his first CD. His first commercial CD release saw some success in Georgia, and the album Dark Days, Bright Nights caught the attention of Jimmy Iovine of Interscope Records. Sparxxx signed to Interscope and began working with record producers Timbaland and Organized Noize.1 The major-label reissue of Dark Days, Bright Nights, released via Timbaland's Beat Club Records imprint, which now included five collaborations with Timbaland and two with Organized Noise, debuted at #3 on the Billboard 200. In 2002, he had a minor hit being featured on Archie Eversole's "We Ready", which became popular for being played at sport events, such as football and basketball games. In late 2003, he returned with his second album, Deliverance, which was critically acclaimed but sold poorly.1
Sparxxx signed a deal with Virgin records in 2004; under Virgin, Sparxxx released The Charm with singles "Ms. New Booty" and "Heat It Up". He left Virgin to establish his own label, New South Entertainment, which is distributed by Koch Records. In 2007, he released a mixtape titled Survive Til You Thrive. He stated in an interview that he planned on releasing an album called Twice on Sunday for early 2008.3 In April 2008, the website DJBooth.net published a leaked track "I Like It A Lot" and asserted that his next album would actually be called The Impolite Gentleman.4 A new track, "She Got Me Like (Ahh Shit!)" (featuring Ray J) was leaked in late August 2008.
Non-musical work
He has also appeared in the video games Def Jam: Fight for NY and Madden NFL 2004.
Discography
Albums
Solo singles
| Year |
Song |
Chart positions7 |
RIAA certification6 |
Album |
| U.S. Hot 100 |
U.S. R&B |
U.S. Rap |
| 2001 |
"Ugly" (featuring Timbaland) |
15 |
6 |
6 |
— |
Dark Days, Bright Nights |
| "Lovely" |
— |
77 |
— |
— |
| 2003 |
"Jimmy Mathis" |
— |
98 |
— |
— |
Deliverance |
| "Deliverance" |
101 |
107 |
22 |
— |
| "Back in the Mud" |
— |
— |
— |
— |
| 2005 |
"Hey! (A Lil' Gratitude)" |
— |
— |
— |
— |
The Charm |
| 2006 |
"Ms. New Booty" (featuring Ying Yang Twins) |
7 |
7 |
3 |
Gold |
| "Heat It Up" |
103 |
57 |
24 |
— |
External links
References
![Ugly [Explicit]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ZRZELaF0L._SL160_.jpg)
