As one of the six epicenters of Southern hip hop, Memphis has always had a thriving underground capable of producing major platinum superstars such as Eightball & MJG, 3-6 Mafia and Project Pat,Skip a.k.a Gianni Booker. All of the above-mentioned artists at one point in time literally dominated the city’s underground rap scene before going on to become national superstars. Next up to bat is Yo Gotti, M-Town’s current underground rap kingpin. Like his namesake John Gotti, the Memphis based rapper has been running the Southern underground scene with an iron fist for the past. Known and respected throughout the South for his skill and finesse on the microphone, Yo Gotti is one the South’s most respected young rappers.
Born Mario Mims, Yo Gotti grew up in the infamous Ridge Crest Apartments in a North Memphis neighborhood called Frazier. His childhood was typical for a poor ghetto youth in the Deep South. Raised in a family of hustlers and exposed to hard times 24 hours a day the Tennessee rap titan soon turned to the only thing that he knew could get him paid, hustling. “Being from the hood things like hustling will come your way,” says Yo Gotti. “Everybody in my family hustled in some kinda way.” Ironically, hustling is what ultimately led Yo Gotti to rapping.
Taking his cue from Memphis rap legends such as Eightball & MJG, Al Kapone, Gangsta Black, Triple 6 Mafia and Kingpin Skinny Pimp, all of whom he lists as influences, Yo Gotti released his own underground tape entitled, Youngster on the Come Up and placed it on consignment at local mom & pop record stores as well as hustling it out the trunk. The tape sold like hotcakes on the street and made Yo Gotti the hottest rapper on the streets of Memphis. From the Dope Game to the Rap Game, Yo Gotti’s sophomore effort sold so well that Select-O-Hits, a local based independent distributor offered him a small deal and the Memphis rapper more than doubled his fan base with absolutely no marketing or promotions. Soon he found himself ranked among the city’s top rappers. In addition to being featured on the cover of Murderdog Magazine along side his idols Kingpin Skinny Pimp and Al Kapone his record From the Dope Game to the Rap Game made the list for the magazine’s top independent record for the year 2000.
Two years later he inked a distribution deal with TVT Records and released the critically acclaimed album Life, which did respectable numbers for an independent label. “It sold about 40 or 50,000, with no promotions or video,” says Yo Gotti. “That record did what it did on its own.” But as the old saying goes when one door is closed another opened. Gotti’s reputation as the king of Memphis continued to spread and that eventually led him to a production deal with Cash Money/Universal records for his group the Block Burnaz. With his TVT sophomore album entitled Back 2 Da Basics, Yo Gotti returns with the same hardcore street flavor that his die-hard fans have come to know and love, only this time around the true king of Memphis has elevated his game a bit. Given the fact that his last record didn’t do the type of big number he’d hope for you’d think that Yo Gotti would switch up his style to reach a larger audience. Right? Wrong! According to Gotti his street credibility with his underground fans means more to him than gold or platinum status.
“The one thing that you have to understand is that when you create a fan base off of street product the last thing you wanna do is disrespect them by changing because of the record companies and stuff like that. When you do that you change what created you. To me it is very important that I keep in tune with the people that helped to sell 40,000 records independently. That’s why I call my record Back 2 Da Basics.”
Produced by DJ Thoomp, Mannie Fresh, Carlos Brody and newcomers Street Tunes, Back 2 Da Basics offers fans a gritty, insider’s view into the real streets of Memphis as seen through the eyes of Yo Gotti. Nowhere is this viewpoint more intense than on “Full Time,” the amped up lead single –and featured in the MTV Films’ Hustle & Flow movie - with a thunderous bass and intoxicating beat that espouses Gotti’s formula to success –hustle full time.
“A lotta cats wanna be a rapper or a street hustler but they don’t wanna put in the time that it takes,” says Yo Gotti. “They want the money and the cars and the girls, but they don’t wanna work hard for it. But to be successful at anything you gotta grind for it.” On the song “Mama We Gone Be Alright,” he waxes introspective by reflecting on all of the hard times that he and his family have suffered through the years and offers her hope-filled words encouragement. “Mama We Gone Be Alright” along with the gripping tune “My Story” emerges as two of the most interesting songs on Back 2 Da Basics. These three titles along with club banging songs like “Shorty” featuring Baby make Back 2 Da Basics one of the best albums of the year.
Off Da Top Of Da Head
Yo Gotti Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Aite what kind
I wanna do that off da top of da head shit again
Aite
Let's slo dat shit down this time
You fuck with this
Yeah I fuck with this
Aite
Shit you no I been doin thid to
It go capital C Capital M he talk work but he from da M and he's a real
Nigga (I am) free Tip tell my partnas off in Forrest City tour bus in da
Hood I took my whole apartments with me if ya want me come and get me I'm
Waitin on ya I got dat K with the motherfuckin shank on it realest nigga in
It I bet the bank on it (beep) shots fired man down no prank homie
They say I'm well rounded did a song with Wiz and wale shoutout to Vegas
Chillen qt milli just to parle my nigga fuck what you say I got a spot in
Da A now keep them choppas on deck so you can get shot in the A I take a
Shot of Ciroc I got a bottle of Ace I shake it up pop the top and squirt
That shit in ya face you throw a rock and hide ya hands say that shit to my
Face I guess you want be satisfied until they give me a case a dis dat
Cocain 6 realest shit in da streets niggas know when they see me I'm a go
CMG I&E niggas know we in these streets this that Cocain 6
A lot of niggas talkin loud dog but they don't want no beef lot of rappers
Yappin bout that work but they ain't in no streets quarter ounce ass nigga
You will never equal me now all that gangsta shit you talkin don't mean
Nothing to me biggest nigga in my city so the haters target me I'm A1 just
Like my door so they gone have to market me wonder if I didn't have this
Money would these bitches fuck a G don't know the answer to that question
So sometimes that bothers me bothers me bothers me really really really
Really bothers me I'm standin on the couch where the models be you can
Catch me in the club where the bottles be gettin my money I'm a Kick my
Feet up told yung zilla we gone feed up bitch bend over I bet you can't
Beat up pull my dick out bet you gone eat up we on chill you can't read us
Best take notes try and be usin these streets everyday gone take a navy to
Have them niggas with them choppas at yo mammy front door have yo
Grandmammy hollin oh lord on the church floor bring my baby back all black
All that and more it's a long line lights on it look like a funeral nigga
Playin with Gotti had him killed that's how the rumor go my life ain't no
Rumor doe I seen a hoe rumor doe my shooters got shooters you gettin money
But you goons are broke that shit don't make sense to me maybe they should
Get we me I&E yo life ain't worth shit to me but a brick to me and I just
Count a hundred to a chicken b you will never get to me charges never stick
To me realest I can be bitches be lickin me suckin me and fuckin me the
City know what's up with me nigga you a fan of me just want to shake the
Hand of me you the type to see me out and say man you just playin with me
Apologizin and askin for advice I'm the type to say fuck you and yo boss I
Fucked his wife.
In the song Off Da Top Of Da Head by Yo Gotti, he is requesting an instrumental in order to do some free-style rapping. The song starts with Yo Gotti saying "let's slow that shit down this time". The lyrics mainly talk about Yo Gotti's experiences and how he perceives himself as a real and authentic person. He mentions his collaborations with other popular rappers like Wiz and Wale and also talks about how he takes shots of Ciroc and Ace liquor.
Yo Gotti also talks about how he has enemies who would like to confront him and how he is ready to face them with his "K with the motherfuckin shank on it." He emphasizes the fact that he is "the realest nigga in it" and anyone who doubts him will be put in their place. He mentions that he is affiliated with the CMG I&E crew and how they are active in the streets.
In conclusion, Off Da Top Of Da Head is a song where Yo Gotti showcases his free-style rapping abilities and talks about his experiences and how he perceives himself as a real and authentic person.
Line by Line Meaning
A leo I want you to give me an in instrumental
Yo Gotti wants a beat from his producer.
Aite what kind
The producer asks what kind of beat Yo Gotti wants.
I wanna do that off da top of da head shit again
Yo Gotti wants to freestyle again.
Let's slo dat shit down this time
The producer agrees to slow down the beat.
You fuck with this
Yo Gotti checks if the producer likes the beat.
Yeah I fuck with this
The producer likes the beat.
You know how we do it right
Yo Gotti asks if the producer knows how he likes to rap.
Shit you no I been doin thid to
The producer says he knows how Yo Gotti likes to rap.
It go capital C Capital M he talk work but he from da M and he's a real
Nigga (I am) free Tip tell my partnas off in Forrest City tour bus in da
Hood I took my whole apartments with me if ya want me come and get me I'm
Waitin on ya I got dat K with the motherfuckin shank on it realest nigga in
It I bet the bank on it (beep) shots fired man down no prank homie
Yo Gotti raps about being a real drug dealer from Memphis (M) and being loyal to his crew. He's not afraid of anyone and carries a gun with him. He's the realest in the game.
They say I'm well rounded did a song with Wiz and wale shoutout to Vegas
Chillen qt milli just to parle my nigga fuck what you say I got a spot in
Da A now keep them choppas on deck so you can get shot in the A I take a
Shot of Ciroc I got a bottle of Ace I shake it up pop the top and squirt
That shit in ya face you throw a rock and hide ya hands say that shit to my
Face I guess you want be satisfied until they give me a case a dis dat
Cocain 6 realest shit in da streets niggas know when they see me I'm a go
CMG I&E niggas know we in these streets this that Cocain 6
Yo Gotti boasts about his success in the rap industry, mentions some of the other famous artists he's worked with, and claims to have a high profile in Atlanta and Las Vegas. He also references his gangster image and his willingness to confront people who talk behind his back. Cocain 6 is a reference to the sixth installment of his mixtape series.
A lot of niggas talkin loud dog but they don't want no beef lot of rappers
Yappin bout that work but they ain't in no streets quarter ounce ass nigga
You will never equal me now all that gangsta shit you talkin don't mean
Nothing to me biggest nigga in my city so the haters target me I'm A1 just
Like my door so they gone have to market me wonder if I didn't have this
Money would these bitches fuck a G don't know the answer to that question
So sometimes that bothers me bothers me bothers me really really really
Really bothers me I'm standin on the couch where the models be you can
Catch me in the club where the bottles be gettin my money I'm a Kick my
Feet up told yung zilla we gone feed up bitch bend over I bet you can't
Beat up pull my dick out bet you gone eat up we on chill you can't read us
Best take notes try and be usin these streets everyday gone take a navy to
Have them niggas with them choppas at yo mammy front door have yo
Grandmammy hollin oh lord on the church floor bring my baby back all black
All that and more it's a long line lights on it look like a funeral nigga
Playin with Gotti had him killed that's how the rumor go my life ain't no
Rumor doe I seen a hoe rumor doe my shooters got shooters you gettin money
But you goons are broke that shit don't make sense to me maybe they should
Get we me I&E yo life ain't worth shit to me but a brick to me and I just
Count a hundred to a chicken b you will never get to me charges never stick
To me realest I can be bitches be lickin me suckin me and fuckin me the
City know what's up with me nigga you a fan of me just want to shake the
Hand of me you the type to see me out and say man you just playin with me
Apologizin and askin for advice I'm the type to say fuck you and yo boss I
Fucked his wife.
Yo Gotti talks about his success and how people envy him. He also claims to be the biggest gangster in Memphis and frequently deals with haters. He enjoys his life as a rich and famous rapper, and is not afraid to express his sexual activities with women. He mocks his rivals who claim to be tough but have no street credibility. He also has a loyal group of people around him who will protect him. He is not afraid of legal charges and often escapes them. Finally, he is proud of his status as a celebrity and does not tolerate those who disrespect him.
Contributed by Chase A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.