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.
Rich Nigga
Yo Gotti Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I just had a hoe sign for a package
Quarter mil in the mattress
That′s a 30 hanging out that ratchet
I just fucked your re-up off at Onyx [?]
A 30, that ain't nothing, I′m being honest
Trap jumping like it's sunny
And I'm in the Phantom cause I own it
I′ve been in the trap house all night
Got me counting money all morning
Niggas rest up and I′m yawnin'
I may fall asleep in this foreign
She jumped in this Phantom with no drawers on
Baby, daddy wanna put them paws on her
But he a sucker and he know it
He fuck around and tried to put the laws on them
I′ve been getting money for a long time
Bitch, I'm on these pills, this the wrong time (xans)
I just threw a ten out in Folley′s [?]
I just gave two stripper bitches Molly
In the condo, in the condo
Units in the kitchen, choppers at the front door
54th floor, looking down at the city
Rich nigga, fucked your bitch, I'ma take it, let′s get it
I just threw a Fed out of Magic
I just had a hoe sign for a package
Quarter mil in the mattress
That's a 30 hanging out that ratchet
I just fucked your re-up off at Onyx [?]
A 30, that ain't nothing, I′m being honest
Trap jumping like it′s sunny
And I'm in the Phantom cause I own it
I got a lot of money, it′s the business [?]
But if you was a threat, you would have been there
But I be with the shits, you niggas biscuits
Don't come to me with all that he said she said
I just bought the [?] with no stones in it
I like all my houses with no phones in it
I like all my bitches to have problems
So I can be the one to solve them
Fuck your nigga, baby, yeah fuck him
Once you get right, we gonna pull up on him
Show him what he missing, then we laugh at him
Treat him like a stripper, throw a bag at him
Yeah, pick them dollars up, pick them dollars up
You ain′t got no money, but a million followers
Heard them pussy niggas talking like they shot at us
On the low, niggas always trying to holler at us
I just threw a Fed out of Magic
I just had a hoe sign for a package
Quarter mil in the mattress
That's a 30 hanging out that ratchet
I just fucked your re-up off at Onyx [?]
A 30, that ain′t nothing, I'm being honest
Trap jumping like it's sunny
And I′m in the Phantom cause I own it
And it got curtains, and it got curtains
Told baby girl put that 40 in her purse
It′s a Chanel bag, and you know they ain't gonna search you
You ever say a word about my business, I′mma hurt you, bitch
I just threw a Fed out of Magic
I just had a hoe sign for a package
Quarter mil in the mattress
That's a 30 hanging out that ratchet
I just fucked your re-up off at Onyx [?]
A 30, that ain′t nothing, I'm being honest
Trap jumping like it′s sunny
And I'm in the Phantom cause I own it
In the song "Rich Nigga" by Yo Gotti, the lyrics depict a lifestyle of wealth, drug use, and relations with women. Yo Gotti boasts about throwing a federal agent out of Magic City (a strip club in Atlanta) and having a prostitute sign for a package. He also reveals that he has a quarter million dollars hidden in his mattress, and carries a gun with him - hanging out of his "ratchet" - as he goes about his business. Despite his wealth, Yo Gotti indicates that he continues to work in the trap house, counting his money all morning and falling asleep in his foreign car. He even details a sexual encounter with a woman who jumped in his Phantom - a luxury car - with no underwear on. Yo Gotti continues to brag about his wealth, stating that he threw a ten thousand dollar package at a strip club named Folley's. He also tells his listeners that he is not afraid to hurt someone who may be a threat to his business, and has his female partners carry guns in their purse, hidden in a Chanel bag.
What Yo Gotti is trying to convey with his lyrics is up for interpretation. However, the overall theme appears to be living in the fast lane, fueled by drugs, sex, and money. The song speaks to the mindset of some within the hip hop community - one that sees living life in the fast lane and having wealth as being the ultimate goal. Nevertheless, it should be noted that not all within the community support this kind of mindset or embrace it.
Line by Line Meaning
I just threw a Fed out of Magic
I was at the Magic City strip club and threw a federal agent out
I just had a hoe sign for a package
I made a prostitute sign for a drug package, which is risky business
Quarter mil in the mattress
I keep $250,000 in cash hidden in my mattress
That's a 30 hanging out that ratchet
I have a 30-round clip hanging out of my gun (ratchet)
I just fucked your re-up off at Onyx [?]
I took all your drug money at the Onyx strip club
A 30, that ain't nothing, I′m being honest
A 30-round clip isn't a big deal to me, I'm being truthful
Trap jumping like it′s sunny
My drug dealing operation is booming and making a lot of money
And I'm in the Phantom cause I own it
I'm driving in my expensive Rolls Royce Phantom because I own it
I′ve been in the trap house all night
I've been in my drug dealing house (trap) all night making money
Got me counting money all morning
I've been counting the profits from my drug sales all morning
Niggas rest up and I′m yawnin'
Other people rest while I'm still working and tired
I may fall asleep in this foreign
I might fall asleep in my expensive car
She jumped in this Phantom with no drawers on
A woman got into my car without wearing underwear (drawers)
Baby daddy wanna put them paws on her
Her child's father wants to physically harm her
But he a sucker and he know it
He's weak and knows it
He fuck around and tried to put the laws on them
He might try to involve the police and get them in trouble
I′ve been getting money for a long time
I've been making a lot of money for a while
Bitch, I'm on these pills, this the wrong time (xans)
I'm under the influence of Xanax (pills) which might not be the best time to do business
I just threw a ten out in Folley′s [?]
I threw $10,000 at Follies strip club
I just gave two stripper bitches Molly
I gave two strippers MDMA (Molly) drugs
In the condo, in the condo
I have a condominium where I conduct business
Units in the kitchen, choppers at the front door
I have drugs in the kitchen and weapons (choppers) at the front door to protect my operation
54th floor, looking down at the city
I'm on the 54th floor of a building, overlooking the city
Rich nigga, fucked your bitch, I'ma take it, let′s get it
I'm a wealthy man who had sex with your girlfriend, and I'm going to keep doing what I do
I got a lot of money, it′s the business [?]
I have a lot of money, and it's part of the drug dealing business
But if you was a threat, you would have been there
If you were really a threat to me, you would have done something about it already
But I be with the shits, you niggas biscuits
I'm involved in dangerous things, while you are weak and soft
Don't come to me with all that he said she said
Don't talk to me about rumors and hearsay
I just bought the [?] with no stones in it
I bought a piece of jewelry without any diamonds (stones)
I like all my houses with no phones in it
I don't want phones in my houses because it's safer for my illegal activities
I like all my bitches to have problems
I prefer women who have personal issues that I can help them solve
So I can be the one to solve them
I want to be the one to fix their problems and control them
Fuck your nigga, baby, yeah fuck him
I'm having sex with your boyfriend, and I don't care about him
Once you get right, we gonna pull up on him
Once you are ready, we're going to confront him
Show him what he missing, then we laugh at him
We will show him what he's been missing out on, then mock him
Treat him like a stripper, throw a bag at him
We will treat him like a stripper and throw money (bag) at him
Yeah, pick them dollars up, pick them dollars up
Pick up the money I'm throwing at you
You ain't got no money, but a million followers
You might not have any money, but you have a lot of social media followers
Heard them pussy niggas talking like they shot at us
I heard some weak men say they shot at us, but I don't believe them
On the low, niggas always trying to holler at us
Low-key, men are always trying to talk to us and get something from us
And it got curtains, and it got curtains
The windows in my car have curtains for privacy
Told baby girl put that 40 in her purse
I told my female companion to carry a gun (40) in her purse for protection
It's a Chanel bag, and you know they ain't gonna search you
Her purse is from Chanel, and authorities won't search it
You ever say a word about my business, I′mma hurt you, bitch
If you ever talk about my illegal activities, I will harm you and don't forget it
Writer(s): Singleton
Contributed by Mia M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.