iHipHop AdminIt’s been a tumultuous three years since Bubba Sparxxx released his last album, Deliverance. Although critically acclaimed, the Georgia rapper’s sophomore effort didn’t do so well at the record store. To add insult to injury, he was left without a label home when Beat Club Records, the imprint he was signed to, severed ties with its distributor Interscope Records and then dissolved.
Sparxxx saving grace was hooking up with Outkast’s Big Boi while he was launching his new label, Purple Ribbon. Now with his third album, he’s looking for The Charm.
Your third album, The Charm, is of course named after the saying ‘third time is the charm.’ What’s the charm you’re hoping for?
I just want to go platinum, man. I want to go platinum domectically. That’s really my goal at this point. I’ve had critical acclaim and there’s nothing else for me to do except move up. I just really want to sell a tremendous huge amount of records and I felt like I took the steps that would ensure that it would happen on this record. It’s a good album anyway, it accomplishes the roller coaster of emotions in life; you know the ups and downs the rights and lefts and all around. So I tried to put a little something for everybody on there.
You used to be with Timbaland and Beat Club Records now you’re with Big Boi and Purple Ribbon Records. Why the transition?
It was more of a situation between Interscope Records, who distributed Beat Club, and Beat Club Records. There was some tension that arose between those two parties. Timbaland had a different vision for Beat Club, he had a real progressive-minded vision, he wanted to sign rock bands and thing of that nature but they wanted him more or less to stick with the traditional stuff that he was known for which is hip-hop and R&B. So with that said they were just butting heads constantly and I was just kind of caught in the middle of it and at the end of the day, it was just best for everybody to go their separate ways. So I stepped and thankfully I got a partner named Big Boi whose been in my corner for five or six years and I’ve been a member of Dungeon Family that whole time. It just so happened that he had a situation on the horizon with Purple Ribbon. SO when my situation ended, we just linked up and the stars and moons and everything just lined up perfectly.
Your first two albums were mostly produced by Timbaland, but this record only has one track by Tim and is mostly produced by Organized Noize (Outkast, Goodie Mob). Why the change?
Organized Noize worked on both my previous albums, and being from Georgia I grew up on those guys and the whole Dungeon Family, Outkast, Goodie Mob, Withcdoctor, Cool Breeze, Backbone and they kind of molded my perception of what good hip-hop is. So they have always kind of been my foundation. But really, me and Timbaland aren’t in business anymore, but it was still important for me to work with him to show people that we’re still brotherly. At the same time though, he’s always doing different things and I’m going in a different direction myself, but I would like to say that Timbaland will work on every album that I’ll do.
You have a hit song with your first single, “Ms. New Booty,” which surprised your fans because it’s a song that they wouldn’t expect from you.
It surprised a lot of people, that’s why it worked! It’s been two and half years since I put out anything so I had to do something shocking. But it really is a side of me, I’m a strip club type of guy and if I missed anything with my last album, there wasn’t anything on there for the clubs. So with that said, I wanted to come out of the gate with that energy for the club.
How was it working with the Ying Yang Twins?
I’ve been wanting work with them for awhile. I was relly chasing their producer Mr. Collipark, he has a good understanding of what works in the clubs as any producer in the game. He’s been a real blessing to my project and actually produced my first two singles, “Ms. New Booty” and “Heat It Up”.
So were you worried about any backlash the song or video may have caused in regards to objectifying women?
There already has been backlash and there’s quite a bit of controversy surrounding the record. You know, say whatever you want to say, bring as much attention to the whole situation as you possibly can, but to be honest, if you’re worried about this record or any aspect of it, whether it be the video, the website, whatever, you just have entirely too much time on your hands.
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