Bubba Sparxxx has had a truly tumultuous rap career. His major debut on Timbaland's now defunct Beat Club label, Dark Days, Bright Nights, was greeted with mixed reactions for obvious reasons - Sparxxx is the antithesis of the ideal perception of a rap artist. He's white, country, and did I mention large. In 2003, he released a musically rich and relatively introspective sophomore project, Dellverance, which failed to surpass the gold-certified status of Dark Days, Bright Nights or even live up to its commercial success. Now down with Big Boi's Purple Ribbon All Stars, Bubba Sparxxx recently had a conversation with your Rap Guide about the essence of his third album, The Charm, the prize of not having Timbaland around anymore, and picks out his favorite song from The Charm.
First of all, congratulations on your new album.Absolutely. Thank you.
Why the switch from Timbaland’s Beat Club label to Purple Ribbon All Stars?
Beat Club doesn’t exist anymore, you know, and there’s no personal problems between Timbaland and I. He had a vision for what he wanted to do with Beat Club, Interscope Records had a different vision. They couldn’t see eye to eye and I was kind of caught in the middle of it. So, the best thing was for us to go our separate ways.
With Timbaland around, the beats were always available. Is it more challenging to pick out the beats this time around?
It was definitely a big challenge not having somebody so hands on. Big Boi took more of just a big brother role. He appreciates the fact that it was my third album – different experience. But, at the same time I’ve got to be honest to say that I needed this at this point in my career. I needed to do my own thing.
How did you get hooked up with Big Boi?
You know I’ve been a member of the Dungeon Family for like 5 years now. He’s always been in my corner, he’s been a very big supporter. So, when I saw the handwriting on the wall with what was going on over on Interscope, I bumped into him over in England and he told me what he had going on with Purple Ribbon, and it just matched up. It’s just a great opportunity for us to do business together.
Right. You worked with a lot of artists on The Charm. Who was the most fun to work with?
Um…probably the Ying Yang Twins. Maybe Petey Pablo. But the Ying Yang Twins are off the chains, they’ve got party energy.
What’s your favorite song fromThe Charm?
Probably “Represent” – the first song. Just kind of challenging myself to be everything I’m supposed to be.
Is it going to be the next single?
Nah, “Heat It Up” will be the next single
Another thing that people are curious about is the “Ms New Booty” controversy. What’s going on with that right now?
I don’t even know where that’s at right now. But all I’ve got to say is that if you’re worried about the song, you’ve got too much time on your hands. There’s a lot more pertinent issues you should be focused on.
Why is it stirring up so much controversy, why do you think people are getting it twisted?
I couldn’t tell you what’s on people’s minds, man. People just feel like they’ve got to b**ch about something. I’m actually a little offended. I don’t bother anybody, I stand up for the right thing. I embody the right things, I don’t promote negativity. So, for people to attack me at this point, I’m disappointed.
Disappointed in the fans?
Nahhh…this ain’t the fans, it’s not the fans. I don’t know who it is…whatever group it is, I think you’ve got too much time on your hands. It’s not the fans, the fans don’t care about s**t like that. The fans are the reason the record is the biggest record I ever released. 10,000 spins, one of the top 5 records in the country.
Between the time you dropped your last album and the time you joined Purple Ribbon, you kept a pretty low profile. What kept you busy at the time?
Just recording. I never stop recording. I stay recording, stay working. That was pretty much it.
Where do you see the south headed as a region? Do you think it will still be on top this year? The south’s got a bit more time, but I don’t know, it could go either way. It could be a west coast resurgence, it could be a New York or east coast resurgence. We’ll just have to wait and see.
Why do you think the dirty south has been successful in the past?
There are so many different vibes. When you think of east coast, generally you think of one vibe. When you think of the west, you think gangsta rap for the most part. When you think of down south, s**t you think of so many different cities that we represent. There’s the Memphis vibe, the Atlanta vibe, the Houston vibe, the Miami vibe…there’s so many different things going on, you know what I’m saying?
Right. What makes this album different from your first two?
Just growth. Mainly just growth, I grew so much in the last 5 years and I think the growth is just reflecting on the record.
