Search - Yo Gotti :: Life

Yo Gotti is among the many hardcore rappers who came out of hip-hop's Dirty South school in the '90s. He is also one of the hip-hoppers who derives part of his stage name from the late New York mafioso John Gotti. Yo Gotti has favored the thugged-out gangsta side of the Dirty South; and he gets his inspiration from both Southern and non-Southern rappers. His stomping ground is Memphis, the city that gave us the Three 6 Mafia, Gangsta Blac, Eightball & MJG, Kingpin Skinny Pimp, and quite a few other Dirty South artists. When Gotti boasts that he is "straight from the North," he doesn't mean the northern part of the United States; he means the northern part of Memphis, where he lived in the infamous, crime-ridden Ridge Crest housing projects. And Memphis' more dangerous neighborhoods have inspired many of Gotti's lyrics, which often describe the dangers of life in the 'hood. Gotti, however, doesn't always rap about crime and inner-city thug life; he also raps about sex quite a bit. After performing around Memphis in the '90s, Gotti started building a catalog in the early 2000s. His first album, From da Dope Game 2 da Rap Game, came out on the Inevitable label in 2000; Gotti's subsequent Inevitable releases included 2001's Self Explanatory and 2002's Block Burnin', Vol. 1. After that, Gotti signed with Rap Hustlers and recorded Life, which came out in 2003. This reissue through Phase One should satisfy those searching for this record and also coincides with his new album dropping in September 2009.