"
First
it was Crunk, then it was Trap,
then it was Snap. Now perhaps
we could rap cause thats the
shit that put us on the map" ..
Bobby Creekwater
Atlanta: Gateway
to the south. Turn the key and
you'll find an array of sounds
re-shaping the urban music landscape
like never before imagined.
Amidst the 'crunk', the 'snappin'
and the 'trappin' is one of
Atlanta's best kept secrets:
Bobby Creekwater.
Raised in South West Atlanta,
Bobby Creekwater (real name
Antoine Rogers)
influences reflected his upbringing.
The soulful melodies of Al
Green and Aretha
Franklin, the unpredictable
sounds of the Dungeon
Family and the entrepreneurship
of Atlanta trap scene all serve
Creek with
the kind of inspiration to create
music that's able to touch the
listener, no matter the region.
It's his ability to mix his
influences that according to
Creek makes
his "music stand apart
from what everything else in
the game right now".
Once upon a time, what worked
for
Bobby Creekwater,
former knucklehead-in-training
was enrolling in Clark-Atlanta
University with a major in Marketing
immediately after high school.
But after only a year,
Creek was forced to choose between
higher education and following
his dream of being a recording
artist, when he and his group,
JATIS, (along
with partner
Charlie
Hustle) were offered
a deal with
Loud Records,
then the home of powerhouse
acts like
Wu-Tang,
Big Pun and
Mobb Deep.
With a dream in one hand and
an opportunity on the other,
Creek quit
Clark-Atlanta and made his way
to New York City.
Unfortunately,
Loud
Records folded before
Jatis album
was ever completed, and
Bobby found himself back at square
one. Determined to make his
mark,
Creek focused his attentions on becoming
a well rounded solo artist.
Not surprisingly, most of the
support
Creek had attained during his short
tenor at
Loud disappeared shortly after he
was dropped; including many
of the producers he relied on
for his sound.
"
That situation made
me realize that I can't rely
on anyone else when it's comes
to my well being."
The situation forced
Creek to invest in his own studio
equipment and create his own
backdrops.
Creek eventually isolated himself
from his peers and went through
a stage where he focused his
energy on becoming a different
type of artist, a complete one.
Creek's hard
work paid off when his voice
came across
Shady Records' executives who heard him rapping
on someone elses demo. Sensing
potential,
Shady Records' president
Eminem quickly noticed that the music
presented by
Creek made him a diamond in the rough
and quickly signed him to his
fledging label in summer of
2005.
Listeners got an early glimpse
of
Bobby Creekwater when he released his mix-tape,
Anthem to the Streets in fall of 2005. Hosted by
The
Aphilates own
DJ
Don Cannon, the mix-tape
showcased
Creek's knack for standing out as he
purposely strayed away from
the normal jacking-for-beats
stylings that come from todays
mix tape scene and instead featured
many of the songs on the demo
that got him his deal with
Shady
Records.
"
Theres so much to
offer with this music thing,"
says
Creek. "
Its sad that most
artists settle just to reach
a certain number of people or
are afraid to be themselves.
They do what they think works
at that specific time."
While the pressure to live up
to huge successful label mates
might be too much to handle
for some new artists, the confident
young ambassador has no such
problems. To the contrary, he
welcomes the challenge with
open arms.
"
First and foremost,
for me, its great to be in the
presence of giants like Fifty and Em,"
Creek gushes. "
Being signed here,
I feel that I can bring a new
side of Shady out, being that Im from the
South. I want to come in, put
my stamp on the game and tell
my story. All the way around,
its a good look."
On December 5th, 2006,
Eminem will introduce the world to
Bobby Creekwater when he debuts on
Eminem
Presents: The Re-Up on
Shady Records.
Powered by the single "
You
Dont Know" featuring
Eminem,
50
Cent,
Lloyd
Banks and fellow new-comer
Ca$his, the
album finds
Eminem unveiling
Bobby Creekwater through most of the album.
Bobby Creekwater will be featured on over half
a dozen tracks including rare
remixes to
Eminem's "
Shake Dat" and
Akon's top 10 single "
Smack
That." Providing
the back drops for his contributions
to the album are
Eminem as well as
The Alchemist.
"
My music is a doorway
into many other things I hope
to achieve. I'd like to use
it to catapult me to a place
where Im able to help change
things. I can sit here all day
and name shit that I want to
do, and some of it will sound
cliché, but for the most
part, I just want to change
things."
Bobby Creekwater is now hard at work gearing
up for his debut album,
A
Brilliant Mistake. The
album will feature production
from
Bobby Creekwater himself as well as his team,
Triangle Offense and will be executive produced
by
Eminem.
