Yo Gotti was born Mario Mims in Memphis, Tennessee. He belonged to the Northern part of the city known for its gang violence, street crime and drug dealing.  His early life was not always easy but he avoided getting into trouble with the law. As with other rappers from the hood, it made it a huge impact on his lyrics and his recording styles.

Yo Gotti – Southern Rapper

“On a street level... that's where the plan started, where you cook the plan up at” – Yo Gotti (on his new album)

Early Life

Yo Gotti was born Mario Mims in Memphis, Tennessee. He belonged to the Northern part of the city known for its gang violence, street crime and drug dealing.  His early life was not always easy but he avoided getting into trouble with the law. As with other rappers from the hood, it made it a huge impact on his lyrics and his recording styles. His biggest influence in rap music were NWA and Tupac Shakur. He chose his name Yo Gotti, a name taken from one of New York City’s most dreaded gangster John Gotti.

The Rap Career

In the late Nineties, Gotti started gaining attention for his rhymes about sexual encounters, they were quite explicit in nature. His Gangsta life influenced his rap music lyrics as well very quickly he became Memphis biggest rap star.  

The rapper coming from Tennessee were known as the Dirty South and was greatly influenced by thug/gangsta rap, which gained a lot of attention outside the state. Yo Gotti signed with Inevitable Entertainment  and released his first album “From the Da Dope Game 2 Da Rap Game”. The album gained a lot of attention.

He continued to record music through mixtapes and released his second album “Self Explanatory” was released in 2001 which featured 18 Gangsta style raps.

The Major Label Debut

In 2002, he released his third album “Block Burning Vol.1”. On the back of a catalogue of strong albums, Yo Gotti started to get wider popularity. The album featured the song “Dirty South Soldier” with rapper Lil Jon. The album is considered to be his best according to his fans.

It was during this time that major labels started getting interested in Yo Gotti, initially TVT agreed to release his next album with Inevitable Records. TVT record label featured other artists like Ja Rule, Lil Jon and even Snoop Dogg. The album “Life” was released in 2003. His second TVT release was “Back 2 Da Basics” in 2006. After releasing some mix tapes, Gotti went on a tour in 2007.  in 2006. After releasing some mix tapes, Gotti went on a tour in 2007.

In 2008 he released “Cocaine Muzik” a collection of new music and what is considered a mix tape. Yo Gotti has suggested that he will be releasing a full fledged album in 2010. At age 26 he is easily of the rap genre most promising future talent.

The new album will be released on J Records.

• Did You Know: Yo Gotti claimed to have recorded 100 songs for his album “Live from the Kitchen” which is due to be released in 2010. The actual track list is not yet known.

• Did You Know: Yo Gotti track “Full Time” is featured on the movie Hustle and Flow

• Did You Know: Yo Gotti has collaborated with some of the biggest hip-hop rap stars including Lil Wayne, Busta Rhymes.

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