On the heels of highly publicized legal troubles, Gillie defiantly
presses forward with the release of his first solo LP featuring
Philly's renowned Major Figgas crew
**see below for official statement from Gillie's camp regarding his
recent incarceration
Over the years, Gillie Da Kid of the Major Figgas crew has electrified
the streets of Philly with his mixtape releases, substantiating his
self-proclaimed appointment as the "King of Philly." The broader
hip-hop community, however, probably knows him best for the highly
publicized beef with Cash Money (and more specifically, Lil' Wayne),
surrounding his ghostwriting efforts for the renowned New Orleans
clique.
Now, with the March 13th debut solo release, The Best of the GDK
Mixtapes, Gillie showcases the highlights of the renowned mixtape
releases that made him a "hoodhold" name in the streets of Philly.
Featuring the entire Major Figgas crew, any doubts as to Gillie's
ghostwriting claims will be laid to rest. As is often remarked in the
industry, beef is beef and talk is just talk. In the case of Gillie Da
Kid, however, “the facts are truly in the wax.”
Gillie Da Kid first garnered national attention as one seventh of the
Philly-based group Major Figgas with the release of their album Figgas
4 Life in the late ‘90s. In 2000, the group’s single, “Yeah,
That’s
Us,” became the #2 rap single in the country and Gillie and the other
six Figgas (Spade, Dutch, Bianca-The First Lady, Bumpie J, Ab Live and
Rolx) received an ASCAP Songwriter award. However, the critical
acclaim and underground appreciation for the group was never matched by
the record’s sales, so the Figgas chose to focus on their solo
careers.
After a chance meeting with Baby from Cash Money Records backstage at
Philadelphia’s First Union Center, Gillie was offered a spot on the
label. The deal was completed in a week, but disputes over publishing
rights placed the artist and label in an antagonistic relationship.
“I
didn’t want to sell any of my publishing,” Gillie said in an
interview,
“but they just assumed that after we got the label deal done they
could
just make me blink into selling them some publishing, but I wouldn’t
do
it. So that’s why they basically had me playing the background.”
Playing the background was all Gillie needed to shake things up at the
label. “When I got around there, I changed the whole direction of
Cash
Money. Not just the ghostwriting part, I’m talking about
everything,”
he says. In addition to his claims of ghostwriting for Cash Money
artists, most notably his assertion that he penned nearly all of Lil’
Wayne’s The Carter I, Gillie says he is single-handedly responsible
for
the rapper’s dramatic change in rap style. Gillie left Cash Money to
pursue a solo career- and kept quiet about what he did for the label
until Lil’ Wayne released a diss track directed at him.
The question of his influence on Wayne and Cash Money is a
controversial
one in the hip-hop community and is responsible for Gillie’s somewhat
infamous reputation, but he handles it with the bravado of an artist
confident in his abilities: “[Lil’ Wayne] feel like he got
something
to prove, but you don’t got nothing to prove to nobody, shorty. Just
keep doing you ’cause this could be your downfall…you don’t even
have
enough charisma. You a clone.”
Gillie made headlines in June of 2006 by getting shot three times in
what the police called an attempted murder. There were no suspects and
the perpetrator’s motives remain unknown, reportedly due to his lack
of
cooperation with the authorities. However, Gillie hardly seemed phased
by the shooting, coolly explaining in an interview that “[he] got
shot a
few times, you know…but it was about nothing, [he’s] still here
breathing.”
The shooting and Gillie's beef with Lil' Wayne, Baby, and Cash Money
Records aside, Gillie is focused on the March 13th release of his first
solo LP, The Best of the GDK Mixtapes and bringing more prominence to
his native city and fellow rappers from Philadelphia, a town known more
for exporting talent than keeping it.
"Everybody from Philly that came out didn't give back," he says.
Gillie
hopes to change all that with his explosive buzz. "[I'm] going around
displaying talent, giving them a shot, letting them be seen and
heard," he says, "I'm working on me and my crew."
**Official statement from Yanna B., manager of Gillie Da Kid, regarding
his recent incarceration:
I am confirming the fact that Gillie was indeed arrested and taken into
custody by the Philadelphia Police Department on Tuesday February 6,
2007. However, the charges against Gillie are unwarranted and once
Gillie has his day in court, we are confident that the evidence against
him will prove to be false. The media outlets in Philadelphia are
clearly using Gillie's status as an entertainer and celebrity to draw
media attention to him. This was clearly a case of him being in the
wrong place at the wrong time. Gillie is in no way guilty of the
charges brought against him and once all facts come to light, he will
be vindicated.
For further press inquiries, please contact: pr@babygrande.com
www.gilliedakid.net
www.crackspace.com/gilliedakid
www.babygrande.com
