b. Warren Anderson Mathis, 6 March 1977, LaGrange, Georgia, USA. This white rapper offers an unusual spin on the hip-hop format, celebrating his rural southern upbringing against tracks laid down by leading urban producers Timbaland and Organized Noize.
Mathis was raised in a country area of Georgia where he first heard rap music from his nearest neighbour, who lived half a mile down the road. After shining as a high school football player, Mathis briefly attended community college before making his first forays into the music world in late 1996. Rapping under the name Lil Devil, he formed One Card Shi with So So Def rapper Jason Brown. After the pair split-up, Mathis adopted the new moniker Bubba Sparxxx (the first name was a family nickname from his childhood, the second a eye-catching title) and renewed his acquaintance with So So Def staff producer Shannon Houchins. The pair recorded Dark Days, Bright Nights in early 1999, releasing it on Nocents Recordings, a label co-run by Sparxxx. The album came to the attention of Jimmy Iovine, head of Interscope Records, who signed Sparxxx and fashioned a recording contract with Timbaland’s new Beat Club imprint. Dark Days, Bright Nights was re-recorded for its major label debut, with Timbaland, Houchins and Organized Noize taking on the bulk of the production duties. The unusual instrumentation on the album included a sitar sample on the Top 20 hit ‘Ugly’ and banjo on ‘Bubba Talk’. The album entered the US charts at number 3 in November 2001.
A second album followed in 2003, but despite receiving critical acclaim the low-key Deliverance failed to maintain Sparxxx’s commercial momentum. He was released by Interscope but found a saviour in the shape of Big Boi of Outkast, who signed Sparxxx to his Purple Ribbon imprint. Sparxxx returned to the US Top 10 at the start of 2006 with the single ‘Ms. New Booty’ (featuring the Ying-Yang Twins and Mr. ColliPark). His third album, The Charm, followed in April.
