Warren Anderson Mathis (born March 6, 1977), better known by his stage name Bubba Sparxxx, is an American rapper. His 2001 single, "Ugly" (featuring Timbaland) peaked at number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 and led him to sign with Timbaland's Beat Club Records, an imprint of Interscope Records to release his debut studio album, Dark Days, Bright Nights (2001). Met with critical and commercial success, it peaked at number three on the Billboard 200.
Bubba Sparxxx | |
|---|---|
 Bubba Sparxxx in 2008 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Warren Anderson Mathis |
| Also known as | Bubba |
| Born | March 6, 1977 Troup County, Georgia, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1996–present |
| Labels |
|
| Formerly of | |
His second album, Deliverance (2003) was met with further critical acclaim, while his third, The Charm (2006)—released by Big Boi's Purple Ribbon Records, an imprint of Virgin Records—yielded the single "Ms. New Booty" (featuring Ying Yang Twins and Mr. Collipark), which peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100. Marking his final release on a major label, his subsequent releases delved further into country rap.
Early life
editMathis grew up in Troup County, Georgia in a rural area near LaGrange, Georgia. He is of French descent.[1] His father was a school bus driver and his mother was a grocery store cashier.[2] His closest neighbor, who lived half a mile (0.8 km) away, introduced him to rap music through mixtapes mailed from New York City. The music of 2 Live Crew was his introduction to hip hop; he began listening to West Coast gangsta rap such as N.W.A and Too Short and the Atlanta duo Outkast. With rapping as a hobby, he was a tight end and linebacker for his high school's football team and earned All-Region honors in his senior year.[1] Steve Herndon, a former offensive lineman for the NFL's Atlanta Falcons and Denver Broncos, played football with him during high school, according to an interview with Down-South.com.[1][2] In 2007, he moved to Tampa, Florida.[3]
Career
editIn 1996, he moved to Athens, Georgia where he met industry veteran Bobby Stamps. Stamps noticed him rapping after a University of Georgia football game and later introduced him to Atlanta producer Shannon Houchins.
For two years, Houchins and Stamps worked together to produce Sparxxx's first commercial release, Dark Days, Bright Nights, which released in 2001. The debut album saw some success in Georgia and caught the attention of Jimmy Iovine of Interscope Records. Sparxxx signed to Interscope and began working with record producers Timbaland and Organized Noize, as well as continuing to work with Shannon Houchins.[1] The major-label reissue of Dark Days, Bright Nights, released via Timbaland's Beat Club Records imprint and which now included five collaborations with Timbaland and two with Organized Noise, debuted at #3 on the Billboard 200.
In 2002, he had a minor hit being featured on Archie Eversole's "We Ready", which became popular for being played at sporting events, such as American football and basketball games. In late 2003, he returned with his second album, Deliverance, which was critically acclaimed but sold poorly.[1]
Sparxxx signed a recording contract with Virgin Records in 2004; under Virgin, Sparxxx released The Charm with singles "Ms. New Booty" and "Heat It Up".
He left Virgin to establish his own label, New South Entertainment, which is distributed by E1 Records. In 2007, he released a mixtape with DJ Burn One titled Survive Till Ya Thrive.
In 2012, he signed to Backroad Records, a subsidiary of the independent label Average Joes Entertainment owned by Shannon Houchins and Colt Ford, and recorded the song "Country Boy Coolin'" which was featured on Mud Digger Vol. 3, a compilation album released by Average Joe's on June 12, 2012. He stated in an interview that he planned on releasing an album to be called Miracle on Gamble Road, in 2012.
In January 2013, Sparxxx released the video "Splinter" which featured Crucifix. In July 2013, a video for his single "Country Folks", which features Danny Boone of the band Rehab and Colt Ford and produced by Houchins, was released.[4] The album Pain Management was released on October 15, 2013.
In March 2016, Sparxxx signed to Yelawolf's Slumerican records imprint.[5] On October 7, 2016, Sparxxx released his first release under Slumerican The Bubba Mathis EP.[6] Sparxxx released Rapper From The Country on September 16, 2018, through New South Entertainment (E1).[7]
On November 11, 2020, Sparxxx released an EP, Crickets with Hosier. On December 4, 2020, Sparxxx released his seventh album King of Crap through New South Entertainment which had the single "Bird Dawg". In May 2021, WORLDSTARHIPHOP released a video for "Bird Dawg".
Discography
editStudio albums
edit| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales threshold) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [8] |
US R&B [9] |
US Rap [10] |
US Country [11] |
NZ [12] | |||
| Dark Days, Bright Nights |
|
3 | 3 | — | — | — | |
| Deliverance |
|
10 | 9 | — | — | 30 | |
| The Charm |
|
9 | 3 | 2 | — | — | |
| Pain Management |
|
— | — | — | 40 | — | |
| Made on McCosh Mill Road |
|
— | — | — | 49 | — | |
| Rapper From the Country |
|
— | — | — | — | — | |
| King of Crap |
|
— | — | — | — | — | |
| Life Is Serious (Deluxe) (with Los Ghost) |
|
— | — | — | — | — | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||
Mixtapes
edit| Title | Mixtape Details |
|---|---|
| Survive Till Ya Thrive | Release Date: August 17, 2007,
Label: N/A |
EPs
edit- The Bubba Mathis EP (2015)
- Crap Gawd (2021)
Collaborative EPs
edit- Crickets (with Hosier) (2020)
- Life Is Serious (with Los Ghost) (2021)
Singles
edit| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [14] |
US R&B [14] |
US Rap [14] |
UK [15] |
NZ [16] | ||||
| 2001 | "Ugly" (featuring Timbaland) |
15 | 6 | 6 | 7 | — | Dark Days, Bright Nights | |
| "Lovely" | — | 77 | — | 24 | — | |||
| 2003 | "Jimmy Mathis" | — | 98 | — | — | — | Deliverance | |
| "Deliverance" (featuring Timbaland) |
101 | 107 | 22 | 55 | — | |||
| "Back in the Mud" | — | — | — | — | 3 | |||
| 2005 | "Hey! (A Lil' Gratitude)" | — | — | — | — | — | The Charm | |
| "The Otherside" (featuring Petey Pablo and Sleepy Brown) |
— | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Ms. New Booty" (featuring Ying Yang Twins and Mr. ColliPark) |
7 | 7 | 3 | — | 22 |
| ||
| 2006 | "Heat It Up" | 103 | 57 | 24 | — | — | ||
| 2008 | "I Like It Alot" | — | — | — | — | — | Best of Bubba Sparxxx | |
| "She Got Me Like (Ahh Shit)" (featuring Ray J) |
— | — | — | — | — | The New South | ||
| 2009 | "Beatin Down the Block" (featuring Dirt Reynolds) |
— | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012 | "Country Folks" (featuring Danny Boone and Colt Ford) |
— | — | — | — | — |
|
Pain Management |
| 2013 | "Splinter" (featuring Crucifix) |
— | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014 | "Made On McCosh Mill Rd." (featuring Danny Boone) |
— | — | — | — | — | Made On McCosh Mill Road | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or receive certification. | ||||||||
Guest singles
edit| Year | Title | Artist | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | "They Ain't Ready" | Jadakiss, Timbaland | Ryde or Die Vol. 3: In the "R" We Trust |
| 2002 | "We Ready (Remix)" | Archie Eversole | Ride wit Me Dirty South Style |
| 2012 | "Wylin'" | The Lacs | 190 Proof |
Guest appearances
edit| Year | Song | Artist(s) | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | "Rearranged (Timbaland Remix)" | Limp Bizkit | New Old Songs |
| "White Gutz" | Dungeon Family | Even in Darkness | |
| 2002 | "PHDream" | The Crystal Method | Blade II (soundtrack) |
| "Oh My God" | Haystak | The Natural | |
| "Hungry" | — | Undisputed (soundtrack) | |
| "Oops (Oh My) [Amended Version] | Tweet | Oops (Oh My) single | |
| "Right for Me" | Justin Timberlake | Justified | |
| 2003 | "Club Hoppin'" | Jamelia | Thank You |
| "Dat Look" | Turk | Raw & Uncut | |
| "Shenanigans" | Timbaland & Magoo | Under Construction, Part II | |
| 2004 | "Get on Dis Motorcycle" | Petey Pablo | Still Writing in My Diary: 2nd Entry |
| 2005 | "Oh No" | Big Boi, Killer Mike | xXx: State of the Union (soundtrack) |
| "Claremont Lounge" | Purple Ribbon All-Stars | Got Purp? Vol. 2 | |
| 2011 | "This Is Our Song" (Remix) | Colt Ford, The Lacs, Demun Jones, Rehab | Mud Digger Vol. 2 |
| 2012 | "Show Some Skin" | Lil Wyte | Still Doubted |
| "Wylin" | The Lacs | 190 Proof | |
| "The Labyrinth" | Crystal Seth | District XXIII | |
| 2013 | "Project X" | Shane Dollar and the Sense + Wody | Life, Love, and Hip Hop |
| 2014 | "Outlaw" | Shane Dollar | ? |
| "Baby Wussup" | Ricky Young | Feels Damn Good | |
| "Try Harder Than That" | Meghan Linsey | ? | |
| 2016 | "Take A Ride With Me" | Twang & Round | Take A Ride With Me |
| 2017 | "Born in Fire" | Boondox w/ Jamie Madrox & Struggle | The Murder |
| 2018 | "Beautiful Day" | Mike Smith and Jonathan Hay | Jail Tattoos |
Video game appearances
editBubba Sparxxx is a playable character in the video game Def Jam: Fight for NY.
References
edit- ^ a b c d e Birchmeier, Jason (2006). "Bubba Sparxxx > Biography". allmusic. Retrieved March 23, 2009.
- ^ a b Braxton, Charlie. "Bubba Sparxxx Interview". Down-South.com. Archived from the original on January 3, 2007. Retrieved March 23, 2009.
- ^ Arnold, Paul W. (August 3, 2007). "Bubba Sparxxx: 4th Time's A Charm?". HipHopDX. Archived from the original on March 28, 2008. Retrieved March 23, 2009.
- ^ Whitney Lane (August 20, 2013). "VIDEO: Bubba Sparxxx Returns With "Country Folks"". spotlightcountry.com. Archived from the original on October 4, 2013. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
- ^ The Gooch (March 10, 2016). "Bubba Sparxxx signs with Yelawolf's Slumerican record label". hickhopmusic.com. Archived from the original on August 18, 2016. Retrieved June 27, 2016.
- ^ "The Bubba Mathis – EP by Bubba Sparxxx". Music.apple.com. October 7, 2016.
- ^ "Review: Bubba Sparxxx Is Backwoods Boring On "Rapper From The Country"". HipHopDX.com. September 27, 2018.
- ^ "Bubba Sparxxx Chart History". Billboard 200. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
- ^ "Bubba Sparxxx Chart History". Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
- ^ "Bubba Sparxxx Chart History". Top Rap Albums. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
- ^ "Bubba Sparxxx Chart History". Top Country Albums. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
- ^ "charts.nz – New Zealand charts portal". charts.nz. Retrieved January 23, 2010.
- ^ "Recording Industry Association of America". RIAA. Archived from the original on June 26, 2007. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
- ^ a b c "Bubba Sparxxx > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles". allmusic. Retrieved March 23, 2009.
- ^ "The Official Charts Company – Bubba Sparxxx". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 23, 2010.
- ^ "charts.nz – New Zealand charts portal". charts.nz. Retrieved January 23, 2010.
- ^ a b "American certifications – Bubba Sparxxx". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
External links
edit- Bubba Sparxxx on Myspace
- Bubba Sparxxx discography at Discogs
- Bubba Sparxxx discography at MusicBrainz
