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Webbie extracted from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, distributed under the GNU Free Documentation License

Webbie
Background information
Birth name	Webster Gradney, Jr.
Born	September 6, 1985 (age 24)
Origin	Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States
Genres	Hip hop
Years active	2000–present
Labels	Asylum/Trill/Atlantic/Warner Bros.
Associated acts	UGK, Lil Boosie, 3 Deep
Website	www.webbiemuzik.com

Webster Gradney, Jr., who performs under the mononym Webbie, is an American rapper from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He was signed to the independent Trill Entertainment label from 2003 to 2005.¹ In 2005 he came into the hip hop scene in with "Gimme That" featuring Bun B. His songs "Bad Bitch" and "Swerve" were featured on Gangsta Musik, his 2003 group album with Lil' Boosie, and in the 2005 movie Hustle & Flow. Both songs are also on Webbie's debut album Savage Life which was released in the summer of 2005 under Atlantic Records.¹ He is currently planning an independent biography movie called Ghetto Stories: The Movie with Lil' Boosie, based on their lives and lyrical themes.²

Contents 1 Early life 2 Music career 3 Discography 3.1 Albums 3.1.1 Collaboration 3.2 Singles 3.2.1 Solo 3.2.2 Guest appearances 3.3 Mixtapes 4 References 5 External links

Early life

Webbie was born September 6, 1985 as Webster Gradney, Jr. in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.¹ His mother Joycelyn died of cancer when he was eight years old, so his parental care was split between his father and grandmother.³ Ever since he was five years old, he had been writing rhymes, and throughout his childhood he had become an avid fan of hardcore rap artists including Southern hip hop performers Master P, Eightball & MJG, the Geto Boys, and UGK, as well as West Coast rap such as 2Pac, Eazy-E, and Snoop Dogg. His admiration for hip-hop is attributed to his cousin from California.³ He attended Broadmoor Middle School, where he played quarterback for the football team the Buccaneers. 7th grade math teacher Sean Fluharty described Gradney as a "quiet, mild-mannered student" and said "he was actually pretty good at math."³

Things changed for him one day in the fall of 2001 after he made a freestyle rap about his late mother.⁴ Thus, he was signed to independent label Trill Entertainment by rapper Pimp C of UGK.¹

Music career

Under Trill, he recorded two albums in collaboration with fellow Baton Rouge-based rapper Lil' Boosie, Ghetto Stories in 2003 and Gangsta Musik in 2004. As Webbie's solo tracks "Gimme Dat" " were frequently featured in mixtapes, Trill began a deal to sign Webbie to the Warner Bros. Records subsidiary label Atlantic Records. He was signed there, and his major-label debut Savage Life was released in 2005¹, debuting at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.⁵ In 2007, he wrote and performed on the track "Wipe Me Down" by rapper and began work on his follow-up album Savage Life 2 which was released February 26, 2008.⁶ It debuted at number four on the Billboard Hot 100, selling 72,000 copies its debut week.⁷ Singles from Savage Life 2 include "Independent"

Discography

Albums

Year	Title	Chart positions8
		U.S.	U.S. R&B	U.S. Rap
2005	Savage Life Released: June 21, 2005 Label: Atlantic Format: CD, digital download	8	4	4
2008	Savage Life 2 Released: February 26, 2008 Label: Asylum Format: CD, digital download	4	1	1

Collaboration

Year	Title	Chart positions91011
		U.S.	U.S. R&B	U.S. Rap	U.S. Heatseekers
2003	Ghetto Stories (with Lil Boosie) Released: July 22, 2003 Label: Trill Format: CD, cassette, digital download	—	56	—	—
2004	Gangsta Musik (with Lil Boosie) Released: May 25, 2004 Label: Warner Bros. Format: CD, digital download	—	35	14	11
2007	Trill Entertainment Presents: Survival of the Fittest (with Lil Boosie, Foxx & Trill Fam) Released: May 15, 2007 Label: Trill Format: CD, digital download	14	3	2	—

Singles

Solo

Year	Title	Chart positions12				RIAA certification	Album
		U.S.	U.S. R&B	U.S. Rap	U.S. Pop
2005	"Give Me That" (featuring Bun B)	29	8	4	72	Gold	Savage Life
	"Bad Bitch [Remix]" (featuring Trina)	120	48	—	—	—
	"How U Ridin'"	—	91	—	—	—
2007	"Independent" (featuring Lil Phat & Lil Boosie)	9	5	1	27	—	Savage Life 2
2008	"I Miss You" (featuring LeToya)	—	64	—	—	—

Other charted songs

Year	Title	Chart positions	Album
		U.S. R&B
2005	"What Is It"	10913	Savage Life
	"Like That"	6812

Guest appearances

Year	Song	U.S. Hot 100	U.S. R&B	U.S. Rap	Album
2007	"Wipe Me Down [Remix]" (Foxx featuring Lil Boosie & Webbie)	38	8	4	Trill Entertainment Presents: Survival of the Fittest
2008	"Bizzy Body " (Paul Wall featuring Webbie & Mouse)	67	8	13	Fast Life
2009	"Better Believe It" (Lil Boosie featuring Webbie & Young Jeezy)	106	40	23	Superbad: The Return of Boosie Bad Azz
	"Lil Freak (Ugh, Ugh, Ugh)" (Three 6 Mafia featuring Webbie)	—	—	—	Laws of Power

Mixtapes

• The Savage Mixtape Vol. 1
  • Released: April 19, 2006
  • Label: Trill Entertainment

• Gangsta Grillz #14 (With DJ Drama)

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} Jeffries, David (2005). "Webbie - Biography". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:apftxqesldhe~T1. Retrieved 2008-04-19. 
2. ^ "Trill Fam - Survival of the Fittest". Asylum Records. 2007. http://www.asylumrecords.com/new/bio.php?bio=30. Retrieved 2008-04-19. 
3. ^ ^{a b c} "Webbie - Biography". Yahoo! Music. Atlantic Records. 2005. http://music.yahoo.com/ar-17973444-bio--Webbie. Retrieved 2008-04-19. 
4. ^ "Webbie - Full Biography". MTV. http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/webbie/artist.jhtml#bio. Retrieved 2008-04-19. 
5. ^ Whitmire, Margo (2005-07-13). "R. Kelly "Reloads" at No. 1". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/search/google/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000978160. Retrieved 2008-04-19. 
6. ^ Crosley, Hillary (2008-01-07). "Webbie's Next "Life" Due In Late February77". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003693408. Retrieved 2008-04-19. 
7. ^ Harris, Chris (2008-03-05). "Janet Jackson Teaches Jack Johnson Discipline, Claims Sixth #1 Debut". MTV News. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1582799/20080305/jackson_janet.jhtml. Retrieved 2008-04-19. 
8. ^ "Webbie - Billboard Albums". Allmusic. 2008. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:apftxqesldhe~T5. Retrieved 2008-04-19. 
9. ^ "Ghetto Stories > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums". allmusic. http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:dcfpxqwaldte~T3. Retrieved December 7, 2009. 
10. ^ "Gangsta Musik > Charts & Awards". allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:wjfyxqealdhe~T30. Retrieved 2008-12-07. 
11. ^ ""Survival of the Fittest" - Charts & Awards". Allmusic. 2007. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:3pfixzl5ld6e~T3. Retrieved 2008-04-19. 
12. ^ ^{a b} "Webbie - Billboard Singles". Allmusic. 2008. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:apftxqesldhe~T51. Retrieved 2008-04-19. 
13. ^ http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp?cfi=345&cfgn=Singles&cfn=Bubbling+Under+R%26amp%3BB%2FHip-Hop+Singles&ci=3063817&cdi=8529842&cid=01%2F21%2F2006

External links

• Official website
• Trill Ent.
• Webbie at MySpace
• Profile at Rolling Stone
• [1] at "Twitter"

v â€¢ d â€¢ e Webbie Albums Savage Life Â· Savage Life 2 Singles "Give Me That" Â· "Bad Bitch" Â· "Independent"  Â· "I Miss You" Featured singles "Wipe Me Down" Related articles Trill Entertainment