Webster Gradney, Jr. (born September 6, 1985), 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 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. Webbie's second album, Savage Life 2, was released in the fall 2008 with the hit single "Independent" featuring Lil Boosie and Lil Phat.

Early life [link]

Webbie was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.^[1] His mother died when he was nine years old, so his parental care was split between his father and grandmother.^[2] 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.^[2] Allthough his grades were poor through out school his math teacher said he did decent during math class.

Music career [link]

He began his career with Baton Rouge superstar Lil Boosie, being featured in Ghetto Stories in 2003 and Gangsta Muzik in 2004. As Webbie's solo track "Give Me That" featuring Bun B was 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 2005,^[1] debuting at number eight on the Billboard 200 chart.^[3] Singles from his next album, Savage Life 2, include "Independent" featuring Boosie and Lil Phat. It is Webbie's most successful song to date, peaking at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reaching the top of the Rap Songs chart. Webbie released his latest album Savage Life 3 on November 15, 2011 under Universal Records.

Acting career [link]

He has released an independent biography movie called Ghetto Stories: The Movie, released in October 2010, with Lil Boosie, based on their lives and lyrical themes.^[4]

106 & Park Controversy [link]

On the October 14, 2011 episode of BET’s 106 & Park, Webbie was banned from further appearances on the countdown show. Webbie appeared on the Oct 14th, 2011 show as a guest judge for Freestyle Friday. The reason behind his ban was tied to allegations that he made sexually inappropriate comments to the show's hostess, Rocsi. ^[5]

Discography [link]

References [link]

External links [link]

• Official Twitter
• Trill Ent.
• Webbie at MySpace
• Profile at Rolling Stone