LIL TROY: PRINCE & THE WANNA BE A BALLER CURSE (HOUSTON)

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[00:00:09]The classic song Want to Be a Baller by Little Troy has its origins in late '80s Houston, Texas. When a young dope boy named Troy Burkelet, also known as Little Troy, was riding around the city with a dream. He wanted to be the CEO of his very own rap label. So in 1987, he took the money that he stacked in the dope game and invested it in his own label, Shortstop Records. This was years before CEOs like Master P and Birdman would take over the music industry with their record labels coming out of the South. Lil Troy already had that mindset in the 80s and already knew the value of ownership at only 21 years old. And this was around the same time that another powerful individual in the city of Houston was starting their own record label. Jay Prince with the legendary Rapalot Records. They were cool with each other from their time in the streets and always kept a respectful relationship. Initially, Little Troy would focus on local Houston artists to build his Shortstop Records empire. He even discovered future Houston legend Scarface, who served as the DJ for Shortstop Records, going by the name of DJ Action. They were able to get a little bit of a buzz on a few local songs, but that was about it. And their most popular tracks featured an artist who wasn't even signed to the label, Patrick Hawkins, aka Fat Pat. Lil Troy had known him since he was like 10 years old, and they came up together. So, when Fat Pat started getting popular as a teenage rapper around Houston, he would still often collaborate with Little Troy. but he didn't like the direction that he seen his record company going.

[00:01:39]He started to feel like the artists that he had signed just didn't have the work ethic to make it in the music business.

[00:01:45]And he also said that he sat back and started to feel like they were living a lie because the things that they were rapping about doing and having, Troy was actually doing in having. So that's when he made the decision that he would be the premier rapper on his label. But before he could fully go down that path, he would be hit with federal drug charges in the early 1990s. After getting caught with bricks in his car on the highway, he served a couple of years and was released in the mid '90s. And as soon as he got out, he wanted to jump right back into the music business. But there was only one issue. Paying for a lawyer fighting a federal case had drained his finances. So when he was back on the streets, he went to go see his old friend Jay Prince about getting a loan. Lil Troy said that he was still sitting on some bricks during this time, but he still needed about $75,000 to get his record company back up and running.

[00:02:34]Lil Troy told Jay Prince that he didn't want it to be a music business deal. He wanted it to be just like when they were on the street, his handshake and his word with no contracts involved. But he said that he sensed hesitation in J Prince's voice. And that's when he said that he knew he had to make a different move. So in 1995, he joined the rap group called Mass 187 out of Kansas City, Missouri. They went on to sign a deal with Payday Records, the same label that had artists like DJ Premiere and Jay-Z.

[00:03:04]So [ __ ] when you when you get locked up, this is when Scarface blows up. You know what I'm saying? How are you feeling? How do you are you still like just rap? You know what I'm saying?

[00:03:13]>> Rap made didn't bother me.

[00:03:14]>> No [ __ ] >> I just after I come on, I just put some more more grooves out. You know what I'm saying? and I'm going get this money.

[00:03:20]>> Yeah.

[00:03:20]>> And put some more groups so I can keep doing it. You know what I'm saying? They doing it. They making a name for itself over there. Yeah.

[00:03:25]>> [ __ ] I'm cool over here. You know what I'm saying? I know them.

[00:03:29]>> Cool. Me. J&M doing their thing. Ra getting big.

[00:03:33]>> You know I'm sitting over here.

[00:03:34]Shortstop just at idle right now. You know what I'm saying? We ain't doing too much.

[00:03:38]>> So I put out mask one. So I go to little Jay. I said, "Hey Jay, look out man.

[00:03:43]Told man I need something. Holl at you."

[00:03:44]Right. So I'm over at the compound. He say, "Yeah, what you need?" I say, "Shit, Jay, I don't need no contacts or nothing. I need about $75,000, man. You know, $75 to $80,000. Let me match what I got right now." You know what I'm saying? I'm sit on a couple bricks. I can sell these [ __ ] keep going.

[00:04:00]But I got this cash. I can keep on making it happen. You know what I'm saying? But I'll pay you back, but I ain't no contract or nothing. I ain't doing none of that [ __ ] We just do like we just do in the street. This is just >> like you give me some work or something.

[00:04:11]You know what I'm saying? Just give me the money. I'll pay it back. And he told me, "Well, man, you know, the contact just is more important than the money."

[00:04:17]I said, "I don't want the contact. Just give me the money, man. I got my own contact." And then he said, "Well, [ __ ] Come back out. We'll talk about you.

[00:04:25]We're going to do and [ __ ] like that." I said, "Ah, J. [ __ ] that shit." So, I go put Mass 187 out and I get a deal on with them without them. You know what I'm saying? So, cuz they was hot. Yeah.

[00:04:35]Uh, same label. Um, DJ Premier them all on >> uh um >> Payday Records. Yeah.

[00:04:43]>> Yeah.

[00:04:43]>> No [ __ ] >> I was on Payday Records time when Jay-Z and them on there premiered them all on there. We was all on Payday Record together.

[00:04:51]>> Mass 187 released two albums under the label and did reach a certain level of success with their hit single Gangster Strut. But little Troy said he ran into the same issues that he did with his artists on Shortstop, saying that the guys in Mass 187 just didn't want to put the work in and he was having to spend extra money on things like a street team because they felt like they were too good to hand out CDs and flyers. In 1998, Troy decided to go solo, but he knew that he needed money to get back in the music business, and he knew exactly where to get it from, so he went back to moving weight. He needed the money to fund his album idea sitting fat down south. Lil Troy said that he was inspired by Quincy Jones's album Back on the Block where he was the face of the album, but there was a variety of different artists who actually did the music and that's exactly how Troy wanted it to be where he would be featured on a few songs, but overall he was really just the engine making everything go.

[00:05:45]But in June of 1998, little Troy would get caught up on the highway once again after getting pulled over and bricks were found in his vehicle, catching another federal drug charge. And it couldn't have happened at a worse time in the middle of him putting his album together.

[00:06:02]>> First, when I had Mass 187 and I take them around, I got to pay somebody to pass their postcards out, >> pass their flyers out. They were too good to pass out their own flyers. You know what I'm saying? They were like, the promo team.

[00:06:15]>> So I got to have a promo team. We're not talking about go somewhere cuz they won't pass their own stuff out. They'll get four or five postcards. They still find girl or something. They'll go get that girl one, but they just want to handle every dude one. Every [ __ ] one, every anybody, you know what I mean?

[00:06:27]Whatever.

[00:06:28]>> Now, what what was what was the decision to kind of go into um saying [ __ ] I'm going just do my own album. You know what I mean?

[00:06:34]>> Man, I got tired of [ __ ] running around there like they me and uh want what I got. You rapping, but you ain't put in no work to make no money.

[00:06:42]You just recording songs in studio. So you folks automatically feel that you got what I got.

[00:06:46]>> Yeah.

[00:06:47]>> You know what I'm saying? So [ __ ] want me to take care, pay their rent. Hey, they g need this. They need Hey, man. I got to get out here and get get hustling and [ __ ] You know what I'm saying?

[00:06:56]>> Yeah.

[00:06:56]>> So I I was like, "Fuck this shit." You know? I'm like, man, I got everything everybody talk about [ __ ] I might well do my own album. So I start, you know, peeping game with Quincy Jones done.

[00:07:09]Quincy Jones did that that album. Qu Jew joint. Yeah.

[00:07:12]>> He Well, he ain't rap on it or nothing.

[00:07:14]He just produced it and put himself on the cover, >> right?

[00:07:17]>> Yeah. Now I remember that.

[00:07:18]>> I could do that.

[00:07:19]>> Yeah.

[00:07:19]>> [ __ ] Okay. I'mma be the Quincy Jones of rap.

[00:07:23]>> He was able to get pre-trial bail and went right back to working on sitting fat down south. Dealing with the feds gave Troy an idea for a song and that's when he came up with the concept for Want to be a Baller. He got verses from artists that he knew from all over the city like Fat Pat and his brother Big Hawk as well as Houston mixtape legend Young Star. Troy got his cousin Little Will, who was a musician to help with the vocals. And Terrence Preene, also known as Big T, to sing on the hook. And Houston rapper Cedric Hill, also known as ESG, most known for his song Swanging and Banging, actually helped Big T write the hook. And even though Little Troy would become the face of the song, he didn't even rap on it. He took copies of Want to Be a Baller to all the local record stores, but at first he was only moving a few units at a time. And when he would go to the record stores to collect his money, it would only be 20 or 40 bucks. But Troy bought a bunch of commercial spots on local Houston radio to promote Want to Be a Baller. So people were hearing the song all day long and eventually it caught fire. He went from picking up 20 or 40 bucks from the record stores to picking up thousands in a day.

[00:08:32]What did it take to try to even get a record played like that back then? You know, >> I put my uh my I put in I sold out the trunk of my car.

[00:08:39]>> Straight up.

[00:08:39]>> Straight up. I'm set out the trunk of my car at the car washes.

[00:08:43]>> And the car washes because the distrib won't pick it up. So I put it in the stores on consignment giving them 10 tapes every three, four days for them to sell. And I'm hitting the car washes all outside of town. They I got this new tape, man. I got a single. I'm selling it for $5 though. So, I was making more money on the singles than I get from the stores. You see, >> man, cuz you wholesaling and consigning.

[00:09:07]>> Yeah, I'm wholesaling and consigning the store. But I'm on the streets with everybody jamming the street stuff. $5.

[00:09:15]>> The song started to gain traction outside of Texas as well. And even though little Troy wasn't necessarily looking for a major label deal, the big record company still came knocking because one day he got a call from Tony Draper, the CEO of Suave House Records out of Houston. Tony already had a deal with Universal Music Group, but said that they had contacted him because they were interested in doing a deal with Little Troy. They flew him out to New York City to see if they could strike a deal. But when Troy arrived to the meeting, he wasn't alone. He had his lawyer with him to look over the contract to make sure that it wasn't a slave deal. And after some bargaining, Troy was able to get a very favorable outcome. Not only would he get almost $2 for every record sold, he was able to keep his masters and he would collect all of the publishing while Universal would be in charge of promotion and distribution. With the major label machine behind it, the song spread across America, and every region of the country was singing the inescapable hook. The song was in constant rotation on BET and other music video platforms, and it also got heavy airplay on the radio. But about two months after signing the deal, Little Troy got a phone call from Universal Music. They told him that they discovered a problem, something that could potentially become an issue for everybody involved because the beat for Want to Be a Baller sample one of the most legendary artists of all times, Prince Rogers Nelson, better known to the world simply as Prince. He dominated the 1980s with multiple classic albums like Dirty Mind and Purple Rain. And on his album titled 1999, he had a song called Little Red Corvette. And that was the sample that Little Troy used on Don't Want to Be a Baller. But the problem was that the sample hadn't been cleared. And now that the single was out and achieving commercial success, Prince could take all of the proceeds if he chose to.

[00:11:01]Universal asked Little Troy, "Did he know about the sample, and he said yeah." and he just assumed that they knew it too before he signed the contract. And now Universal had to strike a deal with Prince and he had all of the power. Prince had a very cold relationship with the music business.

[00:11:16]And this was during the time that he wasn't even going by his stage name. He was going by an unpronouncable symbol as a way to rebel against his contract with Warner Music. He was protesting the restrictive terms of the deal, and he wanted to own all of his master recordings. He was known for turning down high-profile artists who wanted to sample his music, and he was highly selective whenever he did allow somebody to do so. Universal set up a meeting with Prince, and to their surprise, when he heard what Little Troy had done to his song, he absolutely loved it. Prince was an instant fan of Want to Be a Baller and gave Little Troy his blessing to sample his music. But not only did he do that, he didn't charge Little Troy a dime. Allowed him to keep all of the royalties from the record with no licensing fee. In the music business, this was the closest thing to a gift from God. Because an unclear sample on a hit record could leave the artist paying the original composer for decades, such as P. Diddy paying sting from the police for his sample of I'll Be Missing You.

[00:12:14]And it resulted in Diddy having to pay $5,000 a day for decades. But it wasn't just the music that he was impressed with. It was the business because Prince learned about little Troy's sweet deal with Universal, how he was the one that was keeping the Masters, and how he would get all of the publishing royalties. This impressed Prince more than anything else, and was more than likely the deciding factor on letting Little Troy sample his music.

[00:12:39]Tell me this, cuz that that [ __ ] came out and hit big, but how did you get that the print sample clear? Cuz people wouldn't like pocking maybe one other person may be the only people. knew it was a print sample after after Universal picked it up, right? They put it out.

[00:12:55]Then they called me a little month later. So, hey, try uh stretching their heads and I thought you I thought you were saying you had went to school.

[00:13:03]>> I did. I went to school. I thought you saying you >> Oh, we got to try to get it cleared. And oh man, I said, "Hey, well, that's what it is. It been replayed. It ain't no sample or nothing. We replayed it and it come from a special edition of 12 in uh Prince had. You know what I'm saying?

[00:13:18]That's little red carvet. They Yeah, that little red carvet. Yeah, but you can't just hid here and let you just know it and know that how we did it, >> right?

[00:13:27]>> And Prince gave us Okay. He love how we did it.

[00:13:30]>> Said [ __ ] He ain't paid Prince one.

[00:13:34]>> Prince gave us props, man. He like how we did it. We was young coming up. Y'all do that.

[00:13:40]But at the height of the mainstream success for the song, Little Troy would have to go do time in federal prison for the case that he caught in 1998. He had to sit down for about a year. And by the time he got out in late 2000, the song Want to Be a Baller was still popular, but it wasn't on top of the charts like it once was. He released the album Back to Balling in 2001 and it reached number 95 on the Billboard top 200, but none of the singles charted and it never reached the mainstream success that Sitting Fat Down South and Want to Be a Baller achieved. But Troy was a hustler, so he stayed on his independent grind. And in 2001, he even released a movie called Want to Be a Baller that was inspired by his hit single. Over time, he got tired of the entertainment and music business and decided to get on the 9to-5 hustle.

[00:14:27]He got certified as a safety manager and would oversee construction sites before he transitioned to the trucking industry and started his own business. But one thing that he always makes clear is that thanks to Prince looking out for him, he's been able to eat off Wann to Be a Baller for years and he'll continue to get paid off the song for the rest of his life.

[00:14:49]>> That's what I'm saying. And this is the thing you got to know. If you know anything about Prince and clearing samples, Prince don't really clear too many samples. Like it's not too many people. It's not I replayed it. So he liked the way we replayed it. It was a impropulation of his song interpolation.

[00:15:02]>> Yeah. But it wasn't just >> straight ball for ball word Keith for kill. So he he liked it and we slowed it down and played and did it. So he was he was like >> we're going to let them use that and it was a blessing from God and Prince cuz he could have took all the copyrights.

[00:15:16]>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:15:17]>> I've been I've been sitting here right now pockets on empty.

[00:15:20]>> Artist and CEO of Short Stop Records performing his hit single Want to BE A MODEL. Y'ALL MAKE SOME NOISE. Come on, Troy.

[00:15:29]>> Come on.

[00:15:33]>> I can't hear you.

[00:15:35]Swiss roll tight.

[00:15:39]>> I get the highway.

[00:15:48]>> I'm like, you know what? I'm tired of the music business. A friend of mine came over to the house one day and he was telling me about the safety. He showed me his check. Oh, that is pretty good for every two weeks. He said, "No, that's every week." I said, "What? Every week? I work for that. I ain't doing nothing else. I work for 3400." He said, "Troy, you ain't got to do no physical work at all. Just walk around, get safety, and talk to people." I went to the class of the class for 5 weeks.

[00:16:10]>> Got you.

[00:16:10]>> Four hours a day. I said, "I don't like school, but I can do four hours a day."

[00:16:14]Eight months later, I got a job, right?

[00:16:16]He got me a job. My son Tarian, right? I don't want you going to work. though.

[00:16:19]One day he seen my check laying on the counter, right? My check about $58, $5,600 a week. He said, "Dad, that's your check?" I said, "Yeah, that's a week." He said, "God, pops." I always knew that you want to do something different, get different results, you got to do something different. So, if God blessed me to be able to go to school 5 weeks for 4 hours a day and then go make $ 38, $40 an hour, I'm going to do that. Despite all of the good memories that Troy has about the song Want to Be a Baller, there's one thing that he just can't ignore, and that's how almost everybody affiliated with the record has passed away. On the night of February 3rd, 1998, Fat Pat was at Meadow Southwest Apartment Complex on South Drive in Houston. He was there to collect money from a promoter for a show that he had just did. But when he went to the apartment door, he was told that the person wasn't there. And he exchanged words with the individual who answered the door. And as he was walking away, he was shot multiple times in the hallway, losing his life at only 27 years old. Pat's brother, Big Hawk, was on Want to Be a Baller as well as a member of the legendary screwed up click, led by one of the architects of the Houston Sound DJ Screw. Big Hawk would always shout out his brother Fat Pat on his songs, keeping his name and his memory alive. But on May 1st, 2006, Big Hawk went to go meet up with a friend to play dominoes at a house on Red Fern Drive. He got to the spot early and was waiting in the car for his friend to arrive. But as he was sitting in his vehicle, an unknown gunman walked up on him and shot him multiple times.

[00:17:48]He passed away just 8 years after his little brother at only 36 years old.

[00:17:56]>> What up, baby? THIS ABOUT THE FIFTH ONE RIGHT HERE. WE GET STARTED.

[00:18:00]>> WE GETTING STARTED ABOUT THE FIFTH ONE.

[00:18:04]>> Big ho. What's up, baby? We found it in here. You already know I go water. This water going feel that. Hey JWK, get under my wing.

[00:18:20]99.

[00:18:26]>> And in February of 2016, Troy's first cousin, little Will, would pass away in a fatal car accident. And the trail of death would continue because in May of 2018, Big T, the man who sung the unforgettable hook, would pass away after a sudden heart attack at only 52 years old. Lil Troy has talked about how all the deaths surrounding the song Want to Be a Baller has affected him. He even compared it to the movie franchise Final Destination, where a group of characters who are all connected in one way or another pass away in a variety of different ways. Troy has also admitted to having conversations with God surrounding the situation, saying that I know you haven't brought me this far just to take me out. But Troy's faith would be tested because in December of 2021, while he was driving his semi on the I 10 freeway, it caught fire and in a matter of only seconds, the entire cab was engulfed in flames. But luckily for Troy, he was able to make it out alive.

[00:19:21]Youngstar has also talked about his relationship with the song since him and Troy are the only two people left. He says that he still performs the song at his concerts even though everybody that's affiliated with it has passed away. He said he lets the crowd wrap the lyrics and he just vibes to it. But at times while he's on stage, he gets emotional and it almost brings him to tears thinking about how everybody is gone.

[00:19:48]>> Yeah.

[00:19:49]>> Yeah. But it it was nice. Hawk them. Lil rest in peace. Big T rest in peace. Hulk rest in peace. Fat Pat rest in peace.

[00:19:57]Hey man, >> everybody except Troy and Young.

[00:19:59]>> Yeah. You know, when when this last little incident happened with Big T, I was already to start bad little Will that pass. I start start thinking about find a destination.

[00:20:11]>> And you know, I hate to say it, but I thought, wait a minute, man. All these people passed off the off this one song.

[00:20:16]You know what I'm saying? It ain't like, you know, we got a bunch of people in the hood just passed, you know, rappers and stuff, but they all on one song.

[00:20:24]>> Yeah. Yeah.

[00:20:26]It [ __ ] me up for a minute though. I ain't lying. I I start thinking about it, dreaming about like, man, this can't happen. No. God, take that away from me.

[00:20:32]Take that out of my mind. I don't want to think like that. You know what I'm saying? Don't I know you didn't bring me this far for nothing like that to go down. No, I know you didn't. You know what I'm saying? It's the the rest of the fellas dead on. You just don't know.

[00:20:42]It's It's even crazier. Yeah, cuz the value of that song and just you never know what people do just for you know what I'm saying? Like I'm the only one can speak on that song. If you want to see that song perform, you got to call me man. And I ain't no weak person, but the last couple time man, I've been kind of teeing up doing that song.

[00:20:57]>> Man, I I mean, you're the only one left.

[00:20:59]I mean, you know, I mean, so what do you I mean, when you perform it, do you just go straight to your hook? Do you let the whole song with the guy?

[00:21:05]>> I let the whole You let people see the crowd singing let the real I let them fellas talk to the real talk back, you know, to show them. They just I ain't got to say nothing, man. The people just, >> you know, everybody, you know, little we everybody verse is like in instilled in their brain. I don't care where I go.

[00:21:24]>> That's a song that >> California, East Co, man. Atlanta, I don't care. And not just Texas, man.

[00:21:31]People know that for Canada, all man, they rar from R in this song, man. The song Want to Be a Baller definitely has staying power >> because over 25 years later, it can still get the crowd going, bridging people from all different walks of life and even generations, both young and old. If you play the song at a club, concert, or any place where there's a large number of people, there's a great chance that the majority of them will start singing the hook in unison. But despite all of the good vibes and good feelings that this song has brought so many people throughout the years, many are completely unaware of the very dark, eerie, and deadly backstory. But it's definitely a part of hip-hop history.

[00:22:10]And that's the story of Little Troy and the want to be a baller curse.