Bohagon 'Who Am I' album

For some Southerners, being called “country” is just as insulting as being slapped in the face. To them, the term gives off an air of inadequacy; like they’re not good enough to be “normal,” so they’ve got to be categorized as something else. Others just think it makes ‘em sound dumb, slow and stupid. Fortunately, BOHAGON, co-CEO of Asylum-distributed Black Cartel and proud native of tiny Talbotton, Georgia (population: 1500), is not one of these sensitive Southerners.

You see, “country” is a term BOHAGON not only embraces, but also looks to define and break from its negative connotation. “Most people think we slow just ‘cause we come from small towns and speak with that twang,” explains the 27-year-old south Georgia representer, “but I always wanted to let people know that people from the country are far from stupid and do a whole lot better than people give ‘em credit for. Me, I’m a country boy but I’m also a thinking man. It’s a lot of people like that down here.”

While today he wants to represent how well country boys can do, he spent a lot of his school-age years downplaying his intelligence. “I used to kinda dumb myself down ‘cause I aint want the other kids to think I was a nerd,” he recalls. The cover on his “I’m-not-really-that-smart” act was blown after taking first place in a fourth grade poetry contest; but instead of becoming a star pupil, BOHAGON, then going by his real name, Cedric Leonard, says he “really started acting out,” getting himself into all kinds of self-professed “dumb shit.” Dumb shit that could very well have cost young BOHAGON his life.

Maybe his moves are just that smooth, or maybe it was the constant prayers of the beloved Grandmother that raised him in the church (“No matter what happened the night before – a fight, a shootout, a stabbing, hustling, hoes, whatever – I still had to get my ass up and go to church in the morning. My Grandmother didn’t play that shit.”), but whatever the reason, BOHAGON was a survivor.

While he was having fun in the streets of Talbotton and ‘hoods of Atlanta – where he spent the summers with his Mother, uncle and cousins – BOHAGON discovered his true passion shortly after he began tinkering with Mom’s Casio keyboard. “She was really into music, and when she bought that keyboard she just really got me into it,” he reminisces. Not long after, that way with words he’d shown glimpses of when he won that poetry contest back in the fourth grade reared its head once again, and BOHAGON was officially hooked. “Man, when I first heard myself on a CD, I just fell in love with my voice.”

He began recording, did some grassroots, hand-to-hand distribution of his music and collaborated with local DJs for mixtapes; but it wasn’t long before his wit, charm and country-fried charisma landed BOHAGON a spot on what was then one of the newest and potentially groundbreaking cliques/labels in the south, BME Recordings, headed by a dreadlocked, crunkaholic ex-DJ/SoSo Def A&R named Lil’ Jon.

Barely old enough to drive, BOHAGON seemed to be on his way to superstardom.

He was right beside Jon as the popularity of Crunk music began to skyrocket, co-starring on a bevy of classics from Jon’s Eastside Boyz-assisted crunk compilation, Kings of Crunk, as well as tracks from other crunk artists like Trillville, Lil’ Scrappy and the Ying-Yang Twins. BOHAGON’s somewhat laid-back style – you could’ve called it “controlled crunk” – even caught the attention of artists who didn’t specialize in the new sub-genre and landed him spots on records with the likes of Jagged Edge, Xtaci, Yo Gotti, Rico Love and E-40; the latter appearing on the wildly popular soundtrack to the film Hustle and Flow. BOHAGON has performed on MTV to an audience of approximately 200 million, and has traveled the world as part of the BME Clique. They’ve sold out 30,000-seat arenas in places like Australia, Canada, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Germany, giving these foreign nations a firsthand look at that good ol’ Southern crunk music. Life at BME seemed to be pretty good for BOHAGON, but, like Mama used to say: “all that glitters aint gold.”

“I came into the game a snotty-nosed 16 year old kid and they showed me the ropes, you know? But all good things come to an end.” BOHAGON’s situation at BME eventually soured, and he left the label in 2006 without ever releasing a solo album. “[Me and Lil’ Jon] got a lot of history together and at the end of the day I got love for that man, but he just aint keep it 100 wit me. Aint no way I can fake it and flex and just tell people he did, ‘cause he didn’t. And that hurt.”

“But with all that said,” he continues, “I didn’t leave on bad terms. The business wasn’t right, but I still love those guys over there.”

Newly loosed from his BME situation, BOHAGON now faces a task eerily similar to the one he faced after winning that poetry contest back in the day. Only this time he’s not trying to dumb himself down – he’s out to show his peers and fans how much of a mind he actually has. “I never really had the chance to show that other side of myself, musically,” he says. “Jon wasn’t putting my other music into the forefront, but I can’t be mad at that ‘cause I knew he was sellin’ crunk. But people think that all I do is get crunk when that’s not all ’m about, you know?”

Post-BME BOHAGON has taken more of a leadership role in his own career, teaming with producer Cyber Sapp [Gucci Mane’s “Freaky Girl”] and striking a label deal with Asylum Records for their Black Cartel imprint, allowing them to produce their music independently while retaining national distribution. Creative control is just what BOHAGON needs.

“I can make all types of music. I don’t want people to sit there and just think I’m a bang-bang-shoot-em-up rapper. I want to have some music that’s going to cater to the ladies, I want to make some that’s thought-provoking, I want to talk about my kids – all types of music? That’s what I’m gon’ do with Black Cartel and the whole Georgia Durt movement.”

The first release from Black Cartel will be BOHAGON’s solo debut Who Am I?, slated for an early ’08 release, followed soon after by a one-of-a-kind rock remix version of the same name. Similar to how some artists release “chopped and screwed” versions of their LPs, BOHAGON plans to drop an alternate version of his album with his vocals over live rock band instrumentals. That may seem highly unusual to some, but that’s just the way the mind of this thinkin’ country boy works. BOHAGON also recently agreed to an endorsement deal with CRUNK!!! Energy Drink and has also filmed a cameo appearance for the upcoming Tyler Perry series Meet the Browns.

If that’s what it gets you, it’s a wonder why people aren’t clamoring to be called “country“. It seems to be working out pretty well for that country boy they call BOHAGON.

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Bohagon - Who Am I