Dem Franchize Boyz 'Dem Franchize Boyz' album

Dem Franchize Boyz never had a problem with getting their hands dirty for the cause.

They pushed underground albums, mix-tapes and fliers hand-to-hand until they had all of Atlanta hooked, and had truly earned the right to count themselves among the ATL's dopest rhyme-spitters. Delivering their own stylized version of crunk music through hits like their breakout summer blockbuster "White Tees," Franchize has emerged by way of popular demand to lead the next generation of southern hip-hop artists with their, self-titled debut release DEM FRANCHIZE BOYZ.

"We are bringing in a new crunk era. Our musical style is a more laid back crunk," says 21-year-old Maurice "Parlae" Gleaton who describes himself as the spirit of the group. "You can call our music bounce music. Instead of jumping around, wild and throwing 'bows, you can just kinda relax and bounce." " Yeah," echoes 21-year-old Bernard "Jizzal Man" Leverette who describes his role as the laid-back gangsta of the group. "With our music, you can get crunk and still sip your drink at the same time."

The Franchize foursome is completed by 20-year-old Jamall "Pimpin" Willingham, the group's producer: "My job is to keep the music straight, and I always try to keep a smile on everyone's face," and 21-year-old Gerald "Buddie" Tiller, who describes himself as the clean-up man. "I guess you could say if this was baseball, I bat cleanup. I sit back and pick up whatever was missed and bring the team home," says Buddie of his role in the group.

Their present success has come as a surprise for this group of childhood friends who grew up together on Atlanta's West side, off of the notorious Bankhead Hwy where, just about anything may go down at anytime. "We really didn't think that this would happen so fast, we were just working on our music," says Pimpin. Not long after, labels began pursuit and Franchize's phone began to ring. "We bucked on every deal, but with Universal Records we felt we were in a good situation so we went for it," says Parlae. "White Tees" only marks the beginning, Dem Franchize Boyz definitely have no shortage of soon to be favorites in the tradition of their laid-back, crunk sound.

Against the backdrop of pure, heavy, old school, southern-styled base, the group rides Pimpin's beats, lyrically snapping as they let the world know, there is but one Franchize. "All of our music is about some aspect of reality," Parlae explains. "Every song we write, we're talking about a specific thing. We never write just to be saying something. Every word comes directly from the heart." They don't flinch when admitting this is the case with "No Play" a track on the album inspired by the dues the group has had to pay along the way in pursuit of their goals. Of course,

Franchize is not all hard rhymes and street life. On "When Can We Date," a favorite of Pimpin's, the group exposes their softer side for the ladies offering a gentle groove that expresses the emotions of even a true player when the right one comes along.

In what can only be described as a well-rounded album with a lil' sumthin'-sumthin' for everyone that likes to bob their head and bounce their shoulders. Franchize takes crunk music to a new and even more universally palatable level with their first major release.

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Dem Franchize Boyz - Dem Franchize Boyz