Grandaddy Souf

Born and raised in Orlando, FL, hardcore rapper Grandaddy Souf was living on his own at the age of 12 and facing two felony charges at the age of 15. Luckily, sports earned him a scholarship to college, but after a couple years of playing football and track an injury ended any hopes of going pro. Even though he went on to earn his college degree, pushing narcotics became his trade after graduation until music came along. In 1999, in partnership with some old football friends, Souf formed the independent label Parra Mo Entertainment and released Da Drought, featuring the strip-club single "Get Dis Money" and the bitter street track "Savage Journey." A mixtape titled The Bootleg featuring the single "Run It" came next, then he was signed to the Loud label and it looked like he was about to go big time. Unfortunately, Loud went out of business before Souf entered the studio. In 2003, with his trademark pipe in hand, he signed with SRC and spent the next four years recording his debut for the label. When Chasing My Dream appeared in the summer of 2007, Souf was finally being heard on a national level thanks to the kickoff single, "Keep Em Coming Back."