Listen to More: We Got Next
Originally from Sacramento, California, Young Hot Rod is a transplant resident of the Valley; having called Phoenix, Arizona, home for most of his life. On a mission to become a success in the music business, Hot Rod continuously worked at his craft as both a producer and an emcee. Living in desert didn’t help his case however, as Arizona’s musical claim to fame had never been associated with hip-hop.
While his efforts stalled in an attempt to breach the fast paced industry, Hot Rod got a job as a mortgage broker. When he wasn’t punching numbers into a calculator at his office, he was busy laying down beats and free styling verses. After a friendly encounter with an engineer, who had ties to G-Unit producer Sha Money XL, Hot Rod posted a demo of his work on a local Arizona hip-hop website. Little did he know, within a month he would receive a call from The Unit; more specifically, a call from Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson.
50 Cent explained to Hot Rod the nature of his call and as they say, (whoever ‘they’ really are) “The Rest is History.” Since his signing, Hot Rod has rapped up his label debut, Fastlane, scooped up Mary J. Blige to sing the hook on his new single, Be Easy, and has been featured on numerous remix verses on material from Lloyd Banks, LL Cool J and Young Buck.
During the interview with DJBooth.net’s DJ “Z,” Hot Rod explains his reaction to 50 Cent being introduced as the surprise third guest on his G-Unit conference call, where his first $40,000 advance from the label went as soon as he cashed the check, and why his sound and style are a perfect fit for both his record company and the industry as a whole.
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