J-Kwon's path to fame included mooning Arista head L.A. Reid and mocking producer Jermaine Dupri. These events helped gain the MC a contract with the latter's So So Def, a subsidiary of the former's employer. However, his life was far more turbulent before that; kicked out his mother's house at the age of 12, he took to the street, dealt crack cocaine, and had his jaw broken after defeating a fellow MC in battle. His label deal helped turn that around. Before turning 18, his debut single, "
Tipsy", had reached the Top Ten of just about every singles chart. Overseen by Dupri and produced almost in full by the Track Boyz,
J-Kwon's full-length debut -
Hood Hop, released in March of 2004 - appeared just as the hit was becoming unavoidable.
J-Kwon biography by allmusic.com