Bubba Sparxxx

No doubt the first of his kind, Bubba Sparxxx dumbfounded the hip-hop community -- and soon after, the mass market -- when he emerged out of nowhere with Timbaland in late 2001. When his debut single, "Ugly," hit urban radio, it was unmistakably a Timbaland production -- the "Get Ur Freak On" samples being a sort of trademark stamp. This drew initial attention to Sparxxx, who many initially thought of as yet another Dirty South rapper, albeit one lucky enough to be the flagship for Timbaland's start-up Beat Club label. But when the video for "Ugly" hit MTV and Sparxxx's face subsequently began appearing in the press, the dumbfounding truly set in: Sparxxx was not only from the South but was very large -- and white. In other words, he seemed the antithesis of what a rapper was supposed to be, and similar to the overnight success previous white rappers experienced -- Beastie Boys, Vanilla Ice, Eminem -- Sparxxx was suddenly more than just an anomaly; he was a bona fide superstar.

Text:YouTube Music