ARTIST: VA
TITLE: 8 Ball & Montana Trax: The Boy Somethin' Great
LABEL: 8 Ways Entertainment
GENRE: Rap
BITRATE: 132kbps avg
PLAYTIME: 1h 07min total
RELEASE DATE: 2006-08-08
RIP DATE: 2006-08-08

Track List

01. Montana Trax - Intro            1:34
02. Gutta & Mac E - Yes             4:40
03. 8 Ball, Loko & Gutta - Cromey   4:44
24"s
04. Gutta, Devius & Ammo - Gangsta  4:37
Walk
05. Loko & Gutta - Nuttin But Anna  5:00
06. 8 Ball & Ammo - Get Money       3:35
07. Montana Trax Feat. Skinny       5:32
Pimp & 211 - Pimp Dem Hoes
08. Montana Trax - Skit             0:20
09. Gangsta Blac - 7 Days           4:39
10. 8 Ball & Devius - Shiny Stones  4:17
11. Indo G - Cadillac Pimpin'       4:39
12. Playa Fly & Minnie Mae Mafia -  4:51
Peep My Campaign
13. Gutta - Got It 4 Cheap          4:11
14. Ghetto - Hate 2 See Me          4:25
15. MJG & Mac E - Ahhight Na        4:51
16. Montana Trax - Up & Comings     5:38

Release Notes:

“I hustle and flow/I flow and I hustle/I got the mind and the muscle . . .”
-- “Yes” by Mac E featuring Gutta 8Ways Entertainment, the record label
helmed by rap and hip hop veteran 8Ball of platinum duo 8Ball & MJG, is
proud to present Da Boy Somethin’ Great by on-the-rise Dirty South producer
Montana Trax, aka 26-year old Kevin Butler of Memphis, Tennessee.

This versatile album brings together a true representation of the raw,
soulful, proud and unrelenting streetbased hip-hop of Memphis, a sound that
has started to intrigue the entire world.

In the spirit of acclaimed producers such as Quincy Jones, who
traditionally use their albums to mold and showcase the skills of other
artists, Da Boy Somethin’ Great finds Montana Trax joining seasoned,
internationally known rappers such as 8Ball, MJG, Skinny Pimp, and Playa
Fly with newcomers like Gutta, Cuzzo, and Mac E and notable best-kept local
secrets yet to get their true due such as the Memphis female hard-spittin’
Minnie Mae.

Montana notably produced on 8Ball & MJG’s last album Living Legends, and
has completed a single for the pair’s forthcoming effort Ridin’ High on Bad
Boy Records (the song, “Fuck It” is already a fixture on Memphis radio and
has been converted into its own ringtone). Last year, he contributed
several tracks to Hanh!!!, a widely buzzed-about, street distributed
mixtape starring the Ying Yang Twins and DJ Scorpio. The CD found Montana
producing songs for major rap stars like David Banner, Trillville, Khujo
Goodie, and, of course, the Twins.

When it came to doing his own full-length project, however, it was really
important to Montana to produce an album that represented Memphis and also
united artists within the city. The end result illuminates some of the
finer dimensions of the talent there.

“That’s what needs to happen in Memphis, and what we’ve all been trying to
do—get all the artists together,” he explains. “It hadn’t been happening
much, so I managed to pull a lot of them in together. It’s a perfect time:
The boys [Three*Six Mafia] just brought home an Oscar, so you’ve got to
tip your hat to them for doing that. Right now, the door’s wide open. I
believe Memphis is going to be looked at in a whole different light, and
it’s going to be really big this year. There’s a whole lot of talent, and
people are going to be listening.”

Montana doesn’t disappoint; he’ll give them all something to listen to and
feel. From synth-driven club joints and eerie minor key soundscapes that
could score the scariest horror flick to laidback, playalistic jams for
fly rides and straight-up whimsical head-nodders, Da Boy Somethin’ Great
introduces Montana and his Hy Lyfe label to the world. It boldly
highlights the studio versatility that keeps Montana both excited to work,
and in demand. No cookie cutter beats here.

“The stuff that I have coming up is a new sound from what my peers are
doing, but at the same time I still incorporate the flavor of Memphis
artists that I grew up on like Three* Six Mafia and 8Ball & MJG.”

Montana has been producing professionally for six years, but has been
musically inclined since birth. His high school had a recording and
engineering class, with a studio in the school.

“I used to sneak in the classroom sometimes and just sit in the booth and
talk to the instructor and ask him about key points,” he remembers.
“Throughout my high school career I was playing drums, I was in the band
playing trumpet, so music was always with me. Once I graduated, I bought
a drum machine, and haven’t looked back since.”

Perseverance to his craft along with undeniable talent put Montana in the
path of revered locals 8Ball & MJG, of whom he was a longtime fan. A few
years ago, he made a beat that sampled from Willie Hutch’s “Theme of Foxy
Brown,” and a friend who knew MJG said that it sounded like something
they could flow on and passed it along; a few weeks later, MJG’s manager
was calling to say that they wanted to work with Montana.

“I had a smile so big on my face, because I had never done anything like
this and never been in a position to be around platinum-selling artists,”
he says.

The young producer knows the daunting odds that he has beaten, and
continues to be nothing but appreciative of the chance to prove himself.
Now, joining forces with 8 Ways Entertainment makes Montana an
unstoppable force.

“Man, it’s rare. It’s very rare. But, we just took into each other like
brothers. Ball and G both, they’re some real down guys and I thank them
for the opportunity.”

Next for Montana will be releasing albums from Gutta, Mac E, Ghetto (the
youngest at 19), and female MC Loko on his Hy Lyfe label—artists who all
do their thing on Da Boy Somethin’ Great. He’s also been dabbling in
film. Musically, expect Montana Trax to continue to push the boundaries
of what people expect not only from Memphis, but from hip-hop itself.

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