Hip Hop Vibe Staff Writer
Four years ago, Yung Joc burst onto the scene with his head-rocking single, "It's Goin' Down." With the South still dominating radio, it appeared as if the baton had been handed to Yung Joc. Not only did he keep Atlanta on the airwaves, he added credibility to Bad Boy South, Diddy's answer to Def Jam South.
Diddy had created Bad Boy South in 2004 and the new imprint had been fighting for relevance after losing Young Jeezy. But, with Joc on the label, all the attention was back to Bad Boy. Quickly, he had a top five single and became Diddy's favorite person. Yung Joc was made into the focal point of the entire Bad Boy label.
Following the success of New Joc City, Yung Joc headed back in the studio to record his next album. Early in the fall of 2007, Yung Joc returned with his album, Hustlenomics. Due to a lack of interest, the album suffered, despite heavy promotion from Bad Boy and Atlantic Records. The failure of the first single off the album, "Coffee Shop," led to Diddy not doing enough to promote "Bottle Poppin," the follow up.
While working with Diddy, Yung Joc learned he could not simply focus on rap, he had to become a businessman. In 2006, the year he released his debut album, Yung Joc made $10 million. Joc would take this money and create his own label, Swagg Team Entertainment, under Jive Records. In 2008, he focued on a project by Chicago group, HotStylz and their "Lookin' Boy" single. During this time, rumors of friction between Diddy and Yung Joc arose, but they were denied.
Having planned to release an album each year, Yung Joc did not release a project in 2008 and had a release planned for 2009. But, for unknown reasons, an album did not come from Yung Joc in 2009 and he instead focused on his other group, Dallas-based GS Boyz and their "Stanky Leg" single. Much like HotStylz' single, the "Stanky Leg" was very popular and Yung Joc's label was gaining recognition. Despite Yung Joc wanting to release his next album on Jive Records, there were still denials of any feud.
During the summer of 2009, Yung Joc took all of the material he recorded for his Bad Boy album and released it for free through his Swagg Team label. The Grind Flu was met with positive reviews and Joc made it clear he was done with Bad Boy. Late in 2009, he announced he was off the label and Diddy came back and said he was still on the label. Weeks later, it was revealed that Yung Joc was really off the label, but he has yet to come with anything new.
Three years have taken place since the last time Yung Joc released an album. This time around, he will not have the machine of Bad Boy Records behind him. Yung Joc will have to go at this third album, and the rest of his albums, alone.