To this very day, you go into a club, throw on Pastor Troy’s defiant 1998 debut single “No Mo Play in G.A.” and watch the crowd lose their minds! Don’t follow it up with the borderline blasphemous anthem “Vica Versa” and come back with Troy’s vicious verses from Lil Jon and the Eastside Boyz’ riot-inciting “Throw It Up.” They wouldn’t be able to stand it!
Keep the crowd in a fevered frenzy by hitting them over the head with PT’s 2002 Billboard breakout “Are We Cuttin’” with Timbaland and send them straight over the edge with 2004 party jam “Ridin’ Big.” Now, remind them that this is still the Pastor’s congregation with his 2015 music industry diss record “This For You.” And the hits don’t stop there.
With a catalog of extra crunk cuts that span almost two decades, Pastor Troy has enough menacing music to supply the club with an energetic soundtrack until the sun comes up. And when the night turns to day, the pastor comes back around to claim his original Atlanta gangsta rap status with brand new album OGPT, scheduled to be released Feb 11.
GRIP: It’s amazing that you have been around for so long and still making relevant music.
Pastor Troy: I never stopped. I always kept going…I’m so fortunate to be humbled by the game and all of the experiences I done had in it.
Those experiences were catalysts to you receiving the Legends of ATL Award from BMI last year for your contributions to music in Atlanta. How have you managed to adapt to a fickle rap genre?
I’m glad that I’m the champion at what I do. I cater to my fanbase. So I ain’t gotta jump all them fences or go through all them hurdles. I ain’t gotta dance or none of that shit. I’m coming with that OG gangsta shit and yall know that. So let’s do it.
And the craziest part to me is how the younger fans relate.
It be so crazy, man. My fan base is still young because they’re brothers and sisters and mother listened to me so hard that they know my songs. They’re at my shows. They’re everywhere, man. Coming up to me saying, “Aw, Pastor Troy, my momma said get a picture with you.” “Aw, Pastor Troy, my brother used to listen to you all the time.” I got fans that come up to me and say how they got in their first fight off “No Mo Play in GA.”
To me, that record set a different tone in Atlanta. At the time, the A was mostly about booty shake, not gangsta music, per se. But you changed all that.
Pastor Troy is the originator of the solo Atlanta gangsta sound. I’m the first solo dude to come from here repping that gangsta shit, standing up alone. Outkast and Goodie Mob weren’t gangsta rappers. They’re great but they weren’t gangsta rappers. They were more socially conscious. When “We Ready” came, you heard them gotdamn 50 cals go off before I damn near said a word. It was different. Now, it ain’t a song where a mufucka ain’t repping that.
You were doing more than just repping it. You called out Master P, one of the biggest names in hip hop at the time. And on your 2015 release “This For You,” you went after Jay-Z, Eminem, Jeezy, Gucci, Lil Wayne, T.I. as well as “any nigga in the game who thinks he boss.” Now, I know some of those cats you named are friends of yours. Why go after so many?
I look at the rap game like I play for DSGB. When it’s game time, I play for my team. When I foul you and you fall to the ground, I ain’t gone pick you up and ask if you okay. I’m playing like the Detroit bad boys around this mu’fucka. When the game over, we can shake hands or whatever’s clever. When it’s on, it’s on.
You remind me of rap beefs from back in the day like Kool Moe Dee vs. LL Cool J, NWA vs Ice Cube, Boogie Down Productions vs. the Juice Crew, Jay Z vs. Nas.
I like that kind of rap. That’s what I’m really from. I grew up on Roxanne Shante and UTFO. I know about KRS One letting them know about the bridge. Those were diss records. LL Cool J and Kool Moe Dee…I’m talking about “No Vaseline,” “Momma Said Knock You Out,” it was going down. I loved every minute of it. I’m in love with the sport. That boy Young Dolph just dissed the hell out of Yo Gotti. I hope they don’t kill each other but have fun with the sport.
Tell me about your upcoming album OGPT.
It’s a real Atlanta soundtrack, man. It’s some real crunk shit, beats are crazy. You gone enjoy it. DJ Squeaky is going crazy on production.
You and Squeaky have been working together for some time now.
That Memphis and that Atlanta sound go hand in hand. Squeaky been my guy since we met since 05, 06. He’s been my sound of war.
Tell me about the Legends of Hip Hop tour.
It’s me, Juve, Trick, Mystikal, Eightball and MJG, Bun-B on some dates, Project Pat on some dates. Gangsta Boo on some dates. Shit, you can’t get around that. We did 40 dates last year and got more dates coming this year…We’re challenging time. I’m happy that we made such an impact on the game that we did that all of our shows are sold out. Man, come on. I’m booked all through the summer and I dropped my first album 9/28/1988. I been doing this half my life.
I understand that you have a new indie movie coming out this year called Down to Come Up with Shawty Lo.
I was blessed to have my boy Shawty Lo, Carlos Walker, Rest In Peace, to co-star in a movie with me before he passed. We gone have it together in April and we gone fuck the game up!
