Today in Hip-Hop: Collie Buddz Drops Self-Titled Debut Album

On this day, July 3, in hip-hop history...

2007: International artists were making their mark on America's hip-hop playing field in the early to mid 2000s. Mavado, Sean Kingston, Kevin Lyttle and Collie Buddz ruled radio stations with their West Indian-rooted music, and Buddz was becoming a household name as he steadily climbed Billboard charts with his self-titled debut.

Collie Buddz moved to his family's native Bermuda when he was four years old. It was there  that he learned more about his heritage and reggae music, which he merged with R&B and hip-hop after moving back to the states. He eventually earned an audio engineering degree and pursued a career in the industry, making waves in the reggae circuit with several standalone tracks before his breakout single, "Come Around," in early 2007. The song, which samples Zap Pow's "Last War," peaked at No. 23 on the Billboard Hot Rap Songs chart, where it spent two weeks.

He dropped "Blind To You" some time later before unleashing Collie Buddz, a 14-track collective laced with timeless tales of love and loyalty over bouncy dancehall sonics. Other standout cuts from Collie Buddz include "Lonely" and "What a Feeling," assisted by Yung Berg and Paul Wall, respectively, and "Mamacita," an international summer banger picked up worldwide.

Collie Buddz proved the rapper's crossover efforts undeniably successful as the album peaked at No. 68 on the BIllboard 200 less than three weeks after its release. In 2017, the Bermudian musician dropped his sophomore LP, Good Life, his latest musical offering in nearly a decade.

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