Wesley Eric Weston Jr. (born March 3, 1981), better known by his stage name Lil' Flip, is an American rapper. He embarked on his musical career as a

freestyle Freestyle may refer to: Brands * Reebok Freestyle, a women's athletic shoe * Ford Freestyle, an SUV automobile * Coca-Cola Freestyle, a vending machine * ICD Freestyle, a paintball marker * Abbott FreeStyle, a blood glucose monitor by Abbott Lab ...

and battle rapper before earning a record deal with Suckafree Records in 1999. Lil' Flip is best known for his singles "The Way We Ball", " Game Over" and " Sunshine".

Musical career

1999–2003: ''The Leprechaun'' and ''Undaground Legend''

In 1999 Lil' Flip would sign his first record deal with independent Houston, Texas label Sucka Free. On July 18, 2000, Lil' Flip released his debut album '' The Leprechaun'', catching the attention of

DJ Screw Robert Earl Davis Jr. (July 20, 1971 – November 16, 2000), better known by his stage name DJ Screw, was an American hip hop DJ based in Houston, Texas, and best known as the creator of the now-famous chopped and screwed DJ technique. He ...

, who added Flip into his rap group the

Screwed Up Click The Screwed Up Click (or S.U.C.) is an American hip hop collective based in Houston, Texas, that was led by DJ Screw. Its most notable members include DJ Screw, Big Hawk, Big Mello, Big Moe, Big Pokey, the Botany Boyz, E.S.G., Fat Pat, Lil' F ...

. DJ Screw proclaimed Lil' Flip "The Freestyle King.". Pandora.com In 2002, Columbia Records offered Flip a contract and Sucka Free a distribution deal. Flip stated "We felt that they not only respected what we'd already accomplished on our own, but they also saw the big picture of what me as an artist, and Hump and I as Sucka Free's CEOs were all about." Lil Flip released his second album '' Undaground Legend'' on August 27, 2002. The album was certified Platinum in December 2002. It contained his hit single " The Way We Ball". In 2003 Lil' Flip was also featured in David Banner single "Like A Pimp". Then he also made featured appearance on Yung Wun's charting single " Tear It Up". He also made another appearance on Three 6 Mafia single "Ridin' Spinners" that made the charts. In 2003, he also did a track with Ludacris called "Screwed Up".

2004–05: ''U Gotta Feel Me''

In 2004 Lil' Flip released his third album & first double-disc album ''

U Gotta Feel Me ''U Gotta Feel Me'' is the second studio album (third overall) by American rapper Lil' Flip. The first single, "Game Over (Flip)", reached number 8 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and h ...

'', his most successful album to date. Lil' Flip's label

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region i ...

restructured and Flip ended up at

Sony Urban Music Sony Urban Music was a division of Sony BMG, active from 2004 to 2006, The division handled R&B, soul, and hip hop releases by artists nominally signed to Sony's Columbia and Epic labels. During its existence, Sony Urban managed releases by a ...

, which he believed could promote his work better. The first single from the album was " Game Over (Flip)". After that he quickly released his second single, " Sunshine" featuring Lea Sunshine. This album sold 200,000 copies in its first week and was certified Platinum by August 2004. Lil' Flip also made an appearance on the "Naughty Girl (Remix)" with Beyoncé in 2004. He was also featured on Chingy's ''

Powerballin' ''Powerballin is the second studio album by the rapper Chingy, released on November 16, 2004, through Capitol Records and Chingy's Slot-A-Lot label. The album entered the ''Billboard'' 200 at number 172 with first week sales of 7,000 copies in the ...

'' on the remix of Chingy's successful hit single "

Balla Baby "Balla Baby" is a song by American rapper Chingy. It was released as the lead single from his second album, '' Powerballin (2004). It garnered a mixed reception from critics, was the only single from the album to be released worldwide, and reac ...

". In 2004 he also made a remix to his hit single " Game Over (Flip)" which featured

Young Buck David Darnell Brown (born March 15, 1981), best known by his stage name Young Buck, is an American rapper. He heads his own record label, Cashville, and was a member of the former hip hop group G-Unit. Early life Brown was born in Nashville, ...

and Bun B. He also made a guest appearance on Nelly's successful 2004 album " Sweat". He also collaborated with Jim Jones and The Game on the "Certified Gangstas (Remix)" in 2004. In 2005 Lil' Flip &

Z-Ro Joseph Wayne McVey IV (born January 19, 1977), better known by his stage names Z-Ro and the Mo City Don, is an American rapper from Houston, Texas. He was named one of America's most underrated rappers by '' The New York Times'' in 2007. Early ...

made a collaboration album titled '' Kings of the South''. Also in 2005 Lil' Flip was featured in

Chamillionaire Hakeem Temidayo Seriki (born November 28, 1979), better known by his stage name Chamillionaire (), is an American rapper. He was the founder and an original member of The Color Changin' Click from 2001 until the group split in 2005. He began his ...

's first single " Turn It Up". He was also featured in the remix of Bun B's single " Draped Up". Lil' Flip was also featured on the " 2 Fast 2 Furious" soundtrack with the track '' Rollin' on 20s'' featuring fellow Houston rapper " Yung Redd".

2007–09: ''I Need Mine'' and ''Respect Me''

In 2007 Lil' Flip left Columbia records, founding his own label Clover G Records & would sign a new label deal with Asylum & Warner Bros. Lil' Flip would release his third album & second double-disc album titled '' I Need Mine'' on March 27, 2007, the album debuted at number 15 on the Billboard 200 with 43,000 copies sold in its first week. Only two singles were released from the album, "What It Do" & " Ghetto Mindstate (Can't Get Away)". His planned fifth album '' Ahead of My Time'' was originally set to be released as early as 2007, but was pushed back many times. Lil' Flip released two "album-before-the-album's" in 2009 to help promote the release of '' Ahead of My Time''. On September 29, 2009, Lil' Flip would release his fifth album titled '' Respect Me'' to promote '' Ahead of My Time'', it would be distributed by High Powered Entertainment & E1 Music. On December 24, 2009, Lil' Flip would release his first independent album titled '' Underground Legend 2'' to promote '' Ahead of My Time'', it would be distributed independently by Lil' Flip's self-owned label Clover G Records.

2010–present: More independent releases

On July 6, 2010, Lil' Flip would release '' Ahead of My Time'' as his second independent album, and debuted his artist Damienn jones "Beauty and the Beast" album, it would be distributed independently by Lil' Flip's self-owned label Clover G Records. On October 31, 2013, Lil' Flip released his third independent album ''The Black Dr. Kevorkian'', it would also be distributed independently by Lil' Flip's self-owned label Clover G Records & would sell over 10,000 copies its first week. On March 17, 2015, Lil' Flip released his sixth album titled ''El Jefe'', it was distributed by SoSouth Records. The lead single from the album was titled "Game Over II", which was sequel to his single " Game Over (Flip)". The second single from the album, was titled "In My Pimp C Voice", which was a dedication song towards deceased artist Pimp C. The third single from the album, was titled "Bestfriend" the single would feature artist's E.J. Carter & Rev City.

Other ventures

Clover G Records

Clover G Records or Clover G La Familia is a record label owned by Houston, Texas rapper Lil' Flip, it was created in 2004.

Fashion designing

In 2004 Lil' Flip released his shoe line titled "Clover Footwear" which is branded off his self-owned label Clover G Records. Lil' Flip also has a fashion clothing line titled "Clover G Clothing" which is also branded off his self-owned label Clover G Records.

Author

On April 15, 2014, Lil' Flip released his first book titled ''Don't Let the Music Industry Fool You!'', the book was released with a soundtrack album.

Discography

Studio albums

* 2000: '' The Leprechaun'' * 2002: '' Undaground Legend'' * 2004: ''

'' * 2007: '' I Need Mine'' * 2009: '' Respect Me'' * 2009: ''Underground Legend 2'' * 2010: '' Ahead of My Time'' * 2013: ''The Black Dr. Kevorkian'' * 2015: ''El Jefe'' * 2016: ''The Art of Freestyle'' * 2018: ''King'' * 2018: ''Life'' * 2019: ''The Art of Freestyle 2'' * 2019: ''The Music Machine'' * 2020: ''Feelings'' * 2020: ''No Feelings'' * 2020: ''The Leprechaun 2'' * 2022: ''The Art of Freestyle 3'' * 2022: ''Fondren Flip''

Collaboration albums

* 2005: '' Kings of the South'' (with

) * 2006: '' Connected'' (with Mr. Capone-E) * 2007: '' Still Connected'' (with Mr. Capone-E) * 2008: '' All Eyez on Us'' (with Young Noble) * 2009: ''

Certified Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...

'' (with Gudda Gudda) * TBA: ''Kings of the South II'' (with

)

Soundtrack album

* 2014: ''Don't Let the Music Industry Fool You''

Bibliography

* ''Don't Let The Music Industry Fool You!'' by Wesley "Lil' Flip" Weston (2014: Harris Royal Bloodline Publishing, April 15, 2014)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flip, Lil 1981 births Living people African-American male rappers African-American non-fiction writers American non-fiction writers American shooting survivors Rappers from Houston Screwed Up Click members Songwriters from Texas Southern hip hop musicians Warner Records artists Writers from Houston Gangsta rappers African-American record producers American music industry executives American hip hop record producers African-American songwriters 21st-century American rappers Record producers from Texas 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American people American male songwriters