Thug Life Army

West coast rap artist Lofty is set to release his debut album ‘In The Beginning’ on August 23, 2005. Hailing from Vallejo, California, the talented rap artist Lofty has realized he is seasoned and dedicated enough to become an artist in his own right.

Having an extraordinary group of friends since his high school days, rap artist Lofty’s inner circle is packed with hip-hop and rap artists who have made their mark in the industry. This impressive inner circle includes the likes of N2Deep’s Jay Tee, whose ‘Back To The Hotel’ album and single both went gold. Another gold hip-hop artist Baby Bash. who broke through in 2003 with the smash single ‘Suga Suga’, also came from the same inner circle.

Lofty grew up in a number of dramatically different California cities, but Vallejo, California was his old school stomping ground.  “I don’t come from one particular place,”

As Lofty became enamored with the music of such hip-hop icons as Eric B. & Rakim, Ice Cube, E-40, Too $hort, Public Enemy and Special Ed, Lofty reconnected during a move back to the Bay Area with elementary school friend Jay Tee, who was part of rap group N2Deep.  Soon thereafter, N2Deep’s “Back To The Hotel” single became a smash hit.  Jay Tee took Lofty on tour with him, letting his childhood friend be his hype man. The Back To The Hotel album reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Heatseekers Chart and afforded Lofty the opportunity to travel and record extensively with N2Deep. “I’m touring with Jay Tee, seeing part of the lifestyle, meeting everybody, going to studios and I’m thinking, I can do this,”

Lofty says.  “I’ve been around the roughest of the rough people, to people with tremendous bling. My life has been really mixed and that’s how my music is. I want to be able to touch everybody… I know that the best way to reach people is to bring them into my world.”, and that is exactly what he does on his debut album.

Lofty says.  “When you listen to the album, you’re going to get a whole bunch of different stuff,” Lofty says, especially with the first radio single “The One For Me,” which features Jay Tee.

‘In The Beginning’ shows that indeed Lofty is more than good enough to make a go on his own, the debut album is a proclamation that Lofty has finally taken his rightful place among his hip-hop peers.

On the revealing “In The Beginning,” for example, Lofty and his brother Neen retrace their evolution as occasional rappers to full-fledged rhymers over a thumping, keyboard driven beat from Versatile. “I felt like I was good enough to rap with other people, but I basically never got around to it,” Lofty recalls. “I didn’t have the stability back then to do that kind of thing. I had to work and do those other things that life calls for first.” Fortunately for Lofty, the homies gave him a lot of support.

Lofty also say’s his wife is his strongest ally. He dedicates the touching song from his album “Ride With Me,” which features impassioned vocals from seasoned veterans Levitti (E-40, Messy Marv, B-Legit), to his wife. “My wife inspires me and supports me,” he says. “I think about how close we are and how close I feel to her is how those lyrics come out. I’m not trying to scream to all the girls out there in the game. I’m trying to have other cats relate to what I’m trying to say to their girlfriends or whoever they’re trying to talk to.”

Lofty then addresses women in general on “Count On Me,” a smooth, guitar-driven track produced by K-Lou, an established Bay Area beat smith who has worked with such hip-hop and rap gold and platinum artists as Baby Bash, Master P, E-40, C-Murder and B-Legit.

Lofty obviously places a big emphasis on family. With the moving “My Brother’s Keeper,” Lofty and his brother rap about how they always look out for one another. Growing up in various California cities, Lofty had to rely on brother and sister as they were shuffled around to different schools and neighborhoods from the Bay Area to San Diego. 

Along with Lofty on his debut album are a few great features including Gemini, Celly Cel, Neen Boogie, and Levitte.

Loftys debut album ‘In The Beginning’ will be released on August 23, 2005. This will be out nationally and distributed by Bayside and on Cat Man Records

Watch for it and experience for yourself this remarkable west coast talent.