Waka Flocka Flame

From Atlanta, Georgia – by way of Jamaica, Queens, New York – a unique and undeniable talent emerges in the music industry.  Juaquin Malphurs, AKA Waka Flocka Flame, known also as Waka Flocka, and Waka for short.  Call him whatever you want, but you’re guaranteed not to forget his name – any of them.  The preceding name, Waka, which was given to him by rapper and mentor Gucci Mane –is a short of his real name, Juaquin.  Flocka is an interpretation of the Spanish “flaca,” which means thin or skinny, which is a description and nickname from his childhood.  The surname, Flame, encompasses Waka’s ability to deliver hot lyrics like fiery flames from the mouth of a dragon.

Existing in a facet of Hip Hop that is all his own, Waka has branded his own genre of music.  “I grew up with my mom listening to Run DMC.  I take that influence and blend it with my generational vibe, then lay it over a southern track.  That’s how I make flocka music.”  Reminiscent of the rawness of NWA and Wu-Tang Clan, mixed with the southern influences of Gucci Mane and Lil’ John, flocka music embodies elements of both Rock and Hip Hop music.  At 23 years of age, Waka is a solo artist, and the youngest member of the So Icey Boyz – a popular Atlanta-based rap group signed to Gucci Mane’s So Icey Entertainment/1017 Brick Squad, which he joined in 2004.

Waka’s solo efforts include street albums such as Salute Me or Shoot Me Vol. 1, Twin Towers, and Shootin’ the Breeze Cookin’ that Fire.  He has also appeared on industry DVD’s from Hood Affairs and The Come Up toSmack DVD, Night Life and Raw Report – to name a few.  Waka is consistently booking paid performances and appearances in cities across the Southeast.  “I started booking paid shows 7 months after I did my first mixtape,” remembers Waka.  Now, with hit songs like “O, Let’s Do It,” his career is gaining unstoppable momentum and taking the independent industry by storm.

With a plan to infiltrate the industry, Waka has set a professional goal to release twenty street albums by 2011.  In addition to performing regularly across the country, he is simultaneously in the studio recording music.  Slated for upcoming release are Salute Me or Shoot Me, Volumes 2 and 3.