Bobby Creekwater

Antoine Rogers, known professionally as Bobby Creekwater, grew up across scattered neighborhoods in Atlanta and its adjacent suburbs, where rap music quickly captured his attention. After completing one year at Clark-Atlanta University, he set aside academics to focus on studio work as half of the duo Jatis, joined by his partner Charlie Jangles. The pair first landed a contract with Columbia Records, only to be dropped, then moved to the respected hip-hop imprint Loud Records. Loud, already renowned for its run with the Wu-Tang Clan, Mobb Deep, Big Pun, and other acts, shut its doors before Jatis could issue an album. Creekwater took the experience to heart, pledged to build his career independently, and stepped away from Jangles for a time.

Operating without a label, he mastered beat production and the full range of tasks normally managed by a record company. Those skills mattered when a Shady Records scout encountered one of his verses on a demo by Aasim. The label opted to sign Creekwater instead, bringing the Atlanta rapper aboard in summer 2005 as Shady’s second Southern signee after Stat Quo. Drawing on earlier lessons, he issued the mixtape Anthem to the Streets, Vol. 1 several months later to raise his profile. The following year he made his formal introduction on the Shady compilation Eminem Presents: The Re-Up, which also showcased his production alongside contributions from Eminem and the Alchemist.