Gillie Da Kid

National attention first reached Philadelphia hardcore rapper Gillie da Kid in 2006 through a public dispute with Cash Money Records and its leading figure Lil Wayne, after the rapper asserted that he had supplied ghostwritten material for several of the label’s acts, most notably Wayne himself. Long before that conflict, Gillie da Kid—born Nasir Fard—along with his seven-member Major Figgas crew, dominated Philadelphia’s underground circuit by circulating multiple independent records and mixtapes. The group secured a contract with Houston, TX-based Suave House Records near the close of the 1990s, yet once the imprint forfeited its Universal distribution deal, Gillie struck out alone in search of a solo path. He encountered Cash Money CEO Bryan “Baby” Williams backstage at a Philadelphia concert and, within days, joined the New Orleans roster. Publishing disagreements blocked any solo release, leaving him to operate strictly as a ghostwriter, a role Cash Money continues to dispute. Following the exits of B.G., Juvenile, and Mannie Fresh, Gillie also parted ways with the label, though he maintained amicable relations with Lil Wayne until 2006, when Wayne included unprovoked disses on a mixtape. Gillie’s public disclosure of these events drew extensive coverage from both print and online hip-hop outlets. Prominent mixtape figures such as DJ Kay Slay and DJ Drama soon approached him for fresh recordings. He subsequently signed with the emerging independent Babygrande Records, which released the compilation The Best of the GDK Mixtapes in March 2007. The 2008 single “Get Down on the Ground” later received a cover treatment from Soulja Boy in 2013, retitled simply “Get Down.”