LilRock Obama is Arkansas's Lead Ambassador.
His recent single Fell In Love With Da Trap is his introduction to the world and his world.
The South controls the sound of rap with cities like Atlanta and Memphis firmly solidified in their place as hubs of rap power. States like North Carolina, Alabama and Mississippi are branding themselves as places for young talent as well, but in the middle of it is another southern state with a growing rap scene that is fast on its heels. Arkansas, the folk music capital of the world, is an upcoming rap music center, guided along by LilRock Obama and his team, T$E, also known as the Winner’s Circle.
“My first objective was to put myself on, but then I realized that if I could put attention on Arkansas it would bring attention to everyone including me.
Born and raised in Mount Holly, Arkansas, LilRock grew up in a small city in southcentral Arkansas with a total population of less than three hundred people. “Where I’m from in south Arkansas, we don’t have a population sign and the school was shut down. My graduating class had 27 people. I looked at my friends and felt as if they had it made.” In spite of the lack of cable and other commodities, he credits the radio with exposing him to a diverse array of music from popular artists like Cindi Lauper, Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson to LL Cool J and Run DMC.
“Rap hit, and it made me want to rap. I wrote my first rap in 1st grade. Being from a small town made me more of who I am because I knew I had to get it out of the mud”, says LilRock.
Eager to win, LilRock ventured north to the University of Arkansas in Little Rock in 1997 and aligned himself with a group of local rappers who were eager to put the state on the map. His time in the city coupled with his outgoing personality and strong musical knowledge, made him a popular figure in the city and influenced his moniker, LilRock Obama.
“It came to me. It’s a job title. Even though I’m not from here, people know I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing. I’m the president of the people.”
A fixture on the street’s music scene, LilRock began making his name as a college student. He graduated with his bachelors in Electronic Computer Engineering and took a course in MIDI production which gave him the skills he needed to be able to make beats. From there, he began meticulously gathering all the tools he need to build his own studio and started making his own beats.
Inspired by the entrepreneurial hustle of mixtape legends like DJ Screw and businessmen like J Prince, LilRock and his crew created their own mini music company, producing their music, packaging their CDs and then selling them wholesale to local stores all around them.
“Once I found out what consignment was, we went city to city. We were all over the state and that’s why so many people know me. We were selling CDs out of the trunk at music festivals and events like Juneteenth and Greek festivals in the parking lot for years. We were an independent record label.”
In spite of the success, LilRock felt the best move for him was to transition away from artistry into the business side of music. The Winner’s Circle became the label, and from there LilRock began the task of managing all aspects of music from engineering to graphic design. In addition to the creative aspects, he educated himself on the aspects of copyright law and more to ensure he’d be able to handle the impending success he knew was coming.
Unlike his peers who often give up when success doesn’t come instantly, he stayed down and grinded hard, knowing all he needed was a moment to enlarge his national audience. That moment of magic came in 2019 when his friend Young Dame asked him for a feature for a song he had.
“At the time the song was just a rap song, there was no country about it. A year passed before I finished my verse and I decided to play the song for my podcast segment, Toss it or Sauce It. My brother told me to toss the hook. In my head, I knew that it. I got my artist Marcelles to sing the hook over and in my head, I kept saying this needs a country feel. I told him to sing it as if he was a cowboy. We laughed, but then said this might be tight.
Inspired by the feedback he got from his fans on social, LilRock began the slow work of mixing and mastering the song as well as ensuring the video treatment matched the song. The grind to accumulate the money and craft the perfect image took time and effort, but for LilRock it was necessary.
“We had to get the money to shoot the video, rent the place, outfits and horses. I had to stack my bread, but I wanted to be sure I left a mark. I’ve been working on this for three years because I don’t do music as much. This one though is the bang.”
Released in April of 2023, the song and its video have blown up, gathering 19,000 YouTube views, and 30,000 streams on Spotify, as well as a viral clip of a woman dancing to the song in the background. For LilRock, whose been down for over twenty years, he still wants this to be his swan song, but only if sets his people up for success.
“This is just the beginning. I have another country rap song done. But I’m fine with being a one-hit wonder if it opens the door for other things we have in the pipeline. I’m trying to be a music mogul like Dame Dash, Master P, and Birdman type of time. That’s the goal.”