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Back in the early 2000s, everyone wanted to be from Atlanta -- no matter if you came from the streets of Harlem or if you grew up in the California sunshine.
From the unique fashion (exaggerated tall tees, snapbacks, throwback jerseys and an aggressive amount of bling) to the slang (Shawty, Bando, Guala, etc.), the southern city possessed a swagger that was funneled through a series of classic hip-hop bangers. Outkast already had the streets on lock with their progressive approach to the genre, a then-rising Ludacris found success with punchy comedic charm, and T.I. was preparing to take his crown as the Trap King. But in 2003, the Atlanta rap scene ushered in another exciting era in music -- which began with YoungBloodZ's 2003 single, "Damn!"
The ATL duo, comprised of J-Bo and Sean P, previously released their debut album Against da Grain in 1999. It gained recognition in their hometown, yet didn't fully capture the mainstream audience. In came "Damn!" -- the second single from their sophomore effort Drankin' Patnaz, which (along with Lil Jon & The Eastside Boyz' "Get Low") was arguably responsible for the mainstream rise of crunk music. Produced by Lil Jon himself, the rowdy, synthesized "Throw them bows" anthem peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the YoungBloodZ's only top 10 single on the chart.
15 years later, "Damn!" has proven to still have legs, with Australian pop favorite Betty Who recently sampling the famous "Don't start no shit, there won't be no shit" lyric in ?Free to Fly? from her 2017 album The Valley. "That?s awesome, you can?t ask for more," Sean P tells Billboard about the singer's unlikely rendition. "When people are still sampling your records it shows the impact, and that?s all YoungBloodz want to be -- an impact on this ground."
The success of "Damn!" led to even more hits for YoungBloodZ, with the guys later appearing on Nivea's "Okay," Sammie's "You Should Be My Girl," Cherish's "Do It, To It" and Lil Jon's "Snap Yo Fingers." "The phone just kept ringing, and they just wanted Sean Paul to come rap on this and rap on that," Sean P continues. "I was loving it because I was doing what I like to do... I felt like I was the voice of the city at that time. And everybody knew that too, but I didn?t take it in an arrogant way. I just always wanted to put this shit on the map, and represent back home."
Full Interview
Link (https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/hip-hop/8461077/youngbloodz-interview-damn-15th-anniversary)
This used to be my shit in high school
I used to love this song