Blak Jak

Blak Jak grew up in Decatur, Georgia, and learned about hip hop from his cousins, who had formed a group called the Ward Boys.[1] He took his name from the card game blackjack, which he played in high school.[2] In 2006, he released his first album independently, which included production by Shawty Redd (who had previously won recognition producing for Young Jeezy); the first single from the album, "Ride & Swerve", featured guest rapper Project Pat and became an underground hit in the Southern US.[3][4] Blak Jak continued to win fans after he released a mixtape with DJ Smallz, Roll da Dice, in the summer of 2006.[3] On the strength of the single, Universal Records offered Blak Jak a record deal, and the independent album was re-released in October 2006 under the title Place Your Bets. The single "Bobbin' My Head" scored radio airplay toward the end of 2006,[5] as did his collaboration with T-Pain, "Ball Out ($500)", in March 2007. In the summer of 2007, Los Angeles Dodger infielder Tony Abreu used "Bobbin' My Head" as his entrance music.[6] In a 2007 retrospective of Southern hip-hop, Roni Sarig noted, "New rappers such as...Decatur's Blak Jak served to keep Atlanta front-and-center in Southern hip-hop".[7]