Holla Point

    Courtesy of
Epic / Sony Urban Music

It's not too often that you stumble upon a hip-
hop group that truly descends from greatness.  
Epic Records / Sony Urban Music's newest  
signees, Holla Point, hail from one of our coun -
try's richest musical landmarks - Clarksdale,
Mississippi. As the birthplace of the blues and  
home to legendary Delta-bred icons such as  
Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker, the city of
Clarksdale prides itself on its rich artistic heritage.  
Now, nearly 70 years since their hometown's  
blues explosion first took place, Holla Point are
determined to prove their worth in gold, and plat-
inum plaques when their debut album, Long Time  
Comin' puts Mississippi back on the musical map.

Blessed with a unique style that incorporates both  
the deep knowledge and understanding of the  
great musicians of their city's past, with a new  
school sensibility that is sure to tap into a modern  
day rap fan's consciousness, the three-man  
group, Holla Point, boasts more than your aver -
age MC collective. Twenty-four-year-old rhyme  
partners Malachi and Aimos, and twenty-five
year-old Trap, anchor the group with their deeply  
moving vocals and signature flows. "We do  
everything from rapping to singing," explains  
Trap. "We'll even make the track for it too." With
the exception of one cut composed by the  
legendary Memphis crew, Three 6 Mafia, Holla
Point's debut is completely self-produced, so  
each cut is tailor-made to perfectly compliment  
their vocals.

A standout track from Long Time Comin' called  
"Ooh Ahh" is a clever play on the everyday  
expressions the guys in Holla Point are accus -
tomed to hearing when their admirers get a look  
at what they're working with: "When we pulled up
she be like 'Oooh!' / She got inside the car she  
was like 'Aww!' / We flipped the TV down and she
was like 'Oh!'" raps Aimos on the feel-good  
song's hook.

While Holla Point's debut is sure  
to offer more than enough songs  
to fuel the nation's clubs with  
bangers, including their catchy
sonic shuffle, "Merry Go Round,"
the guys also explore the not-so-
fun parts of life by venturing into  
their own everyday struggles.
"We make songs that make you  
think," explains Aimos. "Not just
what people stereotype music
from the South to be, all rowdy
and crunk. It doesn't take a lot of  
talent for that. That's just a per -  
son getting wild on a track."

The riveting "Momma Told Me"
shows a much more introspec -
tive side of Holla Point where the
group takes time out to respect
the wisdom they were raised  
with. "That song's for all the hard  
heads," offers the group's rough-
est edge, Malachi. "You know  
how you get to that point where
you're like damn, momma told  
me this was gonna happen!"

When it comes to dealing with the mothers of  
their own children however, Holla Point are  
nowhere near as forgiving. The trio's catchiest,
yet most controversial cut, "Baby Mama" is sure
to cement itself into the minds of anyone within
earshot of the song. The track's terse synth hits
combined with the guys' relentless hook of, "I
hate my baby mama!" is an inside look into frus -
trated minds everywhere. "Hopefully when the
opposite sex hears it they won't think, 'Oh, they're
woman bashing,'" explains an animated Aimos.
"It's really not that type of song. She's my baby
mama and I love her but Got damn, I need to
take a walk right now!"

While all three members of Holla Point can relate  
to baby mama drama, they all have unique back
grounds that lead them to the point they're at
now. Growing up in Clarksdale, Malachi, Aimos,
and Trap all shared a common aspiration to make
it big in the rap game. But before fully committing
himself to being a full time recording artist, young
Malachi had to live through a lot. "Growing up in
Mississippi you don't have too much. There's only  
a couple of roads you can take," recalls the burly
MC. "There's nothing but gang banging and vio -
lence all day. I just got swirled up in it." At 17,
Malachi who was already a father, decided to
leave his life in the street for good. "I remember
sitting in jail and I finally decided that I was gonna
stick to rapping. So when I got out that was the
first thing I did."

Trap, on the other hand, grew up in the church  
singing gospel music looking up to another one of
his hometown heroes: "Sam Cooke has always  
been an inspiration to me 'cause he's from
Clarksdale," he smiles. "Trap, he's all heart,"
assures Aimos, the group's charismatic
spokesman. "He makes you feel good and brings
you out of the dumps. I, on the other hand,   
definitely have the fun type aura. I don't like to go  
to the negative side too much because it's ugly.
I'm about waking up everyday and enjoying life
and doing something progressive."

In 2000, the three aspiring music men decided to  
join forces and take a stab at stardom together.  
"You're over there doing the same thing I'm doing
and we're all kin folk," recalls Aimos of his
group's humble beginning. "If we all unite and put
the little pennies we have together and do the
same thing as a unit, it'll work out better. That
was basically the goal."

Thanks to his industry connections up north in  
New York City, Malachi's older brother Darkman,  
who at the time was working as Missy Elliott's
bodyguard, decided to link up with Aimos's older
brother, Stiggy, to manage the young MCs.
Rather than stay down in Mississippi, in 2000
Darkman decided to move his new group up to
the south Bronx, to an apartment the boys now  
affectionately refer to as rap boot camp. "This is
headquarters right here," says Trap while seated
in their studio built in the back room of their
house. "Rapper seals come out of here. Once we
get out of here well be able to do anything."

By following a strict routine that includes daily  
workouts and plenty of hours in the vocal booth,
Holla Point's four-year tenure in NYC has been  
more productive than most artists' entire careers.  
They've recorded close to 1000 songs so far,
"We'll record like 12 songs in one day," says
Malachi. "And ten of them are actually bangers,"
interjects Amos. "That makes us feel really good,
like all this is actually paying off."

Thanks to their record deal with Sony in January  
of 2004, Holla Point has finally started to reap the
benefits of all their hard work. "We just want to  
give people some music that they can come in  
from working and get a good vibe from while  
cleaning up their house. Not something that's  
gonna make someone pick up a gun and go
shoot the club up," says Aimos. "This is a CD  
everybody can relate to," assures Malachi. "We're  
not talking about Bentleys and the big 500 Benz  
we have parked outside," adds Trap. "We're just
keeping it to everyday life. Talking about our last
two dollars."

With a solid foundation to stand on and their new
hard-earned major label digs, Holla Point is deter
mined to grab the world's ear. And they won't let
go until everybody can hear exactly where they  
are coming from.

    www.hollapoint.com
    www.sonymusic.com