Micah LeVar "Pastor" Troy (born November 18, 1977) is an American rapper from Augusta, Georgia. He is best known for his 2002 single "Are We Cuttin'" (featuring Ms. Jade), which entered the Billboard Hot 100. The year prior, he signed with Universal Records to release his fourth album and major label debut, Face Off (2001), which entered the Billboard 200. "Are We Cuttin'" spawned from his sixth album, Universal Soldier (2002), which peaked at number 13 on the chart. His seventh, By Any Means Necessary (2004), served as his final release with the label.
Pastor Troy | |
|---|---|
 Troy in 2023 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Micah LeVar Troy |
| Also known as |
|
| Born | November 18, 1977 College Park, Georgia, U.S. |
| Origin | Augusta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1998–present |
| Labels | |
Along with his solo career, he was the lead member of the Southern hip hop group D.S.G.B. (Down South Georgia Boyz).
Early life
editMicah LeVar Troy was born on November 18, 1977, in College Park, Georgia. His father, Alfred Troy, is a former drill instructor turned pastor.[1]
Troy graduated from Creekside High School and attended Paine College in Augusta, Georgia, before deciding to fully pursue his career in rap. His rap name comes from his last name and his father's profession as a pastor, and is also a pun on the name Castor Troy, a character from John Woo's 1997 film Face/Off, played by Nicolas Cage and John Travolta. His fourth album is titled Face Off in reference to the movie.
Career
editHe released his first album, We Ready (I Declare War), in 1999. To generate attention and buzz, he attacked record producer Master P verbally on the song "No Mo Play in G. A."
Fellow Georgia-based rapper Ludacris enlisted Troy to appear on his Jermaine Dupri-produced song "Get Off Me", from the former's Def Jam Recordings debut, Back for the First Time.[2] Troy also formed the Augusta, Georgia-based hip hop group D.S.G.B. (Down South Georgia Boyz) during this time, for which he served as frontman.[3] He guest appeared on Lil Jon & the Eastside Boyz' song "Throw It Up", from their collaborative album Kings of Crunk (2002).[4] In 2002, Troy's album Universal Soldier became popular in the South; it spawned the single "Are We Cuttin'" featuring Ms. Jade, which was also featured on the soundtrack for the action film xXx, released that year.[5] The album debuted at number 13 on the Billboard 200.[6] In 2003, Troy appeared on Young Jeezy's 2003 album Come Shop wit' Me on the track titled "GA".[7]
Troy released By Any Means Necessary in 2004. Following this album, Troy was released from his Universal contract due to creative disputes.[1] He then released Face Off, Part II, which addressed some issues with Lil Scrappy and BME. In 2005, he appeared with Killer Mike on Chamillionaire's track "Southern Takeover" off of The Sound of Revenge.
He released three albums in 2006, starting with Stay Tru, followed by By Choice or By Force and Atlanta 2 Memphis, the latter on which in collaboration with Memphis, Tennessee, rapper Criminal Manne. Stay Tru entered the Billboard 200 at number 150, selling 6,000 copies its first week.[8]
Troy released his sixteenth solo album, Ready for War, in June 2009, and released seven follow-up studio albums until 2011. In 2012, he released The Last OutLaw, and in 2013, he released The Streets Need You. In 2014, he released the mixtape Crown Royal Part 4, as well as the album Welcome to the Rap Game, while he released the sixth installment of his Crown Royal mixtape series in 2015, along with WAR (We Are Ready) in Atlanta, which featured Paul Wall and Bun B.
In 2017, Troy announced his retirement, and released his last album O.G.P.T in July of that year. He also announced he was in the process of completing his second film, titled Down 2 Come Up, which he wrote, directed, and starred in, which was slated for released on March 17, 2020. Despite announcing his retirement, his career continued with the release of two albums: Clubber Lang (2018) and Enemy of the State (2019).
Personal life
editIn January 2020, Pastor Troy made homophobic comments on the outfit Lil Nas X wore during the Grammy Awards.[9][10][11] In a subsequent interview, Pastor Troy said he was not being homophobic but then claimed that "being gay isn't right" and made several other homophobic comments.[12][13]
Awards
editOn April 5, 2016, Pastor Troy received the Legends of ATL Award from BMI for his contributions to music in Atlanta.[14]
Discography
editStudio albums
edit| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [15] |
R&B [15] |
Rap [15] |
Ind [16] | ||
| We Ready (I Declare War) |
|
— | — | — | — |
| I Am D.S.G.B. |
|
— | — | — | — |
| Pastor Troy for President |
|
— | — | — | — |
| Face Off |
|
83 | 13 | — | — |
| Hell 2 Pay |
|
— | — | — | — |
| Universal Soldier |
|
13 | 2 | — | — |
| By Any Means Necessary |
|
30 | 7 | — | — |
| Face Off, Part II |
|
112 | — | — | — |
| Stay Tru |
|
150 | 21 | 12 | 15 |
| By Choice or by Force |
|
130 | — | — | — |
| Tool Muziq |
|
91 | 11 | 4 | 9 |
| Attitude Adjuster |
|
116 | 15 | 4 | 14 |
| A.T.L. (A-Town Legend) |
|
— | — | — | — |
| TROY |
|
— | — | — | — |
| Feel Me or Kill Me |
|
121 | — | — | — |
| Ready for War |
|
— | — | — | — |
| Love Me, Hate Me |
|
— | — | — | — |
| G.I. Troy – Strictly 4 My Soldiers |
|
— | — | — | — |
| Zero Tolerence |
|
— | — | — | — |
| Attitude Adjuster 2 |
|
— | — | — | — |
| King of All Kings |
|
— | — | — | — |
| Still Troy |
|
— | — | — | — |
| H.N.I.C. |
|
— | — | — | — |
| The Last Outlaw |
|
— | — | — | — |
| The Streets Need You |
|
— | — | — | — |
| Welcome To The Rap Game |
|
— | — | — | — |
| WAR in Atlanta |
|
— | — | — | — |
| O.G.P.T |
|
— | — | — | — |
| Clubber Lang |
|
— | — | — | — |
| Enemy of the State |
|
— | — | — | — |
| I Said What I Said |
|
— | — | — | — |
| PT Cruzza |
|
— | — | — | — |
Collaborations
editWith D.S.G.B.
| Year | Title | Chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B | |||
| 2001 | The Last Supper | — | — | |
| 2003 | Til Death Do Us Part | — | 42 | |
Other collaborations
| Year | Title | Chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B | |||
| 2000 | Book I (with The Congregation) | — | — | |
| 2006 | Atlanta 2 Memphis (with Criminal Manne) | — | 88 | |
| 2008 | A.T.L. 2 (A-Town Legends 2) (with The Lumberjacks) | — | — | |
Mixtapes, compilations and remix albums
edit| Year | Album |
|---|---|
| 2001 | A Thin Line Between The Playaz And The Hataz |
| 2002 | Revelations |
| 2004 | I Am American (Compilation) (presented by Lil Jon & Pastor Troy) |
| 2005 | Hood Hustlin': The Mix Tape, Vol. 1 (with Nino of P.K.O.) |
| Hood Hustlin': The Mix Tape, Vol. 2 (Slowed & Chopped) (with Nino of P.K.O.) | |
| 2006 | Down South Hood Hustlin (with Nino of P.K.O.) |
| 2009 | Still No Play In Georgia (Best Of) (Mixtape) |
| Ready for War (The P.T. Mixes) | |
| 2010 | Crown Royal (Mixtape) |
| The Be | |
| 2011 | Crown Royal 2 (Mixtape) |
| 2013 | Crown Royal Legend (Mixtape) |
| 2014 | Crown Royal 4 (Mixtape) |
| Crown Royal 5 (Mixtape) | |
| 2015 | Crown Royal 6 (Mixtape) |
Singles
edit| Year | Song | U.S. Hot 100 | U.S. R&B | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | "No Mo Play in G.A." | — | — | We Ready (I Declare War) |
| 2001 | "This tha City" | — | — | Face Off |
| "Vice Versa" (featuring Peter the Disciple) |
— | 13 | ||
| 2002 | "Are We Cuttin'" (featuring Ms. Jade) |
96 | 47 | Universal Soldier |
| 2003 | "You Can't Pimp Me" (featuring Peter the Disciple) |
— | — | |
| 2004 | "Ridin' Big" | — | 91 | By Any Means Necessary |
| 2006 | "Pop a Few Bottles" (featuring Rasheeda) |
— | — | By Choice or by Force |
| 2007 | "Saddam" | — | — | Tool Muziq |
| 2008 | "Heaven Is Below" | — | — | A.T.L. (A-Town Legend) |
| 2009 | "I Want War" | — | — | Feel Me or Kill Me |
| "Comin Wit Me" | — | — | Ready for War | |
| 2011 | "Dirty Atlanta" (featuring Ralph) |
— | — | Still Troy |
| "Ain't Gangsta No Moe" | — | — |
Collaboration singles
edit| Year | Song | U.S. Hot 100 | U.S. R&B | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | "D.S.G.B." (with D.S.G.B.; Down South Georgia Boyz) |
— | — | Til Death Do Us Part |
| 2014 | "We Represent Dat" (with Lil Jazz) |
— | — | Non-album single |
| 2016 | "Money Up" (with King Killumbia & Lil Ru) |
— | — | Welcome to Killumbia |
| 2018 | "Hoe Check II prod by King Killumbia & D Gutta" (with King Killumbia, Project Pat, The Last Mr. Bigg, Mr. Flip & Natalac; Remix with Lil Brod) |
— | — | Pimp of the Nation |
| 2018 | "Roll Down" (with Dusty Roadz & King Killumbia) |
— | — | Kranked Up |
| 2018 | "IDGAF prod by Witeout" (with King Killumbia, Lil Wyte & Kaotik) |
— | — | Non-album single |
Production credits
editPastor Troy
edit- Book I (by Pastor Troy & The Congregation):
"Havin' A Bad Day"
"This Tha City"
"My Niggaz Is The Grind"
"Move To Mars"
"Throw Your Flags Up"
"No Mo Play In GA"
"Eternal Yard Dash" with Big Toombs
"Oh Father"
"Universal Soldier"
"Bless America"
"WWW (Who, Want, War)"
"Where Them Niggaz At"
"Respect Game"
"I'm Down"
D.S.G.B.
edit- The Last Supper:
"We Dem Georgia Boyz"
"My Folks"
"Brang Ya Army"
"Above The Law II"
"Southside"
"Repent"
- Til Death Do Us Part:
"I'm Outside Ho"
"Sittin' On Thangs" with Taj Mahal
References
edit- ^ a b Birchmeier, Jason. "Pastor Troy Biography". allmusic. Retrieved November 27, 2010.
- ^ Birchmeier, Jason. "Back for the First Time" – Overview. allmusic: 2000.
- ^ Birhchmeier, Jason. DSGB biography at allmusic
- ^ Henderson, Alex. "Kings of Crunk" – Overview. allmusic: 2002.
- ^ Reid, Shaheem. Pastor Troy Reps For Georgia. MTV News: September 23, 2002.
- ^ D'Angelo, Joe. Elvis' #1s LP To Hit #1. MTV News: October 2, 2002.
- ^ "Come Shop Wit' Me" – allmusic
- ^ Harris, Chris. T.I., Pink, Shakira Can't Shake Rascal Flatts From Billboard #1. MTV News: April 26, 2006.
- ^ Daw, Stephen. "Lil Nas X Responded to A Fellow Rapper's Homophobic Comment, And It Was Perfect". Billboard.
- ^ Lil Nas X Responds to Pastor Troy's Homophobic Post papermag, Sandra Song, January 29, 2020
- ^ Lil Nas X responds with a shrug to Pastor Troy's homophobic comments ajc.com, Melissa Ruggieri, January 30, 2020
- ^ Pastor Troy Talks Lil Nas X, Says He Isn't Homophobic But Being Gay Isn't Right hotnewhiphop.com Erika Maria, January 31, 2020
- ^ Pastor Troy Says He's Not Homophobic Because He's Taken Photos With LGBTQ Fans complex.com, Joshua Espinoza, February 1, 2020
- ^ reports, Atlanta Daily World staff (April 8, 2016). "Pastor Troy presented 'ATL Legend Award' at BMI Urban Showcase". Atlanta Daily World. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
- ^ a b c "Big L – Charts & Awards – Billboard Albums." Allmusic.com. Rovi Corporation. n.d. Web. October 27, 2011. <http://allmusic.com/artist/big-l-p144340/charts-awards>.
- ^ "allmusic (((Insane Clown Posse – Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums)))". Allmusic. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
- ^ "We Ready I Declare War by Pastor Troy". Amazon.
External links
edit- Pastor Troy on Twitter
- Pastor Troy at AllMusic
- Pastor Troy on Facebook
