This cat has claws

In January, shortly after Gucci Mane obtained his release from prison on murder charges, Big Cat Records summoned local media to its offices for a round of interviews.

The 24-year-old who shyly greeted reporters that day seemed a far cry from the budding rap star who'd shot and murdered a man, and then successfully claimed self-defense, and who'd spent several months in prison for beating up a promoter with a pool cue. Gucci Mane didn't want to talk about his legal exploits, though, or much else for that matter.

"It's weird, because I'm really not a violent person," said Gucci Mane in a hurried tone, as if he wanted to get the whole thing over with. Gucci Mane isn't a thug rapper; his album, Trap House, mostly consists of party songs. "I'm a party rapper. I like to get it crunk ... dancefloor music, that's what I'm best at."

In spite of his bashfulness, it was clear that Gucci Mane carries the relatively unknown Big Cat Records on his shoulders. Less obvious, however, is that there is more to the label than Gucci Mane's radio hits, "Icy" and "Go Head."

Mel "Mel Man" Breeden and Marlon "Big Cat" Rowe formed Big Cat Records in 1999. (Before, Mel Man owned Power Records, home to Freak Nasty's novelty cut "Da' Dip.") For years the label sustained itself with local acts including PBT (2003's Pimpin' My Pen), CIA (2002's Criminalz in Action) and Mad Clique (2001's Don't Hate Me). The arrival of Gucci Mane, who already had the streets buzzing over "Icy," his soon-to-be notorious collaboration with Young Jeezy, drew interest from the majors. Big Cat Records eventually settled on a distribution deal with Tommy Boy Records for Trap House.

"It became a word-of-mouth record," says Mel Man several months after that Gucci Mane interview. He says Trap House sold more than 100,000 copies. "We had this big success with Gucci Mane, and we started creating this major buzz, like, 'Who is Big Cat Records?'" Now Big Cat's roster includes Maceo, a brash and youthful creator of street tracks like "Ho Sit Down" and the anti-snitching "Nextel Chirp" (as in, don't call Maceo Barnes to talk about your drug deals). Black Cat Records issued Maceo's Straight Out Da Pot last fall.

"It's doing mediocre," says Mel Man, who adds that Straight Out Da Pot was overlooked by rap fans during the 2005 holiday season, a time when the music industry rolls out new products from its biggest-selling artists. Still, the 19-year-old Maceo managed one huge coup: landing on the cover of hipster bible Fader magazine last fall.

In addition to Maceo, there's Young Snead, who's got street cuts like "Bounce Dat" and "What Dem Is," the latter a collab with Dem Franchize Boyz. "He's that new, T.I.-fresh-off-the-block," says Mel Man.

Then there's Rasheeda. A relative veteran compared to the label's other whippersnappers, Rasheeda issued her 2001 debut, Dirty South, on Motown Records. Despite help from Nelly, Pastor Troy (with whom she recorded the rap hit "Do It"), Jazze Pha and Bone Crusher, the disc flopped. Now she's issuing a new album, Georgia Peach, on her own label, D-Lo Entertainment, with distribution by Big Cat Records. Its first single is "Touch Ya Toes."

"She's been on a couple major labels. She was on Motown, Blackground and Jive. She's been doing her thing for a while," says Mel Man. "[They were] single deals or deals that didn't work out because they didn't know how to promote a Southern female [rap] artist, which is difficult."

"We could sit here and quickly come up with the names of all the females — not just in the South, but period — in the rap game. I just think it's a male-dominated industry, and it's hard for women to gain respect," says Rasheeda, who also occasionally fills in for Greg Street on V-103 (103.3 FM). "If things work out, not only will I be breaking boundaries, but D-Lo Entertainment and Big Cat will be breaking boundaries for having a female artist come out and do really well on an independent level."

With all of these artists — Gucci Mane (who plans to release a new album in August), Maceo, Young Snead and Rasheeda — Big Cat Records wants to prove it's worth more than one controversial indie smash. Mel Man issues a warning to any major labels that want to make a deal. "I mean, it's 117,000 in the hole [for Trap House]. Plus, I got a new Gucci album that's going to ship a quarter of a million," he says. "I call it the Big Cat movement. We will be respected."