CD Release - Artist behind 'It's Going Down' on his way up

Like so many ATL rappers nowadays, Jasiel "Yung Joc" Robinson started out as a dopeboy...sort of.

"I played more heavily with weed," he says of his pre-rapstar days. Hailing from no neighborhood in particular, Yung Joc lived all over Atlanta. According to his press bio, however, his street activities led to a short stint in prison. "I played with crack and all that shit, but not a lot of that. I didn't want to get caught up in all that," he continues as he lets out a yawn. "Me and my homie Carlito, we had the weed on lock. That's what we did. So doing what I do — hip-hop — I could be anywhere and sell that shit. I could be in the studio and niggas buy weed from me."

Yung Joc got out of the weed game when Russell "Block" Spencer of Block Entertainment saw him perform during a showcase at the Royal Peacock. "Word on the street got Block lookin' at me. He came to a showcase and saw me rock that bitch. We did a deal two days later," says Yung Joc. Best known for last year's Boyz N Da Hood project, Block Entertainment made Yung Joc the next release in its distribution deal with Bad Boy South and Warner Music Group.

On first impression, Yung Joc's New Joc City, which hits stores Tues., June 6, may seem like nothing more than another street-themed rap bonanza. But high-quality songs and Yung Joc's smooth, effortless flow keeps it from being another run-of-the-mill album. "Let me paint a picture/Here's the backdrop/Niggas on the block with a sock full of rocks/My intuition tells me, here comes the cops/First nigga run, last nigga gets knocked," he rhymes on the cinematic opening track, "New Joc City." "It's my depiction of life in the 'hood, the cities, the urban America, everywhere," Yung Joc says immodestly of New Joc City.

Yung Joc has big plans for himself and his crew, Goon Squad. He's got his own label, Mastermind Music, in the works. He came up with the title New Joc City because he says, "I believe in branding, and whenever you say the title, you say my name." It all sprang from the success of his ubiquitous first single, "It's Going Down," a Billboard Top 40 hit.