Rappers dream big in St. Louis

updated 5:20 p.m. ET Sept. 16, 2004

ST. LOUIS - Ruka Puff has a big ol’ belly and he’s not afraid to shake it.

His hair in braids with an undone row rising straight from the top of his head like a mohawk, Ruka Puff and two backup rappers recently let loose a furious performance — on a small stage with a stained carpet at the back of a record store.

The hefty 23-year-old is just one of dozens, possibly hundreds, of people trying to make it as a rapper in St. Louis, which has suddenly become a hip-hop hotbed after the huge success of local boys Nelly, Chingy, Murphy Lee and J-Kwon.

“They definitely look a little closer if you say you’re from the land of the Arch,” said Ruka Puff, whose real name is Byron Waters.

Nelly’s “Country Grammar” broke big in 2000 with a distinctive countrified flow. He’s since sold more than 15 million albums in the United States alone, and the three rappers who came after him have enjoyed big hits and a healthy four million albums sold between them.

As Nelly’s new project hits stores — it’s actually two separate albums released simultaneously — the local rap scene has undergone plenty of changes.

“Before,” Nelly said, “you could basically count on both hands how many people were doing it, or how many people was really serious about it, or trying to put forth effort. Now, it’s like a full explosion, man, you know what I’m saying? It’s amazing.”

St. Louis disc jockeys, promoters and producers describe mailboxes full of demos and constantly ringing phones, with calls from kids trying to make an album or label representatives searching for the latest act with street buzz.

“I get approached daily with new music,” said Creston Watters, better known as D.J. C Note on WFUN-FM, one of several hip-hop stations here. “I hear everything from the best music to stuff that I don’t even know why the guy put it out.”

Watters said artists are hoping for radio play — a rarity for acts not represented by a major label — or a spin in big clubs. “If they bring me something wack, then I’ll tell them to keep their day job,” he said.

The latest rap hitmaker out of St. Louis is 18-year-old J-Kwon, born Jerrell Jones, whose “Tipsy” was a party anthem this summer. On the phone from Atlanta, where he’s working on a new CD and preparing to tour overseas, J-Kwon said the impact of other rappers from St. Louis can’t be denied — especially Nelly.

“I call him Grandaddy Nelly,” J-Kwon said.

Is there another Nelly or J-Kwon in St. Louis right now?

“It doesn’t matter how many people try to rap because only the strong will survive,” J-Kwon said. “The weak will be gone.”

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