Lil' Troy
Troy Birklett made one of the most durable Southern rap singles ever recorded and ran the label that released it, which is a more unusual combination than the song's ubiquity suggests.
Early life and origins in Houston
He grew up in Houston and moved into the record business before performing, founding Short Stop Records in the early 1990s.
Short Stop Records
The label released early material by Fat Pat, Big Hawk, Yungstar and others from the Screwed Up Click orbit. Running an independent label in Houston in that period meant physical distribution the majors did not participate in, and he did it successfully.
Wanna Be a Baller
Released in 1998 on Sittin' Fat Down South and featuring Fat Pat, Yungstar, Lil' Will and H.A.W.K., it became a crossover hit, reached the Hot 100 and has remained a fixture at American sporting events and parties for over twenty-five years. It also outlived several of the artists on it.
Album discography
Sittin' Fat Down South (1999), Back to Ballin' (2001) and Paperwork (2005), plus later independent releases.
What he is known for
One song, essentially, and it is a genuinely great one. His own rapping is functional; the record works because of the hook, the guests and a beat that has not dated at all.
Disputes and legal trouble
He has had extended disputes with other Houston artists over credit and royalties, and served federal time on drug charges. Both are part of the public record of Short Stop's history and are covered extensively in Houston rap oral histories.
Legacy
"Wanna Be a Baller" is one of a small number of records that carried Houston to a national audience before the 2005 wave. For many listeners outside Texas it was the first Houston rap song they knew, and often the only one for years.
Building Short Stop
He founded the label before recording himself, and its early roster included Fat Pat, Big Hawk and Yungstar. Running independent distribution in Houston in the 1990s meant physically moving product through local retail, and the label was doing it profitably before the majors noticed the city existed.
The making of Wanna Be a Baller
The record gathers Fat Pat, Yungstar, Lil' Will and H.A.W.K. over a beat that has not dated, and its longevity is remarkable — it is still played at American sporting events a quarter of a century later. Fat Pat had been murdered before it reached its widest audience.
Disputes over credit
Several Houston artists have disputed his account of the label's history, the ownership of recordings and the division of royalties, and these arguments have run for decades in local media and oral histories. They are unresolved and this page does not attempt to adjudicate them.
Legal history
He served federal time on drug charges, which interrupted his career and is documented in contemporaneous reporting. He returned to releasing afterwards, without recapturing the reach of the 1999 record.