(C.U.Z. Bio By Lorando D. Lockhart) When opportunity presents itself, a wise man meets that favorable occasion with calculated preparation. Take, for instance, Greenville S.C.-based rapper Donald Maurice Sligh, aka C.U.Z., whose club hits “864,†“Bank Roll and “Prada,†show a hungry emcee poised for the big stage. Armed with a degree in street knowledge, C.U.Z., (Can’t Understand Zero,) is on a mission to carve a path to fame and fortune – but with a pen and pad instead of a gun and clip. Trips to juvenile hall and a strained relationship with his family inspired a younger C.U.Z. to write about what he was going through. “I was in the cell and wrote a song about my family because I was fighting my family,†he said. “I started writing about how all the fights were going. I put it in there. I just wrote a couple of songs but I never recorded them.†Prior to his musical ambitions, C.U.Z.’s attitude and violent streak led to constant expulsions from Carolina High School. Change came when C.U.Z. saw that his life was on a fast path to destruction. Before he was old enough to buy a beer, he’d been arrested for assault and battery, strong-armed robbery and a host of other charges. But by the time he was released from juvenile, C.U.Z. had his mind set on life beyond the streets. Today, his name rings bells throughout the city because C.U.Z. and his N.B.A. (Niggas Balling Again) collective constantly pump out new music. Not for nothing, the mogul in the making takes his business cues from the likes of Diddy and Birdman. His approach to performing is inspired by emcees such as T.I and Lil Wayne. Still, C.U.Z. credits his father and uncle’s singing in local R&B and gospel groups for planting the seed for his natural musical curiosity. What were once dreams are quickly becoming reality as bangers such as “Black Label,†ft. BME Recordings artist Bohagon, show C.U.Z. in his element. Yeah, he could tell a bunch of hood tales about things that don’t amount to much, but C.U.Z. chooses instead to focus his penetrating voice on the celebration of life with a nice dose of reality thrown in to make his point. “I get busy when I’m sitting and thinking about putting on for my city,†he said. I just smoke one and hit a beat. I might have a couple of people around and that’s how I come up with my songs. I rap about experiences and being around people. Even though I switched up and changed my life, I still explain it through my songs.†Maybe that’s why C.U.Z.’s fans have embraced his movement. His story has lots of classic underdog elements. Raised in a working class Kennedy Park neighborhood known for its get money at all costs ethic, C.U.Z, 23, took to the streets early. “In (Kennedy Park,) it was a common thing that if you didn’t have money, you was gonna have to do something,†he said. “Everybody didn’t have money back in the day. It was hard when my mama had to go take out loans and shit to buy us shoes.†But opportunity knocked when a15-year-old C.U.Z. and his brother Andre were blessed with a financial inheritance. Stealing a page from Master P’s playbook, the brothers embarked on a power move with the intention being to never be broke again. “We went to the bank and got straight hundreds. We wasn’t trying to look back off that shit.†With a pocket full of money and a mind for the grind, C.U.Z. and his brother became fulltime businessmen in the struggle. That struggle cost the Sligh brothers dearly when Dre was handed a 20-year sentence for conspiracy. So now it’s up to his younger brother to finish the race from poverty through his music. C.U.Z. continues to place a healthy distance between himself and his past by working hard at writing and producing his material. “Everyday, I’m trying to make a different hit just trying to keep my songs going,†he said. “By the end of ’09, I’m trying to get one of these songs lifted off and I’m trying to push this mixtape – “Before Da Deal.†C.U.Z. can be contacted at
[email protected].
