Yo Gotti performs during his Road To Riches Tour at the Baltimore Soundstage in Baltimore, MD on Sunday, May 14, 2012. Photo By: Anthony Washington
Yo Gotti brought his “Road To Riches Tour” to the Baltimore Soundstage on Sunday night. The Memphis, Tennessee born artist has been grinding his way through the music industry since the year 2000. His road to riches started off the hard way, releasing his first four albums, From Da Dope Game 2 Da Rap Game, Self-Explanatory, Life and Back 2 da Basics, on the now bankrupt independent label TVT Records.
A true sign of Yo Gotti’s work ethic is how he ended up with his current deal with RCA records. According to his bio, when TVT Records went bankrupt they gave Gotti three days to come up with $500,000 to buy his contract, and become an independent artist. Not only did Gotti come up with the $500,000, after he bought out his contract with his own money, he quickly signed a lucrative deal with Polo Grounds Music/J Records which is now owned by RCA.
Gotti’s most recent release, “Live From The Kitchen”, is his first release on a major label. In its first week, the album sold 16,000 copies. In a recent interview with Wesley Case of The Baltimore Sun, Gotti talked about his frustration with his label only shipping 17,000 copies of the album. “You can’t sell what’s not on the shelf,” Gotti said. “It wasn’t no Yo Gotti CDs in Memphis, where you could have sold 10,000 in days.” (Wesley Case, The Baltimore Sun)
The 29 city “Road To Riches Tour” is the move of a smart business man and artist. It is also a sign that Gotti has a strong following that extends well beyond his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee in which he is a local legend. Wesley Case’s interview with Gotti focused on Gotti’s connection to the street and his fans. I saw an example of how Gotti stays grounded and connected to his fans before the show on Sunday night.
I arrived in downtown Baltimore three hours before the show to park and grab a bite to eat. After I parked my car and started walking toward a local restaurant, there was Gotti out on the street in front of his tour bus three hours before the show taking pictures with fans, singing autographs, and staying connected.
Gotti’s two previous performances in Baltimore drew large crowds. Sunday nights performance was no different.
For more on Yo Gotti’s show at the Baltimore Soundstage, see the photos below. Yo Gotti’s Road To Riches Tour continues until June 10.
More Photos:
Yo Gotti at Baltimore Soundstage – Images by Anthony Washington
