Hurricane Chris

by David Jeffries
Rapping since he was just nine years old, Shreveport, LA's Hurricane Chris burst onto the national scene in 2007 with his catchy single "A Bay Bay." After gaining some local attention with his indie singles "Ya Hear Me" and "Yep" along with some mixtape appearances, Hurricane Chris caught local legend DJ Hollyhood Bay Bay being welcomed at a club with the audience chanting "Hey Bay Bay!" Hollyhood was a leader of Shreveport's ratchet movement -- Shreveport's version of crunk or hyphy -- of which Chris was already a member, having joined the Lava House promotion crew and record label, based in the infamous Cedar Grove neighborhood. As Lava House was releasing the successful singles "Ratchet" and then the "Ratchet" remix with Lil' Boosie, Chris was transforming the chant he heard into a saying, "A Bay Bay," which became the Shreveport version of "fo sho." The saying turned into a Lava House single and caught the ear of Atlanta's Mr. Collipark. Thanks to Collipark, the now 18-year-old Hurricane Chris signed a deal with J Records in 2007. His debut album, 51/50 Ratchet, appeared late that year.