Video: Figg Panamera – “Phone Ringing” ft. Kevin Gates
The Fillmoelanta Ringleader and the Baton Rouge Hitmaker Do Digital Dirty Work in the VIBE-Premiered Animated Clip for the Cali Boy Down South Highlight
7.25.2017
Critical Praise for Figg Panamera
“[Figg] has a knack for crafting catchy hooks without diving into the superficial territory occupied by so much radio rap.” – SFWeekly
“One cannot deny this San Francisco area rapper’s talent with a mic.” – AllMusic
“Figg has grown into a rare well-rounded rap artist.” – RapReviews
The Video:
A Bay Area transplant who became an influential figure in the Atlanta trap scene, Figg Panamera, formerly known as JT The Bigga Figga, is an established OG and a respected businessman. Flashing a melodic and powerful flow over a swirling piano-led beat from Cassius Jay, Figg shares his secrets for success alongside Kevin Gates on “Phone Ringing.” The video, premiered today by VIBE, finds the two southern rap impresarios rendered in 3D, video-game style animation. Inspired by the Grand Theft Autoseries, the video finds the rappers’ digital avatars packing heat, running from the police, dancing in bandos, and riding in the game’s finest sports cars. A highlight from Figg’s Cali Boy Down South, “Phone Ringing” is an infectious slice of anthemic trap, and an excellent representation of Figg’s combination of Bay Area and ATL sensibilities. “Phone Ringing” is the second visual released off Cali Boy Down South, following the FADER-premiered “Money Talk,” which features a guest spot from 21 Savage.
“My Philly partner hooked it up between me and the GTAV Skit Boyz,” Figg Panamera explained to VIBE. “Kevin Gates got sentenced to 30 months, I want to help keep his name out and keep his buzz going… When Kevin Gates started his own label around 2012/13, I helped mentor him about digital distribution and running an indie label. We talked a lot about trapping and the important of keeping your phone busy. He’s a phone fanatic. He came up with the concept of ‘Phone Ringing’ and this was before his big hit ‘2 Phones.’ With me and him, the phone stay ringing.”
Born in the Fillmore district of San Francisco, JT The Bigga Figga started Get Low Recordz in 1991, gathering some of the most talented emcees and producers in the Bay Area and releasing over 20 albums per year in the ’90s. In 1993, JT dropped “Game Recognize Game,” one of the first hyphy hits. After producing and rhyming on hundreds of tracks in the Bay Area and elsewhere, with his production appearing on albums by the likes of The Game and Master P, JT relocated to Atlanta in the late ’00s, founding the label Fillmoelanta and changing his name to Figg Panamera. In Atlanta, Figg leant his experience and wisdom to artists and producers in the city’s bustling Hip-Hop scene, mentoring Zaytovenand working with artists like Young Thug and Young Scooter. With Cali Boy Down South, Figg reasserts his influence in the Bay and Atlanta scenes and creates an addictive, brilliantly produced trap album.
Watch “Phone Ringing” ft. Kevin Gates: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Texc_a_FnyY&feature=youtu.be
Check out the VIBE Premiere: https://www.vibe.com/2017/07/figg-panamera-kevin-gates-jt-the-bigga-figga/
Listen to Cali Boy Down South: https://soundcloud.com/figgpanamera/sets/cali-boy-down-south
Buy Cali Boy Down South: Empire.lnk.to/CaliBoyDownSouth
Cali Boy Down South Tracklist:
- Hand in da Pot (prod by Cassius Jay)
- Bon Appetit (feat. Loso Loaded and Lotto Savage) (prod. by Cassius Jay)
- The Ups (prod by Zaytoven and Cassius Jay)
- Do What You Want (feat. Killa Twan) (prod. by Cassius Jay)
- Riding Round wit Racks (prod by Zaytoven and Cassius Jay)
- Black Car (prod. by Cassius Jay)
- Money Talk (feat. 21 Savage) (prod. by Cassius Jay)
- Phone Ringing (feat. Kevin Gates) (prod. K-Rabb)
- Extra Grams (prod. by Cassius Jay)
- Coming For Me (prod. by Yoksta)
Please contact Michelle or Isabel for more info.
Figg Panamera Background:
“Drugs and stealing aren’t as exciting as becoming a business owner,” explains Figg Panamera (FKA JT the Bigga Figga.) As a rapper, producer, CEO, philanthropist, and serial entrepreneur, Figg is the epitome of a Fillmore hustler; he’s done it all and done it independently.
Born in the storied Fillmore district of San Francisco, Figg learned how to rap from his mother. As he was being sent to jail at the age of 16, he promised his mother he’d become a successful rapper upon release. He made good on that promise…and then some. Fueled by frustration from being ignored by major labels, he founded Get Low Recordz, which quickly became a mainstay in the Bay Area Street/MOB Music scene. Figg’s second album on Get Low had the hit single “Game Recognize Game,” which became a bonafide anthem for the Bay Area and a catchphrase for the culture at large. In the early 1990s, he built a studio, signed a distribution deal with Priority Distribution, and Get Low released over 20 studio albums their second year. During this time, he produced music for over 100 albums, working with everyone from Master P to Game, along with Bay Area street heroes such as San Quinn and Messy Marv.
Having conquered his native soil, Figg moved to Atlanta in 2010 at the urging of Zaytoven, to whom he taught production, and founded his second label, Fillmoelanta. In 2012, Figg founded Mandatory Business Magazine giving Future, YG, Sonny Digital, and many others their first cover stories. In 2012 he began working with Young Scooter and Kevin Gates, helping them with their sound and production. In 2013, Figg started working with the homeless, feeding and housing them, and gave them jobs such as holding promo signs for Jeezy on busy Atlanta intersections. In 2015 Figg created Trapflix, “the trap version of Netflix,” an app that streams trap movies, documentaries, and concert footage. In 2016, Figg traveled to China to manufacture his own smartphone, preloaded with 6 Trapflix movies and to manufacture light-up sneakers called Trap Kicks and TrapForce1 that he sold in his neighborhood. In early 2017, Figg traveled to Birkina Foso in Africa to capitalize on the booming mobile business but upon seeing their living conditions, switched up his focus to build FillmoeAfrica Business School, water wells, and bathroom, upon 5 acres of land. In March 2017, two days after the birth of his child, Figg was the victim of a botched robbery while feeding the homeless. Dragging himself into a bulletproof car, Figg managed to survive and was hospitalized for a month, only to be released last week. Fully healed and tapping into his Fillmore hustler roots again, Figg is ready to take his honed business instincts back to the rap game, and is poised to release his first full album as Figg Panamera.
Links:
twitter | instagram | youtube | soundcloud | spotify
“Phone Ringing” ft. Kevin Gates: https://soundcloud.com/figgpanamera/phone-ringing-feat-kevin-gates // https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Texc_a_FnyY&feature=youtu.be
“Money Talk”: https://youtu.be/1DQFIahVohw
Cali Boy Down South: Empire.lnk.to/CaliBoyDownSouth // https://soundcloud.com/figgpanamera/sets/cali-boy-down-south
“Money Talk” ft. 21 Savage: https://soundcloud.com/figgpanamera/money-talk-feat-21-savage // https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DQFIahVohw
“Pocket Watchin” ft. Migos: https://youtu.be/qTN26W7ZFEM
“Cash Talk” ft. Young Thug & Offset: https://youtu.be/NngE0s3ycak
“Know I Can Change”: https://youtu.be/1xdSHHmUl3E
Bio, pics, and more here: http://www.audibletreats.com/figg-panamera/