JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 DJ Bigga Rankin, widely regarded as a godfather of southern hip-hop, is marking 30 years in the music industry while preparing to scale back touring and focus on family and new projects.<\/p>\n
This story was condensed for brevity. Press play to watch the full interview with Bigga below.<\/p>\n
Bigga, the A&R at Think It\u2019s a Game Records and vice president of the Hittmenn DJs, has been a fixture in hip-hop since its early days \u2014 from parties in the South Bronx to mixtapes and major tours. He helped ignite the careers of popular southern rappers like Plies, Rick Ross, T.I., Jeezy, Yo Gotti, B.o.B. and Gucci Mane, and is working on a documentary about his life and career.<\/p>\n
ATLANTA, GEORGIA – AUGUST 23: Rick Ross and Bigga Rankin perform during YFN LUCCI & Friends Welcome Home Concert at State Farm Arena on August 23, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Prince Williams\/WireImage) (2025 Prince Williams)Rappers AK Tha Razorman (Akeem Lawal) of P$C and T.I. (Clifford Harris) with DJ Bigga Rankin at TJ’s DJ’s Tastemakers record pool meeting at The Moon nightclub on October 20, 2005 in Tallahassee, Florida. (Photo by Julia Beverly\/Getty Images) (Julia Beverly)<\/p>\n
\u201cI love it,\u201d Bigga said. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to have love for something because anything you do and you didn\u2019t get paid for it the next day, you get up early in the morning and go back and do it. That\u2019s passion.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jacksonville Roots: Growing the local hip-hop scene<\/p>\n
Bigga opened the nightclub Cool Runnings in Jacksonville with his brother in 1990. The club grew to national notoriety and helped put Jacksonville on the hip-hop map, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuval is one of the best party cities in the world,\u201d Bigga said. \u201cWhen I step into Duval and grab a microphone, everything changes.\u201d<\/p>\n
He even claimed that he was one of the first people to yell DUUUUUVAL.<\/p>\n
\u201cI yelled Duval for so long back when it really meant something,\u201d he said while laughing. \u201cI ain\u2019t getting no check.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bigga has deep roots in Jacksonville from WJBT The Beat\u2019s Come Together Day concert with artists like Rick Ross, David Banner, local DJs and more. <\/p>\n
Bigga held the Diamond Awards on June 13, an event he produced for nearly two decades that showcased local and regional talent and raised the profile of Jacksonville\u2019s music scene.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did it for 18, 19 years,\u201d he said. \u201cThat crew that I built put in that award show \u2014 it was so rough because everybody wanted to be nominated. And they also want to win.\u201d <\/p>\n
He said the show featured artists including J Baby, Breezy, Kingpin and Al.<\/p>\n
Producer Papa Duck (George Wegans), J Baby, and DJ Bigga Rankin attend TJ’s DJ’s Tastemakers record pool meeting at The Moon nightclub on October 20, 2005 in Tallahassee, Florida. (Photo by Julia Beverly\/Getty Images) (Julia Beverly)<\/p>\n
Bigga praised Ciara, a family friend who has worked with him for a long time, for keeping the event running. <\/p>\n
\u201cNo matter what, you can call her three in the morning. She\u2019ll answer, talk to you, get you back,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
The awards, he said, were meant to celebrate the scene and give recognition to artists who otherwise might be overlooked. <\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes it\u2019s good to be nominated,\u201d Bigga said. \u201cIf you can\u2019t win, that doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s rigged. So, you know, but it did good for the city.\u201d<\/p>\n
Experiencing success at a cost<\/p>\n
Even as he celebrates three decades in music, Bigga said the career has come with personal costs. He said he often missed early family milestones because of travel. <\/p>\n
\u201cI miss [things] and I always shed a tear when I talk about it,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m just thinking about my kids and their first word. It\u2019s a moment that I missed because I\u2019m not there. I\u2019m on the road traveling.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bigga also described serious health struggles in recent years. <\/p>\n
\u201cI had COVID. I was in there for a while at the hospital,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd then I lost my kidney. So I do dialysis three times a week now.\u201d Despite that, he said, \u201cI\u2019m still on the road doing my shows. It\u2019s God.\u201d<\/p>\n
Faith and family, he said, have kept him grounded. <\/p>\n
\u201cWithout God, we have been nothing,\u201d Bigga said. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to have God in your life to really live a beautiful life.\u201d<\/p>\n
DJ Bigga Rankin and Deja at WJBT The Beat’s Come Together Day concert in Jacksonville, Florida on June 19, 2005. (Photo by Julia Beverly\/Getty Images) (Julia Beverly)Passing the rap game to the next generation<\/p>\n
Bigga praised the current generation of artists and the ways the internet has reshaped promotion, but he urged young performers to learn the business.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you get up in the morning, first thing you do, get on YouTube, read about split sheets, read about points, read about publishing,\u201d he said. \u201cSo when you get in a room and somebody asks a question, you don\u2019t look like a dummy.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also said it\u2019s important to have a balance between hustle and humility. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf you know everything, you don\u2019t need nobody,\u201d he said. \u201cAll they need to do is take their time and listen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bigga reflected on long creative partnerships, singling out rapper YFN Lucci for helping him early in his solo ventures. Bigga was on stage with Lucci on March 21 for his 30th anniversary celebration concert. <\/p>\n
\u201cLucci was the first artist who really put out my intro. We shot the video, get my BMI, get my royalty,\u201d he said. \u201cEvery three months you get the BMI check \u2014 pays the bills sometimes, [It] makes you shed tears.\u201d<\/p>\n
ATLANTA, GA – DECEMBER 18: YFN Lucci and Bigga Rankin attend Think its a Game Records Annual Ugly Christmas Sweater party at 433 Bishop on December 18, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia.(photo by Prince Williams\/Wireimage) (2018 Prince Williams)<\/p>\n
He said that he and Lucci instantly clicked when they first met.<\/p>\n
\u201cI broke a lot of artists, but I didn\u2019t stay with a lot of artists,\u201d Bigga said. \u201cMe and Lucci just been together for so long, Love is key.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bigga\u2019s next chapter <\/p>\n
As he prepares to slow down, Bigga said he plans to help a few more artists, do some management and spend more time with his grandchildren. <\/p>\n
\u201cI want to have fun. I want to just be with the grandkids and hang out with them,\u201d he said. \u201cLive life. That\u2019s not always work and travel for work.\u201d<\/p>\n
His best friend Jay Baby has a son who is a rapper too.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told him, I promised I\u2019m going to help him because Jay helped me,\u201d Bigga said.<\/p>\n
He said he hopes to spend the next chapter of his life giving back. <\/p>\n
\u201cI used to do a lot, especially with back-to-school drives and buying book bags,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s something I would love to do way more now that I\u2019m getting to my retirement.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whether he\u2019s on stage, running an award show or mentoring an independent artist, Bigga said one thing keeps him going: the music. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a song when you\u2019re born. There\u2019s a song when you get married. There\u2019s even a song when you divorce,\u201d he said. \u201cLife is music. Music soothes the savage beast. Music just makes you happy.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 DJ Bigga Rankin, widely regarded as a godfather of southern hip-hop, is marking 30 years…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":318100,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[122246,1039,104,116,118,117],"class_list":["post-318099","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-black-music-month","tag-duval-county","tag-entertainment","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-headlines","tag-jacksonville-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/318099","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=318099"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/318099\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/318100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=318099"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=318099"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=318099"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}