Whoever said ?it?s hard out here for a pimp? never met Sky Balla. As the West Coast spokesman of the ?I?m Not a Rapper Movement,? Sky Balla exemplifies the hustle and flow that are absolutely essential in today?s rap game. Sitting on a self-made fortune, the young Bay Area boss figured out early on how to make the industry work for him. The guest list for his mixtapes and new album, Every Penny Counts reads like a who?s who of A-list MCs like The Game, Fabolous, Scarface, Juelz Santana and E-40. ?A lot of dudes are mad at me ?cause they think I bought my way into the game,? says the California native. ?I took penitentiary chances and did what I had to do. It costs to be the boss.?

The reality of how to succeed in life has never been an issue for Sky Balla. He learned early on as a kid growing up in impoverished Fillmore section of San Francisco, that he needed to tap into all of his God given talents in order to achieve his dream of becoming an MC. ?I started rapping because it was something that I loved,? he says. ?I saw young African-Americans from the ghetto that were just like me making a whole lot of money. They were like living legends and icons of my community.?

Beyond just having the natural gift for gab, Sky Balla learned how to make valuable connections at a young age. When he was just 16-years-old he joined forces with two other local kids to form a group called Tha Gamblaz. Under the guidance of Yay Area superstars San Quinn and JT the Bigga Figga, Tha Gamblaz debuted on JT?s local smash album, Operation Takeover in 1997. Later that year, Master P snatched up Tha Gamblaz for his West Coast Bad Boyz, Pt. II album which went on to sell over a million copies worldwide. ?After that I knew it was serious,? remembers Sky. ?I really had to stay focused and step my game all the way up. I knew it wasn?t just a dream anymore it was becoming reality at a young age. I was 17 on a platinum record.?

Riding high off his new found success, in 1998, Sky Balla decided to drop out of high school and split from his teenaged group in order to pursue a solo career. He started to work on his first album but got sidetracked when he realized he could raise even more revenue starting a business revolving around his ?ladies of luxury.? ?That?s when I was really in the streets pimpin? for real,? says Sky. ?I had to switch up the hustle. I was always a fly young dude and never had a problem with the ladies so I figured hey, if these ladies want to go the extra mile for me why not put them in the position to make a lot of money??

Sure enough, pimping paid off and the money started pouring in. Being the business man that he is, the young Balla invested his cash into studio time and promotional materials to promote his first official solo album, Mobb Report. For two straight years, Sky acted as his own executive, publicist and marketing manager. Using his industry contacts he collected as a youngster, Sky set up recording sessions in Miami, New York and San Francisco with Scott Storch, Lil? Flip, Keak Da Sneak, Noreaga and a slew of other well known rappers and producers. ?I only pressed up 2,000 copies of Mobb Report,? he says. ?But that 2,000 copies got me further than a lot of people who sold 100,000 units because the contacts I have now are priceless.?