DUB Daily

“I haven’t slept for days,” apologized the exhausted superstar. “I have a video shoot, eight photo shoots, 22 interviews. I feel a little bit like a robot.” Tomorrow there’s a concert in Alabama, then two days filming the chromaliscious video for “Coffee Shop,” followed by a New York City promotional tour for his new album Hustlenomics (Block Ent./Bad Boy South, 2007). Nights are long and the stakes are high.

It’s not every day that two of the biggest names in hip-hop place a $15 million wager on your drive to succeed. But that’s exactly what happened to 23-year-old Jasiel Robinson, better known as Yung Joc. The scene was the Royal Peacock, the legendary Atlanta stage where Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin once paid their dues. In the audience was Russell “Block” Spencer, CEO of Block Entertainment, scouting talent for Bad Boy South, his new venture with debonair music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs.

And from the way the crowd reacted, Block realized that he was watching a star rise. He signed Yung Joc immediately, and seemingly overnight, the viral hook on “It’s Going Down” transformed the MC into crunk’s latest darling.

An overnight success? Hardly. Joc’s been grinding behind the scenes since he was a teen. It takes a while for some success stories to realize that stardom is no free lunch, but Joc already knew that a positive outlook and serious work ethic, as well as the ability to bloom even as your best-laid plans collapse around you, is at least as important as raw talent in this game.

He realized what he wanted at age 10, when Run DMC and Ice-T provided the soundtrack for College Park, Georgia. Young Jasiel made his share of trouble, even managing to get kicked out of his high school (he graduated elsewhere), but early exposure to success through music–his father had helped him write a jingle for Revlon early on–helped him realize where the real payoff was.

But no one could have predicted how big it would be. With a mixtape under his belt and the Block Ent./Bad Boy machine behind him, the artist’s first album, New Joc City (Block Ent./Bad Boy South, 2006), went to No. 1–the first single, “It’s Going Down,” certified triple platinum. A marketing campaign that began by handing out CDs in Atlanta area clubs culminated in a BET performance where he was awarded “Hip-Hop Track of the Year,” the No. 1 video in MTV’s “Top Sucker Free Videos of 2006,” being MySpace’s No. 1 artist of 2006, and earning a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Song. And never mind the mainstream appeal (Tom Cruise, presidential candidates) of the “Joc-in” dance. Bad Boy was thrilled, everyone got paid, and finally Joc could rest on his laurels. Right? Wrong.

“There’s more pressure. [New Joc City] is certified platinum and is still selling. We sold four or five million ringtones. So there’s more pressure out now because I have to beat the first album,” Joc calmly explains. “Even if there are people out there who don’t think I’m a good artist, who don’t think I’m a star…hey, I feel like I’ve got to change their mind, too.” It’s a heavy burden to bear, all this fame and expectation, but happily, Joc has a release valve–four, actually–waiting for him in the garage.

The real eye-catcher is his captivating 2006 Mercedes-Benz CLS 500, featured with its awesome Lamborghini-style doors on display in Hustlenomics’ “Coffee Shop” video, featuring Gorilla Zoe. Designed for racing, this luxury coupe takes sharp turns at high speeds when it works that 5.0-liter V8 muscle. But the sharpest turns come from the heads of onlookers, who can’t get enough of the way that ride shimmers in the steamy Southern sunshine. “I can’t tell you who painted it, because if I tell, they’ll be wanting to get my paintjob,” says Joc proudly. With a gold undercoat topped with layers of orange candy, all infused with loads of metalflake, Joc knows that he’s “the only one in Atlanta with that kind of paint,” and plans to keep it that way.

Of course, old school cruisers would skip the glitz and hit that 1971 Impala, meticulously cleaned up with all the chrome, sleek fenderskirts and 24-inch Devon wheels. It’s a serious street cruiser, with plenty of bang worked into the original interior–no less than 20 speakers at last count–and under the hood. That 454-horsepower Chevy big-block engine, designed back when gas cost 30 cents a gallon, can actually deliver more than 500 horspower under optimum conditions, with top speeds of well over 150 mph.

But for the real power-and-design snobs, there’s only one choice, the sleek and elegant 2005 Maserati Quatteporte, with a 4.2-liter, dual-overhead-cam V8 that delivers 400 horsepower and breaks 170 mph anytime you’re ready to rock that six-speed Cambiocorsa sequential manual gearbox, with automatic mode, the way this machine wants it. From independent suspension with double wishbone geometry, anti drive-antisquat features, a rack-and-pinion steering system and Brembo brakes, this ride was designed with the refined taste of performance junkies in mind.

And finally, perhaps the most appealing ride features the handmade artistry for which hand-built, one-of-a-kind Bourget motorcycles are known. Painted by the same anonymous artist, this flame job sets off the oil-in-frame/drop-seat-style chassis, mean rake and Jimz six-speed overdrive with diamond-cut head. The custom-fitted lambskin seat was embroidered to match the paint, transforming this fully functional long-distance bike into a serious show-stopper.
Joc’s been busy since his freshman release, appearing with sexy label mates Danity Kane, who sent “Show Stopper” to No. 8 on the charts, and Atlanta crooner T-Pain’s “Buy U A Drank (Shawty Snappin’),” which went all the way to No. 1. Now everyone’s waiting to see if he can match his previous successes with one of hip-hop’s most anticipated CDs, Hustlenomics.

Can the man with the platinum hooks handle the pressure? Smart money says “yes,” not just because he knows how to flow, but because Yung Joc understands the economics of hip-hop and he’s willing to do what it takes. “Hustlenomics is a way of life,” he philosophizes “Hustlenomics is what I live by. I’m all about hustle, and pretty much that’s the reason of my wanting to put the cars in this photo shoot. Because this is the product of my hustle. And I am all about the hustle.”