Columbia, SC’s Boss G, his music, history of beef with Def Jam’s Lil Ru and more is the focus of this edition of the Carolina Hip Hop Archives.

At one point, Boss G was the hottest rapper with the biggest buzz coming out of South Carolina, secondary only to Lil Ru. In 2009, what most of the people dialed into the happenings of South Carolina hip hop didn’t know is that Federal Agents had been quietly building a case against Boss G and others as part of Operation Dark Knight for several years. Boss G was arrested in 2011 and is currently about three years into serving a 17 year prison sentence as part of the case.

In May 2010, Boss G was a guest on my radio show. This interview took place approximately one and a half years prior to Boss G’s sentencing. During that time, Boss G had several popular mixtapes out. Rookie of the Year with DJ B. Lord was the first official one. The project that really got folks talking is The World Is Ours, Now We Want Mars, with Charlamagne Tha God and DJ Frosty. The mixtape included production from Honorable C-Note and 9 Mil (Lil Ru’s “Nasty Song”).

Boss G. also had the hottest radio single, “Hobby“, in rotation at radios stations across SC from the upstate to the low county. As a South Carolina independent artist, it was a big deal to have a track in regular rotation on mainstream radio back then. Another-not-to-be overlooked notable is Boss G’s highly publicized, ongoing beef with Lil Ru. Their differences escalated to a viral video of Lil Ru getting jumped by alleged Boss G affiliates, with Boss’ hit single “Hobby” playing in the background [READ/WATCH: Commentary: 5 Epic South Carolina Hip Hop Video Moments (Of All Time!)]

During our conversation back in 2010, Boss G talked about why he decided to take his hustle from the streets and into the booth, how he had grown his buzz in 6 months, the importance of great relationships in the industry plus more.