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| | website = {{URL|http://www.therealbigsmo.com/}} | | | website = {{URL|http://www.therealbigsmo.com/}} |
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− | '''John Lee Smith''' (born February 14, 1976), known by his stage name '''Big Smo''', is an American [[country rap]] musician, songwriter, producer, and film director from [[Shelbyville, Tennessee]]. After several independent and minor label releases, Smith's [[record label|major label]] debut studio album, ''[[Kuntry Livin']]'', was released in 2014 and charted on three ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' charts. He is the subject of an eponymous reality television series on [[A&E (TV channel)|A&E]] that began in 2014.
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− | ==Early life==
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− | John Lee Smith was born on February 14, 1976 in [[San Diego]], California, to mother Mary Jane Smith (''née'', Barber) and father Carl Avery Smith.<ref name=cbi>{{cite web|url=http://www.californiabirthindex.org/birth/john_l_smith_born_1976_13089187|title=John L Smith, Born 02/14/1976 in California|author=California Birth Index|publisher=California Birth Index|accessdate=June 23, 2014}}</ref><ref name=name>{{cite web|url=http://www.lyrics.net/lyric/30813515|title=Workin' Lyrics|publisher=Lyrics.net|accessdate=June 23, 2014}}</ref><ref name=am>{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/big-smo-mn0000868733/biography |title=Big Smo | Biography|last=Leggett|first=Steve|publisher=[[Rovi Corporation]]|work=[[AllMusic]]|accessdate=June 23, 2014}}</ref> His father was a veteran of the U.S. Navy, and died in 2007.<ref name=father>{{cite web|url=http://www.t-g.com/story/1220441.html|title=Edgemont Baptist to mark Independence Day|last=Dezotell|first=Doug|date=June 29, 2007|work=Shelbyville Times-Gazette|accessdate=June 23, 2014}}</ref> His mother is his business manager.<ref name=mother>{{cite web|url=http://www.t-g.com/story/2088917.html|title=Rapping on fame's door|last=Mosley|first=Brian|date=June 4, 2014|work=Shelbyville Times-Gazette|accessdate=June 23, 2014}}</ref><ref>[http://www.aetv.com/big-smo/exclusives/20-things-you-need-to-know-about-big-smo 20 Things You Need to Know About Big Smo]. A&E Channel. Retrieved on July 18, 2014.</ref> Smith lives on his family farm in [[Unionville, Tennessee]] named "The Kuntry Ranch", which is just outside of [[Shelbyville, Tennessee]].<ref name=cmt>{{cite web|url=http://www.cmt.com/artists/big-smo/biography/|title=About Big Smo|author=[[Country Music Television]]|publisher=Country Music Television|accessdate=June 23, 2014}}</ref>
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− | ==Music career==
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− | Smith started his musical endeavors in 1999, but did not release an album for three years.<ref name=am /><ref name=amdisc>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/big-smo-mn0000868733/discography|title=Big Smo | Discography|author=AllMusic|publisher=Rovi Corporation|accessdate=June 23, 2014}}</ref> He released ''Kuntry Kitchen'' with Yayoda Records in 2002. His next two releases were released on Smo & Money Records, 2003's ''The Audio Biography'' and 2004's ''Monument Society''.<ref name=cmt /><ref name=amdisc /> Then, he released another album with Yayoda in 2007 entitled ''The True South''.<ref name=cmt /><ref name=amdisc /> His last self-released album was entitled ''American Made'', released in 2010.<ref name=cmt /> Also in 2010, his homemade music video "Kickin' It in Tennessee" went viral, garnering over five million views on YouTube.<ref name=am /><ref name=Shelbyville>{{cite web|last1=Mosely|first1=Brian|title=Big Smo hits big time|url=http://www.t-g.com/story/2083444.html|website=Shelbyville Times-Gazette|publisher=Hugh Jones|accessdate=June 23, 2014|date=May 16, 2014}}</ref> He released two [[extended plays|EPs]] with [[Warner Bros. Records]] that were 2012's ''Grass Roots'' and 2013's ''Backwoods Whiskey''.<ref name=am /><ref name=cmt /> Smith's major-label debut came out in 2014, entitled ''[[Kuntry Livin']]''.<ref name=cmt /><ref name=amdisc />
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− | ==Musical style==
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− | According to Matt Bjorke of Roughstock, Big Smo is one of the foremost grassroots artists in a style known as [[rural rap]] or hick-hop, "which blends rural, Country themes and melodies with some rap elements (production and vocal delivery)".<ref name=roughstock>{{cite web|url=http://www.roughstock.com/reviews/album-review-big-smo-kuntry-livin|title=Album Review: Big Smo - Kuntry Livin'|last=Bjorke|first=Matt|date=June 3, 2014|publisher=Roughstock|accessdate=June 24, 2014}}</ref> [[AllMusic]]'s Steve Legget commented that Big Smo "combines country themes and attitudes with rap and hip-hop in a style that prompted one reviewer to note 'If [[Kid Rock]] and [[Run–D.M.C.]] had a love child, he would be named Big Smo,' although combining [[Hank Williams, Jr]]. with [[Nappy Roots]] might strike a bit closer."<ref name=am /> ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' described Big Smo as sounding like "If Run–D.M.C.'s '[[Walk This Way#Run–D.M.C. version|Walk This Way]]' stomped out of Queens and ended up in the rural south."<ref>{{cite web|title=10 New Artists You Need to Know: June 2014|url=http://www.rollingstone.com/music/pictures/10-new-artists-you-need-to-know-june-2014-20140619/big-smo-0538353|last=Murray|first=Nick|date=June 2014|work=[[Rolling Stone]]|publisher=[[Jann Wenner]]|accessdate=June 24, 2014|date=June 19, 2014}}</ref> The music on ''Kuntry Livin''' was described as spinning "rap rhymes about working-class values over hard-rock riffs."<ref name=usatoday>{{cite web|url=http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2014/06/02/echo-bunnymen-big-smo-lp/9884569/|title=Listen Up: Other notable releases|last=Mansfield|first=Brian|authorlink=Brian Mansfield|date=June 3, 2014|work=USA Today|accessdate=June 24, 2014}}</ref>
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− | ==Other media==
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− | Smith is the principal subject of an [[eponym]]ously-titled television series ''Big Smo''. The program, about his life and music by [[A&E (TV channel)|A&E]], debuted in June 2014.
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| ==Discography== | | ==Discography== |