The last time legendary rapper Pimp C crowned an artist with the coveted Underground Kingz crest, Baton Rogue bad boys Lil Boosie and Webbie took the Gulf Coast by storm. With Pimp’s stamp of approval, high-energy rhymes and bouncy bayou beats, they earned national respect and lucrative solo careers from Sweet James Jones’ golden touch. Now, Pimp anoints his newest rap protégé. This time around, he recruits Mississippi native XVII (Seventeen). Fueled by the summertime banger “She like Me Swagger” featuring Mississippi-based r&b crooner Rod Leander, Seventeen is poised to be one of the hottest artists the South has ever seen with the Fall release of Pimp C Presents XVII on the Major Entertainment/ UGK Records collaborative independent album Certified. “Seventeen is a young, fly hog out here right now, and I liked the way he took his career in his own hands,” explains Pimp. “I liked his hustle. That’s why I hooked up with him.” A native of Mississippi Gulf Coast port city Pass Christian, XVII has been proactive in his career since he first picked up a mic a handful of years ago. Earning his moniker from his wayward ways as he youth, he was first known throughout his hood as 17-Shot because he would tote a stolen 17-shot glock pistol as an early teen. Eventually the name would be shortened to 17 or simply Seven. “Where I come from is small. You didn’t have no choice but to mess up. There are not a lot of job opportunities,” Seventeen remembers. “I was fighting. I wasn’t