Sir Mix-a-Lot

Sir Mix-a-Lot is Anthony Ray from Seattle, born in 1963. He started putting out independent singles in the late 1980s and got picked up by Def American Recordings, which released his debut album 'Swass' in 1988. That record mixed humor with straightforward beats and found some listeners, but it was his second album that really connected.

That album was 'Mack Daddy' in 1992, and its lead single 'Baby's Got Back (I Like Big Butts)' became a massive hit. Its celebration of women's curves sparked plenty of debate at the time, with some calling it misogynistic and others hearing it as a kind of body-positive statement.

After that peak, he kept making records like 'Return of the Bumpasaurus' in 1994 and 'Old School Mixtape Theory' in 1996. Songs like 'Posse On Broadway' and 'Put 'Em On The Glass' show his style, direct, a little funny, and built on clear, heavy beats. He's from Seattle, but his sound never really fit with the city's grunge scene; it was its own thing.