50 Cent. Game. Kanye West. Like those three rappers that came before him, 22-year-old Doe B experienced a life-changing incident before his big breaking moment in the music industry. In 2009, he was struck in the face by a bullet. As a result, he now covers his right eye with a black eye patch. With another chance at life still in the Montgomery, Ala., rapper's hands, the event made him focus on a music career.

"After I got shot, that’s when I started taking it a little bit more serious. A little bit more committed to it. And since, I’ve just been growing and growing as a person and an artist," he tells TheDrop.fm.

Turning tragedy into triumph, Doe B, who took an interest in rapper when he was 8 years old, started building his fan base through mixtapes. He released his fourth mixtape, 'Baby Jesus,' this summer, on July 4. The records are a solid mix of dirty, hard-hitting bass and trap-centric lyrics. Doe B welcomes southern rap vets Juicy J and T.I. on the remix for his new track, 'Let Me Find Out.'

"They actually came down to my city and shot the video in my neighborhood," he shares. "So it was like a honor. It’s like a dream come true to be working with your peers, who you've been looking up to for so many years."

As a younger Doe B, he modeled his rap lines and sounds after the Hot Boyz, Master P and Mannie Fresh, who he called "one of my favorite producers of all time." Many new artists shy away from comparisons in order to create their own image, but Doe B is secure in being compared to his predecessors Jeezy and the Notorious B.I.G.

"I can understand the Jeezy comparison because the whole movement -- when Jeezy first came out as far as with the trap music. And it hasn't been nobody since then [who] really just made a mark like that," Doe B states.

He admits he doesn't quite feel he compares to Biggie stylistically though. "As far as Big comparisons, I don’t know … 'cause you know it’s just big guys, you know what I mean. But it’s an honor to be compared to him and great artists like that."

In the meantime, Doe B, who signed to Interscope Records through music industry executive Gee Roberson's label Blueprint earlier this year, is working on his debut album, to be released in 2014. As he sits in TheDrop.fm's New York City office, the southern rhymer looks forward to a listening session taking place in the city later that night. He's over 1,000 miles away from home, but Doe B knows there's no turning back, especially to a place where he says there isn't as much opportunity available to him.

"It’s just not a lot of options [in Montgomery, Ala.,] you know, so for a young black man, all their dreams are really like sports or rapping or singing or making something that deals with music. So sports and music are really like the only legal options," he explains.

However, Doe B knows all his obstacles have shaped him. "It’s cool, it’s tough, you know -- ups and downs, but you know, it’s just part of the testimony."

While visiting TheDrop.fm, Doe B took time to take part in our Quick Facts and gave us the scoop on some of his favorite things outside of hip-hop. Which rapper would he choose as his sidekick in an action movie? Who does he think are more sneaky: men or women? Check out his answers below.

Doe B
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Watch Doe B's 'Let Me Find Out' Remix Video Feat. T.I. & Juicy J

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