My Life in a Jar: The Book of SMO

by Jake Brown, Big Smo

Overview

Born in Southern California and raised in Middle Tennessee, John Lee Smith followed his childhood dream of becoming a star. While he never set out to become the Boss of the Sticks, he created a style of music for people like himself, earning the title King of the Kuntry. Nicknamed Smo by his childhood buddies, he grew up to become a pioneer in the country rap genre.

A captivating tale of coming-of-age, Smo shares his heartaches and successes from signing with a major record label to having his own hit reality tv show. He even includes stories from his loyal fanbase he calls his “Kinfoke”.

My Life in a Jar: The Book of Smo is a story of one man’s dream turned reality and why he's still the Boss of the Sticks.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780692139998
Publisher:	Music Square Media
Publication date:	09/17/2019
Edition description:	Large Print
Pages:	300
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Award-winning music biographer Jake Brown has written 50 published books since 2001, featuring many authorized collaborations with some of rock's biggest artists, including 2013 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees Heart (with Ann and Nancy Wilson), living guitar legend Joe Satriani, country music legends Merle Haggard and Freddy Powers, heavy metal pioneers Motorhead (with Lemmy Kilmister), late hip hop icon Tupac Shakur (with the estate), Willie Dixon (via the estate), Rick Rubin, and the superstar country music anthology Nashville Songwriter, all-star Rock Drummers anthology Beyond the Beats, all-star rap producers Hip Hop Hits anthology, and the all-star rock producers anthology Behind the Boards, among others. Brown's "Spree of '83" memoir with Freddy Powers is currently being adapted into a screenplay and will be seen on the silver screen in 2021. Brown has additionally appeared as biographer-of-record on B.E.T.'s 6-part "Death Row Chronicles" in 2018, as well as on Fuse Network and Bloomberg channel specials among others.

Table of Contents

Foreword John Rich xi

Showtime! xiii

Part I In The Beginning

1 The Smackeroo Madman 3

2 Farm Life 9

3 The Hustler 25

4 Now We're Cookin 43

Part II No Turning Back

5 The Graduate 55

6 American Roots 63

7 Kuntry Livin' 73

8 Sharpie Stains 83

Part III And So It Is Written

9 Talk of the Town 133

10 The Resurrection 151

11 The Exodus 163

Freedom 169

A Few Words From the Homies 205

Jake Brown Dedication & Thanks 207

Co-Author Bio 209

Editorial Reviews

When the National Enquirer called Smo a ‘Country Singer,’ I almost had a f#$king stroke! What did Neil Armstrong say, ‘That was one small step for Big Smo, one HUGE step for the Country Rap genre...’

legendary Southern Rapper HAYSTAK

I think he's one of the first people who gave alot of these country boys a voice and made them feel like it was cool to be from the sticks.

Demun Jones

Smo’s definitely one of the pioneers. I think what I admired most about Smo was the business sense that he had, and sense to get the reality TV show and get the big deal with Warners. I just remember thinking “That will do a lot for this genre and put this genre on the map where it needs to be.

Clay Sharpe of The LACs

I would absolutely say he’s been a pioneer. When you think about the “pillars” that are in this genre, you’ve got The LACs, Colt Ford, and the Moonshine Bandits, and Big Smo.

BIRD of the Moonshine Bandits