There’s just no denying the power of the Southern underground in transforming local aspiring rappers into worldwide megastars. Multi-platinum icons like Lil Wayne, Ludacris, Young Jeezy, Gucci Mane and UGK all kicked off their careers with independent releases that tore through the South like wildfire and eventually infiltrated the world.Continuing in that tradition of blazing through the Southern region with scalding hot music is Texas -based bad boy Yo Gutta. Laying down a strong foundation of loyal fans with a string of steamy, club-jumping singles and seven sizzling mixtapes, Yo Gutta further solidifies his staying power with his latest smash single “In It to Win It” featuring underground king Kevin Gates.But that’s just a warm up compared to what Gutta intends on dropping. Next out the chamber is his follow-up single “I Ain’t Never Got Caught.” And Gutta is also on the verge of dropping his eighth mixtape Low Key on his own independent label Gutta Gang Muzik  in August. This is not a game. This is tradition. BIO“People have been clinging to my music so much over the years because I can really spit,” explains Yo Gutta. “I switch up my styles. There’s no telling how I come off when I jump on a track. I might rap fast. I might rap slow or I just my flip my words at a mile a minute. They never know what to expect.”Born Mario Lewis in the sleepy town of Mansura, La., Gutta’s on-stage moniker is much like a description of his humble upbringing. “I’m a country boy. I’m straight from the country,” Gutta admits. “I like to hunt and fish in the swamps and eating wildlife. That’s how I come up.”Raised in the small town’s grimy Misty Manor Projects, young Mario grew up the oldest of four children. His mother worked her fingers to the bone at two jobs to ensure the kids had clothes on their backs and a roof over their heads. Because his momma dukes spent most of her time at work, young Mario was responsible for watching over his three little sisters while his mother earned money for bread and meat.“When I was living there, it was rugged,” he remembers. “It was the place everybody wanted to be because it was jumping. Like Lil Boosie said in one song, ‘we thuggin outside. We don’t need cable.’ Something was always popping outside. We just had fun and lived life. Staying down there was probably the most fun days of my life.”It was during these years growing up in the projects would Gutta be introduced to rapping. On any given day, a group of young kids would be huddled up in a circle freestyle rapping and Gutta was always in the middle of it.He didn’t take his craft seriously until at age 16, an older cousin from Dallas asked Gutta to spit a verse on a song with him. The cousin invited him to the studio, they cut the track and Gutta hasn’t looked back since.“Everybody was crunk about the verse I put down,” he recalls. “They couldn’t believe it was me because I had such a good sound from the very first time I went into the studio.”Although it was the first time that Gutta went into the studio, it was far from the last. Shortly after relocating to Tyler, Texas, he dropped his well-received debut mixtape On The Rise in 2004 and created a huge buzz between his native Louisiana and East Texas. With trunk-rattling singles like “Swangin’ Nothing But Big Bodies” and “Youngsters on the Rise,” Gutta quickly became a regional superstar.He came right back a year later with his sophomore mixtape So Gutta in 2005 and gained even more respect with the mixtape’s title track featuring veteran Houston rapper Bam from pioneering group Street Military. Then over the years, he came back to back to back with a plethora of mixtapes and singles.And now, he is preparing his own takeover with the release of his eighth mixtape Low Key due in August. On the strength of lead single “In It to Win It” featuring Kevin Gates and second single “Feeling So Playa” featuring Houston trailblazer E.S.G., Yo Gutta proves that this is just the beginning of a musical movement.“Being an underground artist is tough; it’s competitive, but it’s worth the grind,” says Gutta. “It’s worth the payoff. Every time someone hears my music or sees one of my shows, I get a new fan. I’ve come a long way in the game but this is just the beginning.”