Fiend's father owned a bar and it helped him get exposed to greats and raised his ambition for a career in music.
"Let's say he'd have Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes," Fiend said. "I'd be able to go see these cats, get autographs and shit. I was able to see this in a barroom as a kid. That increased my chances of being great because I saw something great."
It was Fiend's mother and brother who encouraged his rapping the most, with his brother in the streets hustling but pushing him to be the best rapper he could be. It was his brother's death that motivated him to push forward with music, and his neighborhood and community rallied behind him. That led to him signing with Big Boy Records.
"Here comes No Limit Records," he told the 85 South Show. "I was already fucking with Kane & Abel. They was signed to a label by these two accountants. I got a chance to go places and be around some big shit. My pen got me in rooms that most people wouldn't fathom."
The move to No Limit kicked Fiend's career into high gear. His gravelly baritone was immediately distinct on a label with no shortage of larger-than-life personalities. His standout verse on the anthemic "Make 'Em Say Ugh" put him squarely in the southern rap mainstream. And he followed that appearance with the critically-acclaimed There's One In Every Family, his first album for the label.
"I'm ecstatic," the rapper told MTV at the time. "This is my first time going nationwide and I didn't know how the fans were going to react. I'm very grateful."
He would depart No Limit in the early 2000s, founding his own brand, Fiend Entertainment, and seeking to gain more control of his art and his business.