From Memphis, Cranking Up the Crunk

Music supervisor Stewart says Kapone stands to make a small mint from the project, at least relative to his previous earnings. "For an independent artist, it's going to be a lot of money," Stewart says. "He should be seeing some real dough. But more importantly, it's going to open so many doors for him. MTV and all these people have become interested."

Kapone is calling his next album "True Underdog," in the same bootstrapping spirit of DJay, who figures he can shine if only he can get that one break.

Sort of like when Kapone just happened to call "Hustle & Flow's" writer-director Craig Brewer -- a past acquaintance -- at the very moment the Memphis filmmaker was expecting to hear from the popular local rap group Three 6 Mafia. Brewer told Kapone about this little screenplay he'd written, and he mentioned that Singleton was jetting in to meet with Three 6 -- but, hey, he said, since I'm down with your music, too, why don't you write a theme song, and I'll get you in with John, and, oh, by the way: He'll be here tomorrow .

"I had to do what I had to do," Kapone says.

He called Howard to talk about the actor's role, ruminated, and then scratched out a rough backing track and two lengthy verses that captured the movie's desperate, desirous spirit. By the time Singleton touched down the following day, Kapone had it in the bag. (The song, the job, the big break.)

"You always get the best music from the people who are the hungriest, and Al wrote something that was so dead-on," Stewart says. "He needed it. It meant so much to Al, and you could feel it in the music and lyrics."

Just consider the chorus: "Keep hustlin' -- it ain't over for me, no it ain't over for me / Keep flowin' -- I'm a step my game up and get what's comin to me."

It's Howard's performance, but Kapone's mantra.

"He had to make something happen, and he had to believe in himself even when ain't nobody else did -- and it represented not only myself, but a lot of artists out there trying to make it," Kapone says. "And I guess John was so impressed that he asked me if I'd play a few more songs. That's how he heard 'Whoop That Trick' and 'Get Crunk, Get Buck.' . . . I was just hoping to get that first song. But the one call ended up getting me three and a small acting role in the movie. So I can't complain right now."