Varick D. Smith, better known as Smitty, is a Haitian-American rapper and hip-hop ghostwriter from Little Haiti, Miami, Florida. While growing up in Little Haiti, Smitty came home one day to see a friend fatally shot due to involvement in the drug game. The incident made him more aware of his future. In 1997 he decided to enroll at Florida A&M University to major in journalism. However, his aspiration to become a full-fledged artist led him to switch coasts after only two and half years of school. He would eventually, through a friend, get the opportunity to start in the hip-hop industry by flying out to meet with legendary producer Dr. Dre while he was filming The Wash. After many hours waiting around on set, Smitty finally got the chance to rap in front of Dr. Dre. Dr. Dre was impressed and Smitty was asked to work on a few tracks for The Wash soundtrack. In addition to working on the soundtrack, Smitty has also worked on several songs, including two chart hits - 'Shake Ya Tailfeather' by P. Diddy, Nelly & Murphy Lee and 'Bump, Bump, Bump' by B2K. He has collaborated with fellow hip-hop artists such as Trick Daddy, Scarface and Kanye West. An opportunity to sign with Aftermath Records, Arista Records, Capitol Records, Def Jam, Elektra Records, and Jive Records were all offered, but were turned down in lieu of creative freedom. Smitty eventually signed with Clive Davis's J Records. In July of 2005, Smitty released his debut single effort Diamonds on My Neck, a moderate success on the Billboard charts, the video for which was directed by Hype Williams. His album Life of a Troubled Child was supposed to be released in fall 2005 but was shelved for unknown reasons. He released two mixtapes, The Voice of the Ghetto and Heart of the South.