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Fire Starter: Dee-1
Dee-1 is no
dummy. The New Orleans native and Louisiana State University grad picked up
rapping as a hobby in his college dorm room and devised a plan to get paid. It
may have taken a little longer than expected but the former middle-school
teacher left the classroom and has learned a new hustle through hip-hop.
"I first started wanting to rap as just a hobby when I first started college.
I didn't really have anything better to do with my time, so I was like, 'Let me
just freestyle around my dorm room with my boys,' " Dee-1 told Mixtape
Daily. "But once I realized I was good at it, I started to take it more
serious. I was like, 'You know what? I have a voice that can be used to
entertain people but also to inspire change, in a good way.' "
Dee-1 took his yearning for change and applied it to his 2010 outspoken
single "Jay, 50 & Weezy." In the song, the young MC holds an imaginary
conversation with Hov, 50 Cent and Lil Wayne, questioning their subject matter.
The track helped put him on the map partly because of the sheer audacity that he
displayed by calling out three of the game's biggest rappers, but mostly because
of the song's strong message. "I wrote that record when I was still teaching
middle school, so every single day, I'm face to face with the kids who are
influenced by these brothers. I see how much they want to walk like them, talk
like them, just be like them," he explained.
Through his experience as a teacher, Dee-1 saw firsthand that rappers are in
fact role models. Bold? Yes, but Dee stops short of labeling the track a dis
record. "I don't know if you can tell by looking at me but I'm not an
intimidating type of guy or violent dude, so I wasn't gonna write it as a dis
song to try to go at their necks," he said. "But I'm also not a scary man; I'm
very bold and very confident in the person that God made me."
That confidence has translated to his work. In March, Dee-1 dropped his fifth
mixtape, I Hope They Hear Me, Vol. 2, to much online fanfare and he
recently toured with Killer Mike, Young Dro and Pac Div. The grind is paying off
so far, and the N.O. representative has already taken meetings with Universal,
Jive and Atlantic, though he's in no rush to sign.
"The patience comes from having a purpose, and my purpose is to have
longevity in the game," he said. "If I was desperate for a check right now, like
if I just wanted a $100,000 to put in my pocket, I might have signed by this
time. But I'm not that desperate and I'm not hurting for money."
Smart man!
A cool read, hes not fully dissing them, he calls them inteligent, but is wondering why they dont wanna rap about their evolution.... What gets me is how does this dumbass know they aint carrying guns and shooting people? He a fanboy?
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