Dee-1
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Dee-1 has always been positioned as a Hip-Hop artist with a message, and few have shown the level of conviction and criticism that he has for the music and culture of Hip-Hop. While attending Dreamville Festival last weekend, Dee-1 graciously gave us a few minutes of his time and shared details of his upcoming album, Hypocritical Hop.
While backstage at the Dreamville Festival, Dee-1’s towering frame and his always observant stance stood out, and as we approached him for questions, we asked what brought him to the festival.
“One of the things I’ve learned as an artist is the power of networking,” he began. “Getting out there helps because people can see my face and hold a conversation with me, and that helps in turn with the other work that I do.”
The former schoolteacher turned musical artist then explained the similarities of leading the youth in the position of guidance and leadership, and how that translates into his current role as a front-facing media figure.
“It’s very similar. As an artist and teacher, you have an audience that you can either pour positivity and light into them, or pour negativity and destruction into them,” he explained. “In both roles, I recognized that early on.”
In recent times, Dee-1 has been an unspoken critic of Hip-Hop music and culture, with some supporting his views while others find his critiques too harsh. When asked about the state of things, the L.O.A.D.E.D. artist did not mince his words.
“Whenever I see a problem, I feel compelled to be part of the solution,” he said. “It’s a huge problem in Hip-Hop, and I don’t even call it Hip-Hop anymore. I call it ‘hypocritical hop.’ What some of the culture has turned into with the glorification of murdering each other, the glorification of selling dope, or being a drug addict, that ain’t Hip-Hop!”
Dee-1 added that to support this line of thought, his latest album will be titled Hypocritical Hop, and he intends to release the project on Juneteenth of this year.
In closing, we asked Dee-1 to share a message with our readers as we came to the end of our interview.
“Don’t allow the distractions of the world, which are delicious distractions; they taste good, they look good, they smell good, but don’t allow those things to deter you from your God-given purpose,” he stated. “We were put here by God for God’s glory, and it’s that simple. Because God loves us, he gives us free will and autonomy, but don’t fall in love with any of these creations more than you love the creator.”
To learn more about Dee-1 and follow his journey, click here.
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Photo: Paras Griffin / Getty
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Dee-1 sparked the ire of Rick Ross, Meek Mill, and Jim Jones after making comments about the musical output of his fellow Hip-Hop artists, and is now looking to smooth over their issues. Despite getting less than favorable replies from the aforementioned trio, Dee-1 says he hopes that the dustup could lead to an eventual conversation.
Dee-1 was a guest on Shade 45’s Sway In The Morning program around two weeks ago speaking on some of his recent moves both in music and in the activism space where he’s also put his energy toward. During that chat, the New Orleans rapper had harsh words for Ross, Mill, and Jones, urging them to use their massive fame and influence for positive change.
Dee-1’s words reached the ears of Ross, Mill, and Jones, with Rozay recording a series of videos addressing Dee-1 and explaining how he and Jones give back to their respective communities in ways that aren’t always highly publicized. Jones, in his eloquence, also shared his disdain for the criticism and essentially said that Dee should have reached out to him to discuss any particulars.
In a new interview via B High TV that aired over the weekend, Dee-1 realized he may have spoken from an uninformed space and hopes that a conversation can occur between the artists.
“Jim Jones, I love you; Meek Mill, I love you; Rick Ross, I love you,” Dee-1 says in the interview. “The world wants it to become something negative and unhealthy, but let’s make sure we use this as an opportunity to educate and to communicate.”
He continued, “And if that means we can be friends at the end of this, cool. If we can’t ever be friends, cool, all good. Just go be a better man of God and I’m a try to be the best man of God I can be, and it’s Gucci.”
Check out the B High TV interview below.
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Photo: Paras Griffin / Getty
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