Signed to BME Recordings and the indie imprint Razor & Tie, Putt is a vet in the rap game–having collaborated with YoungBloodZ and Lil’ Jon. Yet, there is no denying that the animated artist’s biggest solo success in making a record about an issue pertinent to the community. As he readies himself for his unfinished debut, Putt took the time talk about “Dat Baby,” his own father and his love “The Maury Povich Show.” –gavin philip godfrey
“Dat Baby” is a hit, but it’s also addressing a touchy subject. Would you call this an anti-fatherhood anthem?“To me, it was just a fun song. I’m really not trying to tell anybody not to take care of their kids or [commend] anti-fatherhood – Hell no! I’m all about fathers being there for their kids because my daddy was there for me, still there if I need him. I was just really making light out of a situation that a lot of people go through including myself. A woman was trying to put a baby on me, I took the DNA test and I found out the baby wasn’t mine. I’m not telling anybody to not take care of a child or if they have a girlfriend that’s got a baby [to not be supportive]. There are a lot of kids out there that need a dad and I commend that, but I was just really making light out of a situation; I wasn’t making it music to live by. A lot of people hate on it and I’m like, Man, it’s just a fun song. Nobody got mad at Michael Jackson for ‘Billie Jean,’ which is the same thing. He said, ‘The kid is not my son!’ I’m like why the hell is everybody getting mad at me and talking about I’m bringing down the black community and all this s#*t? White people go through the same shit! Asian people go through the same s#*t. Mexicans! Paternity tests are for everybody, it ain’t just for black people.”
Why is fatherhood in the black community so important?“Fatherhood is very important because kids need somebody to live up to and model themselves after. Usually for a boy that’s a father. Even for little girls, they still need that backbone in their life, someone that’s stern and guiding. My pops was always there for me and he was stern and strict as well as my mother. Both of my parents were down for me – good people.”
Okay, other than your father, if you could have one from pop culture to be yours for the day, who would you pick and why?“I’d probably pick Cliff Huxtable because he had the bread. He just seemed like a pretty cool dad. Who else? The dad from ‘Family Guy’ [Peter Griffin] just because he’s so foolish – he’s a cartoon you know what I’m saying? Just because I like that [‘Family Guy’] atmosphere – like there would always be some crazy shit going on…I like the dude on the Tyler Perry movie, Meet the Browns – he’s always got something kind of foolish. I like those kinds of dudes. My dad is a humorous cat. I get a lot of [my humor] from him.”
You open the “Dat Baby” video with clip from “The Maury Povich Show.” Can we expect a collab with Maury on your upcoming album?“Man, if he would do a song with me I would damn sure do it I ain’t even going to tell you a lie. I don’t know how we would do it, but if he wanted to it’d be all good with me. I think we might have some things working with Maury real soon, but I don’t want to disclose that just in case it doesn’t happen, but I’ve been in touch with his people.”
So you love talk shows. Who are some other hosts that you dig?“You know who I’m on right now, that Steve Wilco – he’ so foolish. He just gets in your face and yells and just treats people like they ain’t s#*t. I’m really sitting there just laughing like hell watching. He’s crazy as hell. I’d probably have to say him right now or either that Judge Joe Brown because he’s just always got some ole slick s#*t to say, but Maury is still my favorite.”
