First things first. Yes, there are some serious boo-hoo moments on producers Jazze Pha and Drumma Boy’s new reality competition show, Welcome to Dreamland.
“Everybody got a little touchy, even myself” Def Jam rapper, Vawn, who executive produced the show, admits with a laugh.
Welcome to Dreamland, which airs on Peachtree TV beginning on Jan. 19, features Jazze Pha (Ciara, Ludacris, Lil Wayne) and Drumma Boy (T.I., T-Pain, Young Jeezy) competing to see who can groom the best artist from start to finish. Filmed over a two week period at the Music House in Atlanta, the series not only showcases the skills of the two Grammy-nominated producers, but touches on the intricacies of what it takes to cultivate an artist from the ground up.
“I think more than anything the idea came from God,” Vawn says of the show’s conception. “I never thought about the TV game but I think sometimes when you get pushed against the wall there are certain things that you have to adjust. I just went to bed and it came to me. Then I went to Ryan Glover and together we made it happen.”
Vawn says that show is a nail-biter, with plenty of emotional moments that even Jazze and Drumma weren’t expecting.
“I think Drumma Boy had a tough decision to make during the show when it came to some people that weren’t doing what they had to do,” Vawn admits. “That was challenging for him as a person and a businessman.”
Drumma and Jazze, who both hail from Memphis, shared a musical bond prior to filming the show. Drumma admits that Jazze often ends up playing the role of big brother. The young producer says he was able to learn a lot from him while filming.
“I learned how to re-evaluate certain situations and make sure all levels of the competition were equal,” he says. “It’s like [I was] learning what to do and what not to do.”
Jazze is happy that their longtime friendship will play out for their fans on the small screen.
“I think my grooming him will come across on the show,” he reasons, adding that he believes Welcome to Dreamland will really resonate with fans and viewers. “I think we learn from each other because he has his own way of doing things-Drumma goes out and he takes chances. I think that’s something to be commended with a young cat and someone who’s coming up.”
Friendly competition aside, Vawn insists that the series will hit viewers at their core.
“What I was trying to do in the beginning was to show these two types of producers really going at it,” he says, “But it goes so much deeper than that. The subtext of the show is you can be and do anything you want to do. Day to day dreams is what’s more important than the big dreams.” -j.h.
