J. Cole, Petey Pablo and Little Brother are all North Carolina-based acts that have garnered national attention. Young Dirt , representing Reidsville, strives to be the next hip-hop voice to make it out of the state.
He recently sat down with rolling out to discuss his new music and the emerging hip-hop scene in North Carolina.
How were you introduced to hip-hop?
My first introduction to hip hop was probably my big cousins playing Project Pat. They were listening to that, and one of his partners put me on with Big L and Rakim. North Carolina and South Carolina are different when it comes to musical taste. People in South Carolina are listening to Boosie, Project Pat, Three 6 Mafia and that gorilla pimp music. In North Carolina, they listen to up north, lyrical music like Jay Z and Kanye West. I try to put a mixture of both into my music.
When did you begin to take rap seriously?
We had the first studio in our city. We kind of pioneered that whole music thing in Reidsville. We would hit the mall and allow people to listen to the music. If they liked it, we would charge $5 for a copy. Then it went from that to going to the radio stations, going to the clubs and developing relationships with the DJ.
How did your collaboration with Rick Ross and Cash Out come about?
We just happen upon somebody who had the plug to Rick Ross. He was dealing with the label and he was a fan of my music. His artist got a feature with Meek Mills and they gave me the Rick Ross verse. The samething happen with the Cash Out verse. One of my homies from Capitol Records came through. He was listening to the record and actually was trying to buy a verse from Waka Flocka. He suggested I work with Cash Out. Then we came to the studio with Cash Out and he had great records. It all worked out.
Any advice for new rappers?
I say it in every song; ‘grind hard sleep less.’ That’s the name of my label and my model. I want people to take from my music that I grinded from the bottom. It’s not just a rap song. We really started from the bottom with absolutely nothing and grinded to the top. We not at the top right this second, but I don’t fell like there is a top. I don’t feel like there’s a limit. I don’t fell like there is a ceilings. We can take it as far as we want to take it as long as we stay focused, stay humble, and stay working.
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