HORSEPLAY
When we initially caught up with Young Dro to conduct this interview, he was gearing up to finally release his new album P.O.L.O. But then disaster struck when the entire album was leaked out in the form of a mixtape titled Lo Life. Since then he has returned to the studio to re-record P.O.L.O. as well as release his R.I.P. mixtape with Don Cannon. So look at this interview as a snapshot of time when Dro was ready to re-introduce him and his style to a music marketplace that had grown accustomed to “swag rap” and weary of his place in it. Why haven’t we heard much from you in a while? I was riding around indulging in the riches I gained. Wanting to be more of a shining type than a working type. But I couldn’t help myself, I’ve been working for a long time, I started out back with Raheem. Promo tours killed me, I just wanted to kick it. But just being in the club throwing money, it gets boring after a while. No one cares about you throwing no money. You’re only as good as your last throw (laughs). I guess you just do it for the rep. After a while you’re just throwing away money; you could have put it towards something. But I created a monster within myself.
AFTER SOME PROMPTING FROM T.I.P., ATLANTA’S “SYLLABLE KING” Young Dro STEPPED UP HIS WORK ETHIC TO MATCH HIS NATURAL SWAG & IMPRESSIVE VOCABULARY.
Tip was in my ear like, “If you keep bullshittin…” He’d tell me, “You need to get yo’ ass back in the muthafuckin’ studio, shawty. Every time I see you, you’re in a different car. What about these different songs?” To hear that coming from him, I had to listen, take heed to it and get back in the studio like I’m supposed to. I can rock with the best of them, I have rocked with the best of them. Lyrically, fashion-wise, everything. Prestige like a muthafucka. Was it difficult getting back to actually working after chilling so hard for so long? It was hard getting back to just sitting in the studio with your phone blowing up and you got 10 dimes on your phone and you still walking around with $20k in your pocket, you still riding fly cars, rocking fly clothes, jeweled up, you want to go. The streets drag you out there, you done shined all day, the night come and the whole day just gone. Whatever little bit you managed to record, that’s all you got. But I was still doing my mixtape thing. I Am Legend, Black Boy White Boy. Hopping on Greg Street’s shit, doing all kind of good shit. I love my flow now, I never left my flow. I just got into spending the money my flow had gained. I was just in them streets.
Do you regret it at all? I don’t regret it at all. It was a period of my life that I went through. It was fun and I did it well. I wasn’t the type of nigga to go in the club when everybody was there. I’d go on an off night when it was only three bitches in the club. That’s how I do it.
Speaking of the flow, the stuff you’ve been coming out with as of late has a lot of harmony and what people are calling singing… If you knew me from I Got That Dro back when I was with Raheem, you’d know I always sung. Hell I sung in the choir, so I was going to sing. They don’t know me as an artist, I always sang, I just been doing it a lot lately. And I can show you up on that too. You might not think I can sing, but I can. I told them that on Best Thang Smokin’ too.
What made you want to get away from that and get back to rapping?
How have your fans been reacting to your “singing”?
40 // OZONE MAG