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obody understands the meaning of the expression “crawl before you walk” better than Deuce Poppi. After several attempts to break into the mainstream, Deuce has learned that handling your business is the only way to succeed. Armed with some pretty impressive business ventures and a single produced by Nitti, Deuce Poppi now stands on solid ground. You have a new song with Nitti called “Do It.” How’s that taking off for you? It’s a real good look. I’m going in some new directions with different producers. I had met Nitti on a TV show and we chopped it up back then. That beat came through for me. I like it. We’re doing a remix with Lil Webbie right now. Do you think you have the best of both worlds, having been born in Atlanta and living in Miami? Yeah, it’s real cool. I was born in Atlanta, raised in Miami and now I’m back in Atlanta. It’s like being well traveled. I got my Atlanta connections and my M-I-A connections. Miami’s really where it took off. That’s where I went to high school. But it’s all love as far as my allegiance to Atlanta. My daddy’s from Atlanta and my momma’s from Florida. Who are some people in the game you’d like to be compared to one day? I wouldn’t like to be compared to nobody but if I had to be compared to somebody, I’d want to be compared to a rapper/producer. A lot of people don’t know that I write and I produce. I’m a rapper/producer/writer. I’m like the Kanye of the South. How do you plan to leave your mark in Hip Hop when there are so many other artists trying to make it? I want to be the total package. I’m putting my work in; I’m learning. I came from the ground up. I want to be known as somebody who came in with nothing and left with everything. A lot of artists live for this to meet people and be known, but I just want to make music and take it to the next level. I’m handling my business. Is it challenging to keep your material fresh? That’s my problem. Every day that passes I feel different. I’m not one-dimensional; I’m a real person. Nobody feels the same way everyday. The challenge for me is, that’s what the industry wants. Hip Hop is so watered down; it’s so predictable. They want you to be the same
way everyday. I’m a very creative person; I’m creative with everything, not just music. I want to approach everything fresh but in rap, they want you show growth but still be the same. That’s a problem ‘cause I’m going to talk about everything. I don’t go at everything the same way. Some days you’re humorous; you do it for the ladies; you’re conscious; sometimes you’re serious; sometimes you’re balling out of control; sometimes you’re intoxicated; sometimes you’re thinking about the future – I’m a real person. People don’t even know it’s me on some of my records. Every time I wake up, I feel like I’ve grown. I soak up game. That’s why I respect other genres of music ‘cause they can do what they want to do. How’s everything going with your label? I have my own label called Rebel Music. I have a group called N.W.M. – Niggas With Money. I was blessed to have a super good management team – Real Breed Management and Josh Burke. Rick Ross, one of my close friends, has a management company called Muscle Management. He’s helping me with N.W.M. I’m shopping that around right now. I also have an artist in the A named Angel; he does gangster soul music. What projects are you working on right now? The name of the album is Arrogance. I’m almost finished with it. I got a lot of producers on it. I have a tennis shoe line coming out with the same name. It’s done by Kashi Kicks. You can see it online at www.KashiKicks.com. We’ll have that out in September. It’s already some prototypes in Walter’s in the A. The clothing line is coming out right after the shoes. I’m on that new Carol City Cartel Real Nigga Radio mixtape with Bigga Rankin. I have my Real Nigga Radio out called God, Guns and Pussy. Tell me about the endorsement campaign you’re working on. I’m on a summer campaign with Remy Martin, the liquor. It’s eight artists from all over the nation including Jadakiss, me, Unk, Cashous, DJ Clue. It’s going to be real big. We have billboards and print and everything. You can go to www.RemyMartin.com to hear all my new music. That’s one of the biggest things that’s happened to me. I’m just diversifying really strong right now with this endorsement thing. I’ve been going hard since 2000 and I finally got my distribution last year so I’m finna take off in a major way. It was a long journey and now I’m here. //
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