Dolla Interview Transcription:
DJ Booth: What's goin' on y'all? It's your boy "Z," doin' it real big, and joining me inside the DJ Booth is yet another talented rapper from the A-Town. Currently telling the entire world, "Who the… is that," it's my man, Dolla.
Dolla: What's up, Z, man? How you doin'?
DJ Booth: I'm doin' all right. You're the busy man, though, I'm not the busy man. You're the busy man.
Dolla: I'm tryin' to get busy, I'm tryin' to become busy. I'm gettin' the short end of the busy life stick. I'm just now realizing what "busy" is.
DJ Booth: Dolla, you recorded a song entitled, "Who the F--- Is That," so it's only fitting I open with the simple question, who are you?
Dolla: I'm a nice-looking guy. I'm about 5'10. I'm from Atlanta, the East Side of Decatur; I'm a street dude from the streets, raised in a single-parent house. I'm a rapper, I do rap music, and I'm here now to create good music, music for the people.
DJ Booth: The first version I heard of your current single, "Who Is That," features T-Pain and the man who signed you, Akon. So what happened to that version?
Dolla: Politics, music politics. The politics of the rap industry is crazy, so everybody out there who's tryin' to get involved in rap music, get involved, but understand that it's a lot of politics behind it. But Akon is my dog, we have other songs together on my album, it was just for this one record we had to do something a little bit different, so we did.
DJ Booth: Other than T-Pain, I've been informed your debut's gonna be void of guest appearances, correct?
Dolla: Yeah, no guest appearances, because this is my first album, and I want consumers and DJs and everybody out there listenin' to get to know me. All these other rappers are established. I'm not quite established yet, so I want everybody to get to know me and understand me, and know about my struggle and about my story.
DJ Booth: With nobody else to steal that spotlight from you, what is the first thing that listeners are going to say after they hear your material?
Dolla: They gonna say, "Okay, this a real dude." I got real songs on my album, you know, talkin' about me growin' up in a single-parent house, and real-life issues – AIDS and teenage pregnancy in our communities and, songs like that, songs that reflect our society and reflect us growin' up.
DJ Booth: Dolla, as we both know, artists get stereotypically pegged as a quote unquote "certain type of rapper" based on where they're from. Hailing from Atlanta, do you feel that you fall within the stereotypical boundaries that have been unfairly appointed to your city?
Dolla: I feel I'm here to create good music, and I create Southern music. Because people from the West Coast make West Coast music. NWA made West Coast music. Why? Because that's where they were from. Biggie Smalls, which is one of my favorite rappers, made Northern music, that NYC, Brooklyn music, because that's where he was from. So I make that Decatur, Atlanta music because that's where I'm from, but I also, my music is global because I talk about reflections of the ghetto and reflections of where I grew up, and every ghetto's the same in America.
DJ Booth: In the past year, I've spoken with several of your label mates at Konvict: Brick & Lace, Ray L, and Rock City. Everyone cited the wonderful creative control that the label gives their artists – do you feel the same way?
Dolla: Yeah, I definitely feel the same way. I have a lot of creative control over my album. I picked my singles; I picked who's on the song with me, me and my A&R of course, Ant Rich. At this point, if my album isn't a success, and I'm not a success, and you never hear again from Dolla, I can honestly say, "Okay, it was my fault and I f*cked up." I can blame it on me. I can't point the finger at anybody else but me, because I have that much control.
DJ Booth: Speaking of control, the first track on the album, the introductory track, you had a lot of control. On it, you rap about your father's suicide, getting shot at during an attempted robbery, doing drugs at a young age, dropping out of high school, and your sister's current incarceration.
Dolla: You listenin' to my @*$!, huh?
DJ Booth: I know all about it!
Dolla: Okay, that's right.
DJ Booth: Dolla, most people, they don't know what it's like to deal with any of those things, and you've met each of them head on, and you've had to refuse them. So, simple question: how did you do it?
Dolla: Honestly, I keep God first in everything I do because God is the greatest, you know? When you got God through anything, and you got family through it, you can see your way through anything. Music has honestly been my therapy. It keeps me sane, it keeps me goin' through things. Like, right our there where I got shot, like two months later I was shootin' my video. I got shot August 2nd; I shot my video November 2nd. Just to be grateful for me to even be able to create music and be shootin' a video about a song that I wrote is astonishing to me, so I'm always grateful, and I keep God first, and I thank God for all the blessings I receive.
DJ Booth: All these things happen, some people might let them stop them and say, "You know what? I need to take a different career path." You said, "You know what? This is going to be my motivation, towards bigger and better things." You really were not wavered at any point, thinking to yourself, "Looking at all the stuff I've been through, maybe this isn't the right track for me?"
Dolla: Yeah, I definitely got like that at one point, and in all honesty, next time you interview 'Kon, ask 'Kon about it. I was like, "F*ck this rap sh*t, man!" You can ask Ray L, I was like, "F*ck this rap @*$!. Man, I'm cool. F*ck this – I'm gonna just be a street nigga my whole life!" But I honestly see that as something better I have for me, and I can create something, and I can get my family into a better position, and everybody around me into a better position. I really just every day now I dedicate my life to makin' better music and makin' a better me, every day I wake up. Definitely I was at a point to where I was like, "You know what? I don't wanna do this no more," but Akon, and Bu, which is Akon's brother, T-Pain, and my folks, T-Money, and my manager Kenji, and my mother and my sister and my brother – everybody just encouraged me to continue doin' what I'm doin', and I'm here now.
DJ Booth: If you could have five minutes with your father, to play one song off of this debut album that would educate him on what he's missed out on the past fifteen years, what song would you choose off this album and why?
Dolla: I would choose a song I got on my album entitled, "11:25," just because, when you hear the record, I'm speakin' as if I'm narratin' a story. I was born a twin and my twin died at birth, and my mother always told me the story about how she was in labor and my daddy seen one head come out, and then he seen another, so he had to leave, and he went outside of the room, and then one twin died. And through the whole song, I'm narratin' it, and basically breakin' it down. So I would want him to hear that song, so he can recapture it and be like, "Wow, he's talented, he really recaptured it." 'Cause really, I'm just writin' out my mother's words in rap form – she told me the story and I just wrote it out in rap form.
DJ Booth: Well, I have no doubt that your dad's lookin' down on you, very proud of his son, not only for that but also, you didn't just sign any old record contract – you convinced the label brass to allow your independent label, Gang Entertainment, to be part of a joint venture. What did you have to do, Dolla, to convince them you were the complete package?
Dolla: Honestly, Ant Rich over at Jive did a lot of fightin' for me. Akon did a lot of fightin' for me and did a lot of co-signin' for me. And everybody at the label are now beginnin' to see it. I really work hard, every year. I promise you, Z, every year I'm gonna create at least two hundred songs. Every year. You know, it's only 365 days in a year; I can do two hundred songs a year, easy.
DJ Booth: Well, you're gonna have that catalog similar to Tupac's, except you're gonna be able to control yours. Your debut album, entitled, "A Dollar and a Dream." So, with its release, will your dreams have come true?
Dolla: Yes sir! My dreams are comin' true every day, man. Every day I wake up feelin' blessed. I did Rap City yesterday, I was on it as a guest, and that was a blessing, that was a dream come true. Today I hosted it, and that was a dream come true. Every day, I'm movin' forward towards my dream, and conquerin' little pieces of my dream, and it's all comin' together like a puzzle.
DJ Booth: Dolla, I am very proud of you, and I want you to go ahead and give everybody a website, or a MySpace page, so they can find out more about what you got goin' on, and, of course, your upcoming debut, as we just mentioned, "A Dollar and a Dream."
Dolla: Okay, everybody out there, you can hit me on myspace.com/dolla. Check out my single, "Who the F*ck Is That?" featurin' T-Pain – jammin', I promise you. My album's comin' real soon, "A Dollar and a Dream." On that album, I promise you, its good @*$!, good music, and music from my soul. From number one to number sixteen, you don't gotta skip through no songs. I got the party songs, I got the club songs, I got songs for the gangstas, I got songs for the women, I got songs for everything you could think, 'cause I'm capturin' the life of Dolla on this album.
DJ Booth: Well, a versatile, well-rounded album – I look forward to hearing it. I thank you for your time; I wish you nothing but the best of luck, and for joining me inside the DJ Booth, my man.
Dolla: All right, I appreciate it, brother.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Dolla Interview
Interview by: Eavvon O'Neal
Dolla, the newest addition to Hip-hop by way of Atlanta, is doing an excellent job of turning hype into artistic capital. Its odd when watching something that seems like propagated attention, fueled by celebrity well wishing turns out to be genuine acclaim for a talented musician. Such is the case of Dolla. Thanks to the added power of Akon and current Billboard giant T-Pain, the duty of living up to the hype won't be as difficult as it has been for others. After returning to the Zomba offices from his first hosting of BET's Rap City, the 20 year old Roderick Anthony Burton II aka Dolla, spoke with the excited tone of a new comer, but held an air of experience in each statement. His story is quickly becoming the romanticized tale of how hip-hop can help to rebuild culture, contrary to all of the negative attention it often receives, and he is utilizing this to help speak to those moved by his music.
Nobodysmiling.com : You are working with pretty big names including T-Pain, Akon, and Jazze Phae, at an early stage in your career. How do you think this will affect you on future projects?
Dolla : It can only help with the rest of my career, you know. I'm blessed to work with these people, and the rest of my career can only benefit from it. Still, I chose to work with these people because I respect them for their talent, not because of their name. If I thought they had skills, but no one really knew them yet, I'd still work with them. I got Julian Bunetta [who produced "Loud Mouth"], who no one has really head of yet, but is a real talented dude; that's the kinda people I want round me.
Nobodysmiling.com : Doing this album without any guest appearances is a bold move for your first release. Did you have to do any convincing to get it to happen, or did you have full label support of this decision?
Dolla : They are supportive because they trust my talent. I'm doing those whole project myself because its my message, and i have a talent that I'm willing to show. I don't think it will be a blow to my career, because it will show my versatility. I have talent, and I'm willing to let it show.
Nobodysmiling.com : A lot of experiences and elements are expressed on this album. Is any one thing more influential than the other, or do you pull from them all equally?
Dolla : All of them are important as inspiration. My life is inspiration, and art reflects life. If I wake up and feel good and the sun is shining, then I'm gonna make one of those good songs, and if I feel dark, then it might be a dark joint. When you put the beat, the beat is gonna tell you what kind of song to make.
Nobodysmiling.com : You Got major exposure modeling for Sean John. Is it tough juggling your music with your modeling career?
Dolla : Modeling was just something I did, it ain't an on going thing. To be completely honest. I hate taking pictures. Its the most boring shit ever. I mean, I might do it again, but its just not really where my head is at. I rap. Anything else isn't as important as my rap career.
Nobodysmiling.com : Which track is your favorite off of A Dolla And A Dream, and why?
Dolla : I love every track because it contains a different part of me, its a different substance and content. "1125" is probably my favorite though. It's about my twin, and just feels natural- inhale, exhale kind of deal. That one is the closest to me right now...
Nobodysmiling.com : What kind of advice are you getting from the people you are working with in regards to surviving the industry?
Dolla : Man, I'm getting good advice from my people. They're telling me to just be me and relax. You would catch me pacing the floor because I'm so nervous, but they all tell me to stay focused and humble and just to keep working hard, and things will work out. And I trust what they say.
Nobodysmiling.com : For those people who can relate directly to your lyrics and past, if not all of your experiences, what advice do you have in regards to coping with it all?
Dolla : I get asked this question a lot, and all I can ever really say is you gotta vibe with God, or whoever or whatever you believe in. Anything you can believe in is a good thing, and use that plus others positive experiences to get through it cuz those things help you get through it all. Of course I can say my family and friends, but that all ties back into God. So you just gotta believe.
Nobodysmiling.com : Is this album going to be more serious or is it a balance? How do you plan on pulling off a balance without creating a forced feeling?
Dolla : It's a balance, because I am about balance. I have songs talking about everything I go through, its almost like a movie. Movies aren't ever just one aspect, they have all elements of life, just like us. So there's gonna be some action, and there's gonna be party joints and comedy, and there is gonna be some real serious drama. A great movie.
Nobodysmiling.com : Who are your influences musically, and could you ever see yourself moving into their positions in the game?
Dolla : Of course the greats: Biggie, Tupac, Andre 3000- He is my favorite of all time. Then there is Akon and T-Pain, they have such a fantastic business sense. Of course there is Jay & Puffy. I could see myself in those spots, cuz if I don't on one else will. It's like they said, hows it go? "If you build it, they will come". I'm in that -"If you build it, they will come" mindset.
Dolla, the newest addition to Hip-hop by way of Atlanta, is doing an excellent job of turning hype into artistic capital. Its odd when watching something that seems like propagated attention, fueled by celebrity well wishing turns out to be genuine acclaim for a talented musician. Such is the case of Dolla. Thanks to the added power of Akon and current Billboard giant T-Pain, the duty of living up to the hype won't be as difficult as it has been for others. After returning to the Zomba offices from his first hosting of BET's Rap City, the 20 year old Roderick Anthony Burton II aka Dolla, spoke with the excited tone of a new comer, but held an air of experience in each statement. His story is quickly becoming the romanticized tale of how hip-hop can help to rebuild culture, contrary to all of the negative attention it often receives, and he is utilizing this to help speak to those moved by his music.
Nobodysmiling.com : You are working with pretty big names including T-Pain, Akon, and Jazze Phae, at an early stage in your career. How do you think this will affect you on future projects?
Dolla : It can only help with the rest of my career, you know. I'm blessed to work with these people, and the rest of my career can only benefit from it. Still, I chose to work with these people because I respect them for their talent, not because of their name. If I thought they had skills, but no one really knew them yet, I'd still work with them. I got Julian Bunetta [who produced "Loud Mouth"], who no one has really head of yet, but is a real talented dude; that's the kinda people I want round me.
Nobodysmiling.com : Doing this album without any guest appearances is a bold move for your first release. Did you have to do any convincing to get it to happen, or did you have full label support of this decision?
Dolla : They are supportive because they trust my talent. I'm doing those whole project myself because its my message, and i have a talent that I'm willing to show. I don't think it will be a blow to my career, because it will show my versatility. I have talent, and I'm willing to let it show.
Nobodysmiling.com : A lot of experiences and elements are expressed on this album. Is any one thing more influential than the other, or do you pull from them all equally?
Dolla : All of them are important as inspiration. My life is inspiration, and art reflects life. If I wake up and feel good and the sun is shining, then I'm gonna make one of those good songs, and if I feel dark, then it might be a dark joint. When you put the beat, the beat is gonna tell you what kind of song to make.
Nobodysmiling.com : You Got major exposure modeling for Sean John. Is it tough juggling your music with your modeling career?
Dolla : Modeling was just something I did, it ain't an on going thing. To be completely honest. I hate taking pictures. Its the most boring shit ever. I mean, I might do it again, but its just not really where my head is at. I rap. Anything else isn't as important as my rap career.
Nobodysmiling.com : Which track is your favorite off of A Dolla And A Dream, and why?
Dolla : I love every track because it contains a different part of me, its a different substance and content. "1125" is probably my favorite though. It's about my twin, and just feels natural- inhale, exhale kind of deal. That one is the closest to me right now...
Nobodysmiling.com : What kind of advice are you getting from the people you are working with in regards to surviving the industry?
Dolla : Man, I'm getting good advice from my people. They're telling me to just be me and relax. You would catch me pacing the floor because I'm so nervous, but they all tell me to stay focused and humble and just to keep working hard, and things will work out. And I trust what they say.
Nobodysmiling.com : For those people who can relate directly to your lyrics and past, if not all of your experiences, what advice do you have in regards to coping with it all?
Dolla : I get asked this question a lot, and all I can ever really say is you gotta vibe with God, or whoever or whatever you believe in. Anything you can believe in is a good thing, and use that plus others positive experiences to get through it cuz those things help you get through it all. Of course I can say my family and friends, but that all ties back into God. So you just gotta believe.
Nobodysmiling.com : Is this album going to be more serious or is it a balance? How do you plan on pulling off a balance without creating a forced feeling?
Dolla : It's a balance, because I am about balance. I have songs talking about everything I go through, its almost like a movie. Movies aren't ever just one aspect, they have all elements of life, just like us. So there's gonna be some action, and there's gonna be party joints and comedy, and there is gonna be some real serious drama. A great movie.
Nobodysmiling.com : Who are your influences musically, and could you ever see yourself moving into their positions in the game?
Dolla : Of course the greats: Biggie, Tupac, Andre 3000- He is my favorite of all time. Then there is Akon and T-Pain, they have such a fantastic business sense. Of course there is Jay & Puffy. I could see myself in those spots, cuz if I don't on one else will. It's like they said, hows it go? "If you build it, they will come". I'm in that -"If you build it, they will come" mindset.
Dolla Facts
*Da Razkalz Cru appeared in Missy Elliott's debut hit video, Gossip Folks.
* Dolla while on the road Did "home schooling". He takes math, history and foreign languages and has to spend four hours a day, five days a week on his studies.
* Da Razklaz Cru ended up spending Christmas Dec. 2003, in an LA hotel room, but they said it was OK, because as Buck puts it, "We have lots of relatives there!".
* Dolla is a Sagittarius.
Full Name: Rodderick Anthony Burton II
Birthday: November 25,1988
Birthplace: Chicago
Nationality: African America,Indian,and White
Hometown: Atlanta,Ga
Height: 5'10
Siblings: 2 sisters, 1 niece , and 1 nephew
Marital Status: Single
Hobbies/Interests: Bowling,Riding Dirt Bikes,Playing BBall,Chillin with friends
Fave Colors: Red
Fave Food: Soul Food
Fave Artists/Groups: Notorious B.I.G, Andre 3000,Scareface,Tupac, Akon
People he look up to: Bob Marley,Marvin Gaye,Steve Wonder,Michael Jackson
Fave Sport: Basketball,Football,Tennis Etc....
* Dolla while on the road Did "home schooling". He takes math, history and foreign languages and has to spend four hours a day, five days a week on his studies.
* Da Razklaz Cru ended up spending Christmas Dec. 2003, in an LA hotel room, but they said it was OK, because as Buck puts it, "We have lots of relatives there!".
* Dolla is a Sagittarius.
Full Name: Rodderick Anthony Burton II
Birthday: November 25,1988
Birthplace: Chicago
Nationality: African America,Indian,and White
Hometown: Atlanta,Ga
Height: 5'10
Siblings: 2 sisters, 1 niece , and 1 nephew
Marital Status: Single
Hobbies/Interests: Bowling,Riding Dirt Bikes,Playing BBall,Chillin with friends
Fave Colors: Red
Fave Food: Soul Food
Fave Artists/Groups: Notorious B.I.G, Andre 3000,Scareface,Tupac, Akon
People he look up to: Bob Marley,Marvin Gaye,Steve Wonder,Michael Jackson
Fave Sport: Basketball,Football,Tennis Etc....
DA RAZKALZ CRU *DOLLA'S CAREER BEGINS*
BEFORE HE WAS SIGNED TO AKON'S LABEL AND CLIMBED UP THE CHARTS WITH HIS HIT SINGLE "WHO THE FUCK IS THAT ", THE ATLANTA RAPPER DOLLA AKA BUCKLYTE PLAYED TALENT SHOWS AND SHOWCASES AS A MEMBER OF DA RAZKALZ CRU. They released the 2003 single "So Fly" on the major-label imprint Elektra, but it went nowhere and the band was dropped from the label that same year. In the end, the best thing that would happen to Dolla as he was hanging with Razkalz was meeting both Akon, who was producing for the label, and Diddy, who would take Dolla under his wing not as a rapper, but as a model. Modeling clothes from Diddy's Sean John label took him around the country and put his image on the huge billboard above the Hyatt Hotel in Los Angeles. He eventually ran into his old friend Akon and after some studio sessions, Dolla was signed to Akon's Konvict Muzik label. In 2006 he landed on the Step Up soundtrack and partnered with mixtape DJ Nappy Wilson for The Beatdown Mixtape. He spent the next year working on his debut album. Early in 2008 the "Who the Heck Is That" single appeared, although the street version replaced "Heck" with the "F bomb." Singers T-Pain and Tay Dizm appeared on the initial cut, while Akon was added to the remix. 
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