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Dee-1 is the latest MC out of New Orleans to make a name for himself. The hip hop blogisphere first picked up on Dee when he dropped the buzzworthy track “50, Jay & Weezy” last summer. The record poked critical but yet respectable criticism at  the rappers mentioned in the title. Sure Dee isn’t the first to call out some of hip hop’s heavyweights and their various morale obligations.  What makes him different is he came with a bangin’ track, incredible lyrics and it was curse-free, a novelty in todays 3 ring hip hop circus.

The popularity of “50, Jay & Weezy” was further lamented when the video dropped on youtube and garnered 300 thousand plus views. Dee soon followed up with the remix ‘One Man Army’ which was featured on his independent release David & Goliath in 2009. This too received a healthy 100 thousand plus views making Dee-1 one of the most talked about new talents heading into 2K11. His recent track ‘It’s My Turn’ again has heads talking about The Big Easy’s newest MC. Globalgrind recently caught up with Dee-1 as he prepared for his upcoming showcase at SXSW in Austin.

GG: First off Dee, please tell everyone where your from.

Dee-1: I’m from New Orleans East. From an area called The Goose. Everybody from the N.O. knows exactly what that is. I’m from the same hood as Curren$y

GG: Oh wow, that’s what up.

Dee-1: Yeah my grandmother lived right across the street from him.

GG: Yeah you and Curren$y are further proof of the vast diversity within the New Orleans hip hop scene. I mean you have Lil Wayne, Baby and legends like Master P on one end and Jay Electronica on the other. Your like another lane.

Dee-1: Man, I’m glad you picked up on that. Most people only really know about the No Limit Movement, The Cash Money Movement but it’s so much here to our rap scene in the Big Easy. The diversity is a product of where we’re from.

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GG: So I read that you were a teacher before pursuing a career in hip hop.

Dee-1: Actually I had been rapping since a youth. I didn’t really take it serious until like my sophomore year of college. About 2 months before I graduated I began to realize I need something to help me pay the bills. Instead of helping a company get rich, I wanted to do something that I knew would make a difference in my life and others. So I decided to become a teacher. I taught middle school math and life skills.

GG: How did the school officials feel about you being a hip hop artist?

Dee-1: Well I kept it low key because I wasn’t sure if the powers that be would consider it a conflict of interest, you know me being a teacher and all.

GG: Did your conscious lyrics stem from you being apart of academia and you feeling some sort of responsibility to “teach the truth to the young black youth”?

Dee-1: Actually I was already rapping about that real positives in life when I became a teacher. I guess I wanted to to be known for who I was. My childhood was diverse. I wasn’t you typical kid from the hood in New Orleans. I went to high school uptown with many kids from different backgrounds both racial and economical. So I saw there was more to life then just what I was surronded by when I went home from school. Also as I teenager, I went to Africa. I had friends that had never left N.O. until Katrina. When I rapped, positive was just who I was and what I was known for.

GG: That’s deep. So how did your students find out about you as a rapper?

Dee-1: One day in class one of my students stood up and asked me if I had a twin brother. He said he was riding down Florida Avenue with his mother and saw a poster of a dude who resembled me and it said Dee-1 on it.

GG:Haa that’s funny

Dee-1: Yeah so I ended up telling the class.

GG: What did they do?

Dee-1: They made me spit something right there.

GG: It’s only right you had to spit for your kids. I bet you became the most popular teacher in the school.

Dee-1: More like the most popular teacher in N.O. I was already popular in my school because I was young and hip like my students. Soon though I would have to put down the chalk, walk away from teaching and focus on my music, my dreams. I didn’t want to be selfish and be a distraction to the kids and their studies.

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GG: You mentioned Katrina earlier, how did that affect you?

Dee-1: My whole family, we lost everything. I was going to LSU at the time and when it happened I lost contact with my family for 5 days. When I did finally start making connections I just heard the pain my family was in from the horror of it all: seeing death, losing your home, not knowing what’s going on. I had a 2 bedroom apartment on my campus and I had 10 family members and a dog staying with me.

GG: I can’t even imagine

Dee-1: Yeah. A lot of people on campus had family staying with them. I’m talking 10, 15 sometimes even 20 people in a little apartment.

GG: Geez

Dee-1: Katrina made me less materialistic and just appreciate being alive. All my family photos, my family momentos, all the trophies I had earned, my clothes, all my family memories were washed away….It will truly make you appreciate what you have.

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GG: So how has the local hip hop scene in New Orleans taken onto you?

Dee-1: Oh I’ve received much love. I’ve got the respect of Mannie Fresh, Mia X, of course Curren$y, Mack…

GG: Who is Mack?

Dee-1: Mack was apart of the whole No Limit camp back in 90’s. His flow was similar to Nas. He caught a case and they gave him 30 years.

GG: Mandela numbers…

Dee-1: Yeah it was crazy but I got him rap on a record for me while he was locked up. That gave me a different credibility in New Orleans. Mack is very respected in The Big Easy and the fact I could get his co-sign meant a lot. He told me to keep on the postive path. Mack said I reminded him of him before he let the fame change him.

GG: Wise gems from an OG. That’s dope that a variety of people respect what your doing. What are some of your influences?

Dee-1: I’m a product of the original Cash Money Days, the old No Limit Soldier era. I also listened heavily to Nas, Pac and DMX.

GG: All of them influenced your style? That’s crazy.

Dee-1: Yeah I recently won the New Orleans Underground Hip Hop Artist of The Year.

GG: Sweet! That’s quite an accomplishment. No disrespect my young brother but I would have figured that this award might have gone to Jay Elec…

Dee-1: Actually he was one of the judges and when I won, i got to rap with him for few.

GG: Word. Yeah he’s an interesting character, dope MC…

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GG: So Dee what do you hope to leave this game? You know, how do you plan on making your mark?

Dee-1: I want my message to reach millions. I want to be a positive influence on young people all over the world. I want them to know that they can do whatever is their calling in life. Being positive helps me connect with people. I’m from New Orleans and being from here, there’s so much to love: the culture, the people, the food. But there’s so much to change: the crime, the poverty. I’m looking to be one of the new faces of change.