Dee-1 has always been positioned as a Hip-Hop artist with a message, and few have shown the level of conviction and criticism that he has for the music and culture of Hip-Hop. While attending Dreamville Festival last weekend, Dee-1 graciously gave us a few minutes of his time and shared details of his upcoming album, Hypocritical Hop.
While backstage at the Dreamville Festival, Dee-1’s towering frame and his always observant stance stood out, and as we approached him for questions, we asked what brought him to the festival.
“One of the things I’ve learned as an artist is the power of networking,” he began. “Getting out there helps because people can see my face and hold a conversation with me, and that helps in turn with the other work that I do.”
The former schoolteacher turned musical artist then explained the similarities of leading the youth in the position of guidance and leadership, and how that translates into his current role as a front-facing media figure.
“It’s very similar. As an artist and teacher, you have an audience that you can either pour positivity and light into them, or pour negativity and destruction into them,” he explained. “In both roles, I recognized that early on.”
In recent times, Dee-1 has been an unspoken critic of Hip-Hop music and culture, with some supporting his views while others find his critiques too harsh. When asked about the state of things, the L.O.A.D.E.D. artist did not mince his words.
“Whenever I see a problem, I feel compelled to be part of the solution,” he said. “It’s a huge problem in Hip-Hop, and I don’t even call it Hip-Hop anymore. I call it ‘hypocritical hop.’ What some of the culture has turned into with the glorification of murdering each other, the glorification of selling dope, or being a drug addict, that ain’t Hip-Hop!”
Dee-1 added that to support this line of thought, his latest album will be titled Hypocritical Hop, and he intends to release the project on Juneteenth of this year.
In closing, we asked Dee-1 to share a message with our readers as we came to the end of our interview.
“Don’t allow the distractions of the world, which are delicious distractions; they taste good, they look good, they smell good, but don’t allow those things to deter you from your God-given purpose,” he stated. “We were put here by God for God’s glory, and it’s that simple. Because God loves us, he gives us free will and autonomy, but don’t fall in love with any of these creations more than you love the creator.”
To learn more about Dee-1 and follow his journey, click here.
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Photo: Paras Griffin / Getty
Dee-1 Speak On The State Of Hip-Hop Culture, Announces New LP ‘Hypocritical Hop’
was originally published on
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