Q&A With Rising Texas Based Hip Hop Artist Rose Dupree
Wow. Rose Dupree! We really enjoyed your latest album “ConsciousTrap Vol 1: Streetlight ” , one of our main contributors CTHREE even gave it and 7/10!! How long have you been making music? What area code(s) do you rep!? And how did you get your emcee name?
I’ve been making music since 2009 but I decided to take it seriously in 2017 when I dropped my first mixtape. I rep 254. Waco, TX. Straight Nawf Side. My name just came to me one day. I don’t have a crazy story behind it.
Us being a LA based BLOG, we don’t really know much about the Texas underground Hip Hop scene!! To know there is an up and coming artist like yourself reppin the TX, just goes to show the state is in good hands!!! Tell us about the scene out there, and how has your state influenced you’re in any way?
It’s deep with new talent everywhere. The new waves of sounds in Texas is really live. We’re rooted in a very distinct sound which has been a cornerstone of Texas music and influence. It kinda gave us our identity for a long time. But lately artist like Travis Scott, Sauce Twins, Post Malone, Maxokream, Tay-K, Yayo, myself, and many others are all coming with very different and more abstract sounds but with that unmistakable Texas sauce. It’s really shifting towards something that can be ground breaking for our generation of Texas artist to make our mark.
Lets face it, social media since 2015 has grown tremendously, especially IG!!! Tell us how is your IG grind is looking, and how have you been able to keep up with the high demand on social media? Do you have a website??
Like I said, I just got serious about music in the last year so my social media game is something that I am working on right now. I do understand how important it is so I am making the efforts to expand. So far it’s trending in the right direction and gaining attention.
Well I have a very distinct vision for myself and the people around me. I’ve been through a lot in life rather its in the streets, with family, females, sports/school, and just shit in general. I took all the emotion and I combined that with certain situations that I saw and was a part of to give a first person perspective of what its like to be on the frontline. Like gangbanging, selling dope, robbing niggas, we was really about that every day. Most of my homies are dead or in jail but I’m alive so I am setting the stage to tell a very impactful story of how a king rose from the pit to the palace like Joseph as well as in consciousness. With that knowledge and perspective I show that even a man who was drug induced and violent can still carry a prophetic message to deliver to the people.
How often do you perform live?? Any indie DIY tours in the works? Ever rocked an SXSW event out in Austin?
The past year I’ve been in Louisiana and out of Texas for this long for the first time since I was 6. The isolation paid off as I wrote a TON of music and dropped 2 mixtapes. Now I am moving back to Texas (DFW area) and I am looking to ride that momentum and start doing shows. I plan to do SXSW this year and feel their reaction to my music. You put your heart and soul into this shit and at the end of the day it’s so people can enjoy it. So there’s nothing greater than seeing a room full of people vibe to your music.
How do you feel about the whole XAN & LEAN trend these kids nowadays are on!!!..LOL??? Be honest, do you use some of that stuff??..LOL
So you have to understand that I’m from Texas and I’m a late 80’s baby. I sipped drank for the first time in ’02. By 2007 I was selling xans and drank. We use to get k-packs of planks (1,000 xanax bars) for $850 back then. That’s 85 cents a pill. I get back to Waco and sell those 3 for $10, make a killing, and sell out so fast because they’re so cheap. Drank was $20 a line in ’03 and by ’09 it was $50-$55 a line. We saw niggas walking around with Styrofoam cups in ’04-’05. In 2008-2011 we stayed poured up. Way before it got cool to fuck with bars and drank we had drank by the gallons and bars by the thousands. I said that to say this, we had such an abundance of it we began to use it and become irresponsible with our decision-making. Kids nowadays think it’s cool to get so fucked up that they can’t function. The reason I stopped popping pills and sipping drank was because it was my shit and I was fucking with my bottom line. Secondly doing those drugs especially planks made it impossible to make rational and responsible decisions. I lost money, caught cases, and beefed with niggas unnecessarily. Ultimately that life drags you down. So I don’t encourage niggas to get out here and get strung out, I’m sharing my perspective and telling my story. Drugs are a big part of my story but by far not the end of it.
What you got cooking next? Any special for the new year 2018!!??
Tons, I have ConsciousTrap Volume 2: “Visions” written and I am about to start recording it. I am about to shoot my first video from a track from my new album which is untitled. Starting shows, doing South by Southwest, and moving back to Texas. The year 2018 is really going to be the birth of a legend.
Where do you see yourself if 5yrs (2023)?
In 5 years I will own my own entertainment company and I am working on a TV series. I own a clothing line, Free the Blind and I see it going live very soon. In 5 years, I will be hitting my peak.
Where can fans find your music? Drop all link!!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzEVS54tN73PXHPg1y9eICw
https://spinrilla.com/mixtapes/rose-dupree-streetlight
https://soundcloud.com/user-977895589
https://www.instagram.com/rosedupreemusic/
https://twitter.com/RoseDupree254
https://www.facebook.com/rosedupree254/
Any new shout outs?
I want to thank God…and shout out to Waco, Tx stand up!
