Tommy Brown

The Mile High City’s own Tommy Brown knows a thing or two about the finer things in life and it’s pretty fair to say that what he’s used to. At least that’s the story told from the Denver favorite in his latest video “The Life”. Guns, Oil, and Dime pieces seem to be the only God Tommy Brown trusts, with the vid saturated with gorgeous women and heavy firepower. Produced by Larry OG, The Life is off Brown’s forthcoming “Covered In Gold 24K” LP, which is slated for a July 25th release. - The Source

Tommy Brown oozes appeal, from piercing eye contact to the pharaoh tattoo on his hand, his attitude is the definition of even keeled and he maintains this composure only days away from the release of his EP, Covered In Gold 24k. His only concern that this release comes out solid. AXS caught up with the enticing rapper to learn a bit about where he comes from, his former rap persona and what to current and future fans can expect from this project.

AXS: You're mere days from the drop of your sophomore solo joint, Covered in Gold 24k, how would you describe the project?

Tommy Brown: Besides amazing? [laughs] I would describe it as...obviously I'm trying to put out the best project I can. It's definitely gonna be better than anything you've heard previously from me. As far as...ah... It's really original trap music. I'm really not too big on love joints. But yeah, I'm just really trying to get back to the root of the music I like to do.

AXS: Your marketing has definitely been on point for this drop, you even boasted a helicopter flight the other day, what was that about?

TB: Yeah, so um, honestly we were sitting around, smoking, and we were like, 'you know what, let's take a helicopter ride.' and one of my good friends, who I grew up with, my day one people, had never been up. And we dropped some money and took a helicopter ride. I guess you could just say, for the fun of it.

AXS: Any other surprises before Friday?

TB: Yes, we have three more segment leading up to, “A Day in the Life of Tommy Brown,” and one of 'em will be from inside the helicopter I was posting about. Got a couple that are more day in the life type stuff. I don't just fly helicopters everywhere. We actually live normal lives. The other ones are a little more down to earth, literally down to earth. [laughs] But yeah, that's what's coming up before Covered In Gold, we got a couple more drops, but that's pretty much it, leading up to this.

AXS: Let's backup a bit, if you're down, you were in Dope City a while back, right, you went by S.T. if I remember correctly. What happened there, with the group change and name change?

TB: So, honestly I just changed my name from S.T. to Tommy Brown, I just felt like things need new beginnings. And as far as just being S.T. I honestly, just, S.T. is a name I've been called back in the day, what people call me from around my neck of the woods. But S.T. wasn't the musician part of me. So, I thought, how can I come up with a different name for myself. I'm Italian, obviously, that's my background, and with Dope City, Raw B, we used to sit around and he used to call me Lucchese, which is kinda an Italian name, so I started going through old Italian mob bosses and I come across Tommy Lucchese aka Tommy Brown. I'm like, ah shit. You know what I'm saying, and I ended up going with Tommy Brown. Everyone said, 'you're crazy for changing your name.' And I'm like, 'no! It's gonna work.' And sure as shit, I put out my first mixtape, Tommy Gun, dropped “In This Bitch,” and the video for that, and here we are today.

As far as Dope City, we just had a few differences behind the music, and it is what it is. Like I said, new beginnings. I'm happy to be with the D.O.P.E. Game, I like working with positive people and it's so much more of a movement. Everyone wants the success of the team, not just the individual that it's easier to believe in what we're doing, because of how we're doing it. Honestly, I couldn't be happier. It sucks that some things happen and they don't always work out the way you want them to, but we got one life to live.

AXS: How 'bout even further, not much info out there about you on a personal level. You grow up in Denver?

TB: I'm from Denver. I've honestly lived everywhere around the city, I've never lived on the East Side of town. Stayed in a bunch of different locations. So, I was technically born in Arizona. My mom moved here two weeks after I was born. People say born and raised, and I was born in Arizona and lived there for two weeks as a baby. So when people ask where I was born and raised, I consider it here. I'm just a Denver fan. There's so much talent here, so much undiscovered-ness in the city. I just know that once we get the spotlight on it, it'll open so many doors. But you know, everybody wants to eventually move to a beach. So, I can't say I'll be here forever, but I'll definitely always have...you know I got the city tatted on my chest.

AXS: Did you fall in love with rap or did it find you another way?

Um, man. So, I've always loved music, the first CD I ever bought was 2Pac All Eyez On Me and my mom used to hate all the cussing and shit, so she took the CD from me and I think she broke it, then I re-bought it and I think she hid it. And then after that she wouldn't let me buy nothing but tapes. So, 2Pac All Eyez On Me, I'm in like third or fourth grade.

I used to have one of those Playschool recorders, you know the tape recorder with the microphone. So, I could only get edited tapes, because that's all she'd buy me, and I would record the cuss word back into the tape. Obviously it would f*ck the song up, but at the time I thought it was the coolest shit in the world. So, I'd say music has always been a part of my life. I didn't know it until 8th or 9th grade, going to house parties, watching other people freestyle, seeing the culture evolve. My shit started, like I said, house parties, freestyling, I remember when we got our first equipment, a computer, when we first come across a MPC, shitty stage mic, draped around like a cover, recording in the kitchen. It's been a long road. It's just been around. I don't know which found which first, but it's been around.

AXS: So, really, you just traded one Dope group for another, as you know roll with Welcome to the D.O.P.E. Game, and honestly you definitely embody that dope boy appeal. Do you think you'll stick with that trap style?

TB: I mean, I would definitely say yeah. I had an A&R come through last year, plugged in from some peoples, mutual connects, and they had seen “In This Bitch” and I had showed them a bunch of trap joints, but I had f*cked around with this techno type of song, for fun, to see, 'can I do this shit?' and I showed the A&R and as soon as he heard that song he was super turned off. Because he was was like, 'you need to know your lane.' And like, I just made it for fun, and to see what I could do that was different, but when I heard it from a pro, you need to have just one direction. So, after him saying that... I love making trap music, I love making club bangers. So, why am I even doing this shit? I love making it and it's what I do best. Destination found.

AXS: Your sound is unique, at least here in Colorado, who are your inspirations?

TB: Obviously, first CD was 2Pac, I don't know how you could rap and not have 2Pac as an inspiration. Obviously 2Pac, Ice Cube, Westside Connection, to when Em came out and 50 cent came out. A shit load of like, X-rated Brother Lynch, real gutter type of music when I was young. It varies, I f*ck with it all.

AXS: What are you bumping today?

TB: Today? People always want to hear all this underground music you be listening to, but I'm really not the biggest underground kinda cat. I listen to a lot of Schoolboy, I been f*cking with that drill music then has been coming out of Chicago. Kevin Gates, we'll be opening for him on August 6th, that show will be f*cking bananas.

AXS: I saw a clip where you said you were gonna attack the visuals for Covered In Gold, what kind of concepts you got in the works?

TB: All the videos I have posted now, three official as Tommy Brown, I have five or six I've done, but I had haven't release three of them because I want them to be official, that's the whole reason I switched my name to Tommy Brown, I wanted it all to be one hundred. I didn't want anybody to go back and be like this dude is killing it now, but this stuff is trash. I know you can still find it, but the production quality wasn't there. I got ten songs on this CD, it's not the most songs, but today people don't want to hear 15-20 tracks from Jay-Z! I kept it short and simple to make sure that every song is effective. I shot that video[”The Life”], the same director is flying here from Seattle, teaming up with Pape, and we're going to shoot a new music video. [sings] You don't need to know which one it is. [laughs]. I want to shoot a video for every song on the album. I want to shoot eight more videos. I talked to a bunch of different cats around the city, that have a bunch of knowledge and I think FL clarified it for me, just about how affective EPs are these days. You think about a Young Thug these day, he's killing the game and he has like two songs out. Maybe he just released the third. If that doesn't show it right there, that's just three joints he's murdering the game on. And that's not even a full EP.

AXS: You definitely have a really live personal appeal, we see you're opening for Kevin Gates on August 6, what can we expect from that live show?

TB: You can expect it to be live. I turn up. I'm here to have a good ass time like everyone else. Just expect to have a good ass time, and see the talent in this city. Obviously my team holds me to a standard, I hold myself to an even higher one. The show isn't even for three more weeks and I had my set down two weeks ago. I'm ready to bring out all the tricks. As far as live shows, I want my live shows to be crazy. Bring flames and pyrotechnics, I'd do all that, but we have to slowly get to those arenas.

AXS: I want to let you just revel in the forthcoming drop, but we're always looking forward, what's up after Covered in Gold?

TB: I'm gonna call it the separation. I'm not putting out a project for a little bit, I might drop a song here or there, but I'm gonna focus on the majors. I'm going to start putting out videos, singles and features with major artists. That's my step in the game. I'm gonna put out singles, I'm trying to make that hit song that takes us to the top.

AXS: Anything else you want the people to know about Tommy Brown?

TB: No, I'm not that interesting of a person. [laughs] No, but be on the lookout. F*ck with the team, Welcome to the D.O.P.E. Game, we're doing it out here. And shouts to anyone who f*cks with the shit. You don't know the time and effort that goes into this game, that response from people, makes it worth it. So, don't be shy! - axs.com

Tommy Brown is back with the second video from the release of Covered in Gold 24K. The Larry OG produced “Intro Music” finally has a visual and the result is this tough and dark imagery by Jeremy Pape of Welcome to the D.O.P.E. Game. The track is chopped, screwed and slowed down in all the right places, giving emphasis to Tommy’s braggadocios and believable rhymes about money, women and staying strapped by any means necessary. - Allhiphop.com

Another big announcement from our friends over at Welcome to the D.O.P.E. Game with the latest, and hottest, from Tommy Brown. Off of his upcoming ‘Covered In Gold’ full-length release ‘The Life’ is simply put a great indicator of things to come for the young MC. This track keeps things simple and clean, with an airy beat that allows Tommy’s superior word-smithing to carry the track along. And it does that in spades. What the song keeps clean the music video, shot up in Seattle, gets dirty. So take a look-see and enjoy! - S.I.A.