WHITE DAWG
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WHITE DAWG

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"D.S.R. Magazine"

White Dawg is a producer, and businessman from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He is best known for his 1999 top 20 hip hop music hit "Restless" and his debut LP Thug Ride. He has also been featured in Orlando-based Ozone Magazine.

White Dawg has produced for hip hops top artists including Pastor Troy, Trina, Rick Ross, Plies, 8ball, 69 Boys, Clientell Cartell, Dozia Slim, Blac Haze, Guru from Gang Starr, and Skull Duggery just to name a few.

He currently distributes all his recordings through his website, believing electronic music distribution to be a major catalyst for change in the recording industry.

After the relative success (for an independently-released album) of Thug Ride, White Dawg worked with Pastor Troy on the single "FL Boy" and released a follow-up album, Animosity. Animosity had less distribution than Thug Ride, and sales were poor. In an interview, White Dawg stated that the album sold only around 5,000 copies.

Around this time, White Dawg was approached by several major labels seeking to sign him, including Def Jam, Epic, and EMI. However, he did not sign to any of them.

White Dawg distributed his latest album, Me vs. Me, through his website and on the streets.

I've paid my dues for years on these streets grinding in the trenches selling cds out my trunk for years, ask anyone in Florida and they will tell u about my hustle.

He plans on distributing 100,000 cds on the street proving he's major without a major.


- D.S.R.


"WHITE DAWG"

It’s a Thursday afternoon on the west side of Orlando, and the past week for White Dawg has been the typical grind. The multi-talented producer, DJ, radio personality, and artist was in Tallahassee a week ago at TJ’s DJ’s Record Pool meeting, thanking DJs who have been spinning his records, especially “Pop A Pill,” for the past several years. After that it was back to Orlando to perform in front of 50,000 people for Orlando’s Calle Orange Festival, and then he headed back to the lab, working on production for Trina’s next album and a future smash single with Nate Dogg and Slip-N-Slide’s Duece Poppi. Whenever he’s not producing for other artists, he’s putting the finishing touches on his own independent album, “Bonified Platinum Hard.”

Along with his partner D. “Dawgman” Spencer, White Dawg and the rest of the Clientell family have damn near held a monopoly on Central Florida’s Dirty South scene for more than a decade. He’s a firm believer in the theory that what goes up must come down, and the longer it takes to get to the top, the longer you stay there. Back in 1998, his independently released single “Restless” reached #18 on the Billboard Rap Singles chart. His next major single, the self-produced banger “Pop A Pill,” has been bubbling on the underground circuit for more than two years, and it looks like it’s finally ready to blow. “Pop A Pill” is in the Top 10 on two influential Tampa radio stations, and has steadily been gaining spins in Orlando, Gainesville, Ft. Myers, Jacksonville, and Tallahassee. White Dawg also holds down a popular show on Clientell’s pirate radio station and co-owns an internet-based radio station, www.DirtySouthRadio.com. As a producer, his resume boasts names like Trick Daddy, David Banner, Pastor Troy, Trina, Guru of GangStarr, Grandaddy Souf, Duece Poppi, Rick Ross, Camoflauge, Thrill da Playa, Skull Duggery, and Chubby Relle.

What do you see as the biggest problem with the music industry right now?
Bootlegging over the internet has changed the game so much that these major labels are just hurting. The last few years they’ve lost like 5, 10, 15 percent of their sales every year. It’s gonna be hard to lose that kind of money and still be able to function, or at least put out the same amount of records that they’ve been putting out. But, independently, it’s always gonna come back to the same thing – you need distribution.

What was the first album you released?
I had an album out in ’96 that was a demo album, we put out like 2,000 copies in the streets. Then in ’99 I did the “Thug Ride” album with Paperchase Records in Miami, I had a single on there that hit #18 on the Billboard charts, “Restless.”

What happened to the label?
They’re not in business any more. They’re good people, but they were new to the business and it takes a long time to figure it out. You gotta learn from the mistakes and come back again and again and again. A lot of people fail once, and that’s as far as it goes. Your mistakes are what make you. You gotta make every mistake possible, learn from it, and not make them again. I’m just trying to make sure we don’t make the same mistakes twice.

What mistakes did you make the first time?
I wanted everything too fast. You want it right then, right there, right now, and things just don’t happen like that. You gotta pay your dues and take your time. I burned a lot of bridges with DJs because they didn’t play my record as fast as I wanted them to, or as much as I thought they could. I burned a lot of bridges but I learned a lot from that shit too. Now that I’m on the other side as a DJ, record labels come to me all the time so I understand it more. I learned patience.

How did you hook up with Dawgman?
Through my boys Pupp and Raylo from Palm Beach. He was looking for some tracks for a compilation and I sent him a beat CD. They wanted a bunch of different tracks, so I came up and did the compilation with them. The vibe was good in this area, it was a little different than Miami. Me and Dawgman got to talking, he was like, “Why don’t you come on up, and let’s do this music thing.” He looked like he was heading the same direction I was trying to head, so we linked up like that. I packed up everything and moved up here.

As an independent artist, do you think Orlando is a better place to break out than Miami?
I won’t say it’s better, it was just better for me at that time. I needed a change of scenery, a new environment. I was kind of burned out and needed a new start. If I was from Orlando I’d probably say Miami is better, cause the grass always looks greener on the other side. By the time I came up to Orlando I had already learned not to make the same mistakes I had made in Miami. I was able to get out there a lot quicker cause I had learned from my mistakes.

After moving in 2000, when did you release “Animosity”?
It actually came out in 2001, but we didn’t really have any distribution. We were just doing mom and pop stores and selling out of the trunk. We weren’t really trying to go major with it, just build that street buzz. We sold about 5,000 out of the trunk. That had the original version of “Pop A Pill” on it.

What kind of offers have you had from major labels?
I won’t say any names, but we’ve had a couple come down here already and offer money, cars, all that shit, but it just wasn’t the kind of money we’re looking for. For one, we want somebody to really be behind us and focused. A lot of labels will put out the wrong single, or don’t push it the way they’re supposed to. We don’t want any problems. We want to make sure that if we go with a major label, we’re on the same page as them. We’ve got to communicate to make this a winning situation for both sides.

Are you looking for a deal for yourself or for your label?
It all depends on the money, really. If the money’s right we can make it work either way. We just formed a company - me, Dawgman, my manager Gilbert, and his brother Alphonso. It’s called Gamerunnerz Entertainment. We’ve got all areas: management, publishing, production, and the studio all in one company. Right now, we’re really looking for a production agreement so we can put out our own acts. We’ve got Riskay coming out, she was featured on the “Pop A Pill” remix. Then we’ve got the group Gamerunnerz, which is me, her, and Big Baby from Polk County, who’s featured on my new single “Chevy Boyz.”

What was the first reactions you got to “Pop A Pill”?
Because of the content, in the beginning when we walked the record into radio stations the program directors would be like, “Well, I don’t know if this is a radio record, blah blah blah.” So we had to keep getting it hotter and hotter on the streets, and then the mix DJ’s started blazing it. It talks about sex, but it also talks about popping pills and the whole club scene. It’s probably the pill issue that was keeping a lot of stations away from it, but now it’s gotten so hot that they have to play it. That was our whole intent. We knew it would take a minute, with an indie record. A lot of labels push a record for only two or three months, if you’re a major you can do that because you put so much money behind it that you’ll know right away if it’s the right record or not. Being an independent, we don’t have major money or major connections, so the streets is what brought the record to radio.

The song has been around on the underground for so long, do you think that signing the management agreement with Street Dwellaz is what finally helped the song get radio airplay?
Oh yeah, I think that was one of the main things that did it. Me and Dawgman were handling certain aspects of the game, but there were other things missing. Many people get focused on the music, but even if you have a hot record, it always comes down to the staff behind you. I think that was one of the main things we were missing in the beginning. We didn’t have the backing. Gilbert and his brother Alphonso of Street Dwellaz have been in the game for a long time, so they know how to work a record. They handled the business aspects, and opened a lot of doors for us. I’ve actually known Alphonso since 1992, he was making records back then. When I came up here he introduced me to Gilbert, so I had met him a couple times when he brought me product from Slip-N-Slide. We started to build a relationship, and he brought up the issue of management. I thought about it, talked to Dawgman, and we thought it’d be a good situation for everybody. I’m glad they stuck behind “Pop A Pill.” In the beginning when there wasn’t any money on the table, they stuck it out. A manager doesn’t get paid until an artist gets paid, so they were really gambling. They were spending their time and money, and there wasn’t any money coming in. We weren’t even doing shows back then. The last few months, things have really started popping.

Will “Pop A Pill” be on your next album?
I’ve already got “Bonified Platinum Hard,” almost finished, but we didn’t service the nation yet with “Pop A Pill.” We focused on certain Florida cities. We didn’t even touch Miami yet. There were a lot of stations asking for the record and we actually told them to hold off. What we did with “Pop A Pill” is the same thing Khia did with “My Neck My Back.” We started in the same markets they did, and it took off. For the new album, we’re gonna do another “Pop A Pill” remix, probably with T.I. That record is street, it’s not a pop record so it’s not gonna get old easily.

What made you come up with the concept of “Pop A Pill” in the first place?
Going to these clubs in Orlando, seeing all the ecstacy busts. I know a lot of producers who come in the studio like “I’mma get on that X and get on the drum machine.”

Any final words?
Check out WhiteDawg.com and the internet radio station, www.DirtySouthRadio.com. It’s 24 hours, we play all kinds of music, but especially the hot Southern acts that don’t get a lot of shine on major radio. We try to show them love, same thing y’all do with OZONE. The album “Bonified Platinum Hard” will be out in 2004, and look out for Riskay and the Gamerunnerz albums coming after that. We’ve got an independent route we can take if we have to, but my main thing is to go major with this release.
- OZONE MAGAZINE


Discography

Still working on that hot first release.

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Bio

WHITE DAWG the Baddest White Boy in this game braces to take over the world in 2007!!!! WHITE DAWG will be on tour promoting his new CD entitled Me vs. Me starting Sept. 1st kicking off the promo tour in Orlando, Florida. Although numerous major labels have offered WHITE DAWG record deals, he has held out and stayed INDY. " Fuck a Major!!!! IF they want me it's a million or better!!!" WHITE DAWG shouts on his new cd. He plans on distributing 100,000 cds on the street proving he's major without a major. WHITE DAWG explains his reasoning " I don't expect nothing for free, I didnt ask for any big name features, I'm gonna show the world once and for all that they gonna have to take me serious! I am the hottest WHITE BOY in the South, that's not a diss to other white rappers, but I've paid my dues for years on these streets grinding in the trenches selling cds out my trunk for years, ask anyone in Florida and they will tell u about my hustle. When I blow up it won't be because I had some big name features that got on, it will be because I out hustled them all! I'm not a battle rapper I'll tell you str8 up, but aint none of these white rappers can out hustle me! I was the first white dirty south rapper to break the top 20 billboard rap singles charts in 1999. I was the first white dirty south rapper to be featured in THE SOURCE,XXL,RAP PAGES, and was on the first ever OZONE MAGAZINE cover. I won the HUSTLA OF THE MONTH award in OZONE MAGAZINE and I got nominated for most slept on artist by the SEA AWARDS. I've produced for Plies, Rick Ross, Trick Daddy, 8ball, Pastor Troy, Guru, 69 Boys, Trina, Clientell Cartell just to name a few. What seperates me from all these other white rappers is that I produce my own music. I'm taking my new music in another direction, all these rappers today are limited on their subjects and topics.......how many times can u say u sell dope and how many times can u tell them u riding on big rims??????? If u really was slanging all that dope u damn sure wouldnt get on record and talk about it. A kilo gets u 20 years in Florida. The first rule u learn in the mob is to shut your mouth and being a rapper breaks that first rule!!! Real G's and Thugs are in jail, dead or on the way to one of the two. That's cool to rap about the dope game, jewlery,fake pull out grills, and your big rims we have all done that, but soon or later u have to tell these fans the truth....it aint all flash and fame out here. I know half of these rappers on these records out and they aint got what they talking bout. I'm gonna keep it real with my fans and rap about pain, my friends dying, my boys locked up, and other issues more in my music because they can relate to that. The internet has changed the game for INDY artists, I'm getting a $1.00 a download and I've got worldwide distribution, so what do I need a major for????????? $10,000 per show a couple shows a month and these labels in New York can't offer me anything I don't Already have or could buy if I wanted it! I'm not just rapping I'm leading a movement. I represent the underdogs. When u see me in my pictures flipping off the camera I'm flipping off these major label's bull shit contract offers! They gonna have to come with a million or better to get me!". The world is definately gonna have to reckon with WHITE DAWG in 2007!