Ozone Magazine

Since he’s A Dallas ambassador, we had Mr. Yeah Buddy break down what’s popping off in his city All Star Weekend. Along with his Gangsta Grillz release party, Dorrough also lets us know about some other hot spots in D-town, as well as artists he’s working with on his label. Be sure to check out Dorrough’s other cover feature on our annual Sex Issue hitting newsstands soon.

You’ve been putting out a lot of new videos and collaborations. What do you have circulating on the net right now?
I just put out a new track with Yo Gotti called “Hood Chick Fetish” off the Gangsta Grillz I’m droppin’ All Star Weekend. It’s pickin’ up a lot. DJs are spinnin’ it in the club. It’s gonna be a big record. We’ve also been pushin’ the “Number 23” record. We just dropped the “Caramel Sundae” video. It picked up a big buzz. It got like 6 million views on Worldstarhiphop.

Is the Gangsta Grillz mixtape your first nationally released mixtape? I know you’ve done other tapes here and there, but is this your biggest one so far?
I did a lot of mixtapes in the past, but this is my first major mixtape. I also believe I’m the first Texas artist to do a Gangsta Grillz, if I’m not mistaken.

How did you link up with Drama for this mixtape? Was it something you reached out to him to do?
One day we ran into each other and he was spinnin’ the “Ice Cream Paint Job” record. This was back in the summertime. We exchanged numbers and after that we started hittin’ each other up for drops and different things I was doing. I started givin’ him other records that were on my album and he thought they were jammin’ so we started talkin’ about doin’ a mixtape. I wanted to do something after the album [was released] and he was cool with it. After the album dropped I started putting together mixtape tracks, which are on the Gangsta Grillz that’s being released All Star Weekend.

What’s the experience been like for you since “Ice Cream Pain Job” hit number one? This is probably not where you saw yourself years ago; I know you used to have basketball dreams.
It’s just fast. One day I’ll be here, the next day I’m there. I do a lot of stuff so fast. That was probably the main thing I had to adjust to, living a faster life than I was [before]. I’m adjusted to it now. That’s been the experience. Everything comes fast. You make some mistakes, you learn and grow from ‘em. So that was the process, and now I’m more of a mature artist than I was a year ago, and now I see a whole different lane for where I want to go with my music. 

You put out a huge remix for “Ice Cream Paint Job” and you have some records with Three 6 Mafia, Yo Gotti, and a lot of other people. What’s it’s feel like to work with artists that have been in the game for a while?
I grew up listenin’ to Three 6 Mafia. To me I feel like they’re veterans in the game. Snoop Dogg is a legend in the game. I’m on Juvenile’s new single “We Be Getting Money” with Shawty Lo. I feel like the artists I grew up listenin’ to and now I’m workin’ with, it’s an honor just be doing it. I grew up listenin’ to Lil Flip, and to get him on my album shows how far you can go with the music. I’ve worked with a lot of artists and I plan on working with a lot more. Mainly I’m trying to get to [the point] where people respect me as an artist.

How do you plan to get that respect?
One thing I can say I’m proud of is that I came out with my own lane when I put my singles out. I didn’t have features on none of my singles, not “Walk That Walk,” “Ice Cream Paint Job,” or “Wired to the T.” Those were all just me rapping, and a lot of people nowadays don’t really do that. I feel like the ones that come out and stand on their own two feet stay in the game longer than most other artists.

What about the artists within your camp Primetime Click and NGenius Entertainment? What’s the lineup look like?
I’m President of the NGenius label. DJ Merk and Cash Capone are the CEOs. We made that up in college. The artists are me, Lil Tony – an upcoming artist making some noise in Dallas, Da Blockboi, and a singer named D Jo. Primetime Click is my imprint that I put together. Blockboi is in that also, and we got Yung Lott in the Bay Area, and Teddy B who’s in Houston.  We got Norm T and Q Smith, he produced “Halle Berry” and “Caramel Sundae.” He’s gonna be a big producer. We’re putting our first official Primetime Click single that’s on the Gangsta Grillz too. It’s called “Stop Light,” produced by Q Smith. It’s gonna be big by summertime. I want the brand to be bigger than me, so I’m putting a lot into that.

This is the first time Dallas has hosted the All Star game. What do you think it’ll be like?
Man, it’s gonna be crazy! It’s gonna be different from any other All Star game. I was at the one in Houston a couple years. As far as the Hip Hop scene and everybody coming down, they’re definitely gon’ have a good experience and see how we do thangs in Dallas. We’re very unique, from the club nightlife, to our fads in fashion, to the spots we hit up, to the food. It’s gon’ be real exciting. Everybody’s gon’ leave with a good taste in their mouth.

On that note, what are some food spots people should check out while they’re in Dallas?
You gotta hit up Rudy’s Chicken that everyone hears about. You gotta eat Hall’s Chicken as well. Sweet Georgia Brown is a big spot in Dallas. TD’s BBQ is a big spot. William’s Chicken too, we got a lot of chicken restaurants. There’s more, but those are the main spots.

What clubs are jumping off out there?
On Saturday you’ve got The Mansion. That’s one of the newer, biggest spots. On All Star Weekend I will be hosting my Gangsta Grillz/OZONE Release Party there Saturday night. You’ve also got Club Beamers; that’s a big spot. Level 5 goes down on Sunday. Cirque goes down on Friday and Saturday. The Palladium is gon’ jump off that Friday. Dallas has so many club and nightlife spots. It’s crazy. They’re all spread out though.

When people come to town, where do they go to get a fresh Dorrough-type haircut?
Quality Cuts off Pleasure Run. My barber’s name is Malcolm and he’s the one that freshens everybody up and gives ‘em my official Dorrough fade. That’s the spot I recommend.

What else do you want to mention to everybody coming to your city?
I just want to let everybody know that they should pick up the Gangsta Grillz featuring artists like Shawty Lo, OJ da Juiceman, Yo Gotti, Diamond from Crime Mob, and Chalie Boy. It’s gon’ be a big project in the streets. It’ll be at all the mom and pops, it’ll be at Big T Bizarre; they gon’ see and hear it everywhere. //