Dawgman doesn’t just do it for the money. He’s one of the few in the music business who seems to make an effort to do positive things for the community at large. Visit his office, and his conference room sports trophies and plaques from various government institutions, rewarding his work with his non-profit organization, the Peace In The Hood Foundation. At Come Together Day, while Dawgman’s partner White Dawg is on stage performing his underground hit "Pop A Pill" ("Pop a pill now, you on X girl? / Let me lick it, uh, and won’t stop til’ ya..."), audience members are waving signs provided by the Florida Health Department that read, "1 in 50 blacks in Florida have AIDS." Next to the stage, a few 12-year old boys are handing out strips of free condoms. Somewhat of a paradox? Well, yes - but at least he’s doing his part.

With all the companies and projects Dawgman’s usually working on at any given moment, you can find him at the studio, office phone in one hand, cell phone in the other, and 2way on his lap. It’s a mammoth operation to keep running, and the only reason he succeeds is his extraordinary ability to delegate tasks to other capable individuals. Whether it’s someone who needs an engineer for their studio session or a visiting independent record label looking for an on-air interview, Dawgman’s got somebody who can handle the job. It’s a family that works as a unit, and Dawgman is the glue holding it all together. The people on his staff have no problem falling in line with him as their leader, because he’s not the type to hog the spotlight.

It’s not just Orlando that’s got love for the DME clique, though. A recent pool meeting for TJ’s DJs in Tallahassee brought together the cream of the crop of industry heads from across the Southeast, and at the mere mention of Dawgman’s name, the entire room started clapping. Without the underground, Central Floridians might never have heard of artists like David Banner, Lil’ Flip, T.I., or Sonny Spoon. In Orlando’s bleak radio scene, Dawgman and the Clientell boys are a breathe of fresh air next to 102 Jamz. If you’re not into Southern music, you probably won’t appreciate their slowed-down blends, or their habit of interrupting the music every five seconds for a caller to give a shoutout. If you are into Southern music, though, they just might become your heroes.

Selling mixtapes has long been a nice hustle for people in the music business trying to get by, but on Clientell radio, Dawgman’s provided a forum for his people to take the mixtape shit to a whole ‘nother level. You might tune in one afternoon to hear White Dawg, White Boi Pizal, or Baby Lac shouting, "Go see my boy, ova der at the So-Lo gas station, he got dem mixtapes, slowed-down, whatever you need! 3 fo’ da $20!" The next day, you might have to visit McDonald’s to pick up a mixtape, and the day after that, it might be Amoco. It’s a mobile store. Cheap overhead. Ghetto? Hell yeah. But who cares? Either way, you gotta respect the hustle.

Even when the station’s not up and functioning as powerfully as it could be, Dawgman’s still able to parlay it into other opportunities. Hopefully I’m not giving away any secrets here, but artists tend to respond to 2ways faster when the signature says "Dawgman - Program Director, WDME." Sure, the station isn’t FCC-sanctioned, but most of the artists don’t care about that. All they care about is, "Can he break the record?" Nine times out of ten, the answer is yes. Dawgman uses these connections to get artists for good prices on promo tours and bring them through for whatever big event he’s putting together at the time.

Although many of the things Dawgman does are below the radar of the mainstream, some of the more prominent industry connects might surprise you. For example, I doubt if there’s one other person on this Florida Power list who hasn’t done business with him at one point or another.

His most recent project is a compilation CD set to be released under his new label, Thug Boy Records, with a distribution deal through Epic/Sony. The soundtrack features such artists as Trick Daddy, Cognito, Pastor Troy, the Ying Yang Twinz, T.I., Cash Money’s Baby, Camoflauge, Khia, and JT Money, as well as Clientell’s own Chubby Relle and White Dawg.

It’s useless to ask Dawgman about his future plans, because I already know the answer: anything and everything. DVDs, radio stations, compilation CDs, TV shows, parties, concerts, celebrity basketball tournaments, charity events? You name it, he’s already done it, and probably plans to do it again in the future. He stays on the grind, and when you put in as much work as the Clientell Family has put in during their reign at the top of Central Florida’s Dirty South scene, it’s bound to pay off eventually.

Even if you can’t stand that slang, you still gotta respect the Dirty South.