Turn up originator and club banger crooner Roscoe Dash took over the airwaves of 2011-2012 with a steady stream of anthems that transformed your local strip club into a movie, ultimately landing him coveted accolades and acclaim. But after a few industry power struggles and turmoil Dash disappeared in the blur of the fast life. After re-evaluating, rebuilding, refocusing and completing his highly anticipated Dash Effect 2 mixtape, Roscoe is ready to once again take over your ears and airwaves. I recently got a chance to catch up with the artist to discuss his new perspective, production company, and project. Check the convo.
Def Soul: Peace Power Positivity, How you doing, Whats been going on with you? Been taking a little time off rebuilding?
Roscoe Dash: Yeah There was a few things I had to get worked out. One being a contractual situation from when I first came out with “All the way Turnt Up”. I was tied into a real shady deal. I had to get it together so I didn’t have to many people getting a piece they weren’t supposed to get a piece of. I didn’t want to end up as one of these famous entertainers tied into a 360 deal, famous but broke. I couldn’t go that route I felt I was way to talented for that. So I took a step back revamped myself and took advantage of the time. I got my contractual stuff together, took a break, took vocal lessons, producing. I’ve got my own production company now, a couple of artists I’m working on, working on multiple projects, including my album.
DS: That’s a Lot! It’s great to see you refocused. Im excited. Being one of the trendsetters of the term Turn(t) Up. How do you feel about the turn up movement and the evolution its taken from then until now?
RD: Im proud, it really means a lot to me to be the start of something that has evolved so much. The energy and culture of the movement traveled so rapidly, to be magnified so much is epic, it lets me know anybody can come up with anything thats something. I really felt it when I saw Kevin hart , Lil’ Wayne and a lot of different people I grew up watching using it. Even today with trap music everybody is turning up. You might hear different terms but everything is an extension. Were all one person. It’s a recreative process. It keeps recreating itself and evolving into something different. To be a part of that time period is dope to me.
DS: In the course of your growth from your beginnings till now what do you feel has influenced your sound and music?
RD: I was rapping before I was singing, thats the crazy thing about it. For singing to have taken the forefront gives me way more extra room to smack people with whole bunch of dopeness. Thats why I choose to go with “Catch A Body” first because its not like your typical Roscoe hook. Its nothing like “Marvin Gaye and Shardinay” its nothing like “No hands.” This is just me taking a different approach to what I’ve been doing before, which is giving people something worth pioneering and paving the way for people to be creative and expressive and be aware at the same time. “Catch A Body” isn’t about the surface level term it could be perceived as. Its more about raising awareness and allowing people to be free. Being more aware of our surroundings and and the way things are going on in society, because we are growing up in a manipulative society, where were not supposed to win.
DS: No doubt I really like that single. The beat surprised me it was very hypnotizing against the content. As afar as production goes on this next project who can we expect to be on it?
RD: All I can say is expect the unexpected. I’m really excited about it, I have a lot of dope producers I’ve been working with. Just to give you a rundown of just a couple, Warren Campbell who worked on Kanye’s Graduation and College Dropout, Flostradamus, and Nottz, just different producers people wouldn’t expect me to work with. Im all over the place incorporating live instrumentation. Right now I’m in LA working with as many dope people I come across. I’m really just stepping out and puttingg together an overall project.
DS: I know you have a history with Waka, Wale and Big Sean what kind of collaborations can we expect?
RD: Ive got a couple of different people. Ive been working on this project on and off for really 2 and half years. Its really going to make up for all the lost time and allow people to get enough of me to understand. A lot of the records are gonna be just me, I also have records with Juvenile, another record with Waka and Jazzy Phae. Its a lot of different people. I got a lot of features but its not about over saturating. Its the fact that I have collaborative efforts and I’s still delivering.
DS: Taking a look at the industry and the amount friction between songwriters, ghost writers and artists. Being a highly acclaimed song writer and working with some of the best in hip hop how prevalent so you feel ghost writing is in the industry and how much of a part does it play?
RD: Ima put it like this when I work with Kanye I never was like I wrote a 100% of this record or this was really me, it was a collaborative effort. Thats how I felt with the whole Meek Mill, Drake thing. with Quentin Miller coming out and saying he was never a ghostwriter, at the end of the day its a collaborative effort. That man [Drake] took than man [QM] out of that situation and helped him be in a better situation. If theres no future understanding to know that were both here for a greater purpose, thats bigger than both of us as individuals then what are we doing this for, you might as well not even take the opportunity. There are some people to prideful to understand music is a collaborative effort. If your making music for yourself by all means make all your own beats write all your own lyrics do all that shit but if your making music for the consumer, you haven’t lived the same life experiences everyone else on the face of this earth has lived so its important to get other opinions and perspective to make those records what they are for the people who support you, who lift you up to be in the position you in now, to be honest with you.
DS: Preach on it. Real s#!t. You talked about your production company? Tell me more about it…
RD: Its called Dreamers Republic. I was inspired to start this production company for a lot of different reasons. I spent a lot of time on Interscope’s roster, even though Interscope and I never had any type of fall out what I noticed was that my staff would always get switched around a lot. For me it’s bout keeping a family in place in and having people who will go balls to the wall for you no matter what. I done grew up in a bunch of different situations with my family and no matter how many fights we got into when it’s time for one of us to be in distress and we need some help and someone to lean on we always got that no matter what. That’s the difference between family and someone getting paid. I just wanted it to be a more comfortable situation for me and everybody involved and a fair opportunity for everybody. I feel with all the stuff I’ve gone thru I can help different people not make the same mistake. Its really not about the money or things that would drive other people it’s a about making dope music and making the world a better place.
DS: When can expect the dash effect to to come out?
RD: It’s gonna come out in three parts. The first part is going to to drop in the 2nd or 3rd week in August. With the each part dropping every 3-4 weeks after that.
DS: I gotta ask… I’m a huge Marvin Gaye fan when I heard the Marvin Gaye and Shardinay” joint it became one of my favorites that year, are you fan?
RD: What’s crazy is every time I plug my phone up to the car or whatever “Marvin Gaye “After the Dance” comes on. Every time like religiously. I grew up listening to a lot of people like that Cody Chestnut, Luther van Dross, Gerald Lavert. I grew up to a lot of different things, when I had the opportunity to make “Marvin Gaye and Shardinay’ it was easy to put those words together and put the vibe together of the song. It wasn’t necessary what I was saying but the vibe of the record that was most important. The shit that we were made off of. That’s what makes me passionate about that style of music. I know my dad was nasty I got five brothers and sisters so It’s in my blood. I’m definitely a Marvin Gaye fan.
Def Soul (@DefSoulNJ)
