STASHED Chats: Dee-1 on Being Tested By Lupe Fiasco, Industry Politics, and New Orleans

It’s no secret: New Orleans artist Dee-1 isn’t your average rapper. He’s the brainchild behind the viral sensation “Sallie Mae Back,” a song about becoming debt free. Its unique message, which easily stands apart from the lavish raps listeners have been flooded with for decades, have earned him a spot on CNN, appearances on daytime talk shows, and various other speaking engagements. “I was asked to speak at Clark Atlanta University on a panel about financial literacy. Do I cancel something solid that’s in line with what I believe? Or do I go in a lane that’s opening up other opportunities?” he questioned during his visit to STASHED HQ.

The other opportunity he was referring to was an acting role on a popular New Orleans TV show. The Christian artist landed the role he auditioned for, but the casting director switched him to another character. The new script had curses, causing Dee-1 to rethink the offer. “What am I going to look like getting on the big screen acting, and I’m cursing? I don’t even curse in my own music. I felt kind of hypocritical,” he openly told fans in a self-made video.

Photo Credit: Sean Pressley

It’s these types of beliefs that have carried the artist thus far. He backed away from potentially signing a deal with Cash Money Records due to the “energy feeling different.” With RCA’s backing, he’s on a mission to fulfill his hometown’s legacy.

He encourages his listeners to “Be righteous, be real, and be relevant.” Those words can be heard clearly on his powerful remix to “Against Us” featuring Big K.R.I.T. and longtime friend Lupe Fiasco.

In this STASHED exclusive, Dee-1 reveals the original ending of Lupe Fiasco’s “Against Us” verse, his feelings on competition in rap, and how he’s moving the culture forward.

STASHED: In an Instagram post you mentioned Lupe Fiasco testing you by cursing in his verse. What was that actual conversation like?
Dee-1: When I asked Lupe Fiasco to hop on my song, he was totally cool with it. I’m in the studio with him and as he’s recording he’s freestyling, he’s not writing. He’s doing his thing in the booth. He knows that I don’t curse and that I don’t have profanity in my music. On the last bar, he said “My kind and they logic is like 99 of their problems with no B–.” He said that and came out of the booth.

I’ve struggled in the past with existing in this industry. I wanted to be different. I feel it in my heart to be different. I’m still of this, but I want to show that I can come from this and be different. It’s a struggle sometimes when you collaborate with people who might not adhere to what my vision is or they curse in their music so they’re just like whatever. So I’ve had trouble speaking up in the past about that because I don’t want to tarnish my relationships with people. I actually tried to speak up about certain collabs that I was on the verge of doing and it’s always led to tension or friction with the artist and me. With Lupe, I’m like Oh boy, here we go [laughs]. Do I speak up and create this awkward moment in the studio or do I let it ride?

I decided to speak up and we had a little conversation about it and he was cool with removing it. That Instagram post came from real live footage of us kicking it, of us seeing each other after a few months. We talked about the collaboration. He was telling someone else at the time, “He don’t know it, but I cursed on his record on purpose just to see what he would do.” I think he was testing me to see how strong are my convictions, and what I believe in, even when it’s not convenient. Even when it’s not the convenient thing for me to speak up, and speak what’s on my heart, and about what my true mission is, will I do it? And I did it with one of the most difficult people to do it with. He’s a man I look up to in a lot of ways.

Photo Credit: Sean Pressley

STASHED: Was there a lot of competition between you, Big K.R.I.T., and Lupe on that song?
Dee-1: If it was, I didn’t feel it. I think we set our own bar, our own standard for how hard we want to go. It doesn’t feel like that. I think we’re all in the game for similar reasons, which is we want to bring our best to the table at all time. We want to put out a healthy message that’s going to empower people who listen. With that said, we weren’t overly concerned with outdoing each other. But no one wanted to have the weakest verse.

There are politics of this industry to where a lot of people really don’t like each other but they’re doing stuff just to try to tap into each other’s fan bases. It’s not worth the amount of stress. You don’t really like me, but you’re texting me to tweet out the song. And I don’t really mess with you but I’m sitting here posting pictures of us together as if we’re really cool. I’ve already done all of that. I’ve been through all of that. Life is too short to be faking the funk. And this industry is too fake for me to go along with the status quo.

STASHED: There’s a picture of you embracing Slim Jesus. There was a lot of controversy when he started popping up on blogs. What was your advice to him?
Dee-1: I was performing at A3C in Atlanta and I’m on the same bill as Slim Jesus. I’m performing directly before his set. He comes to the venue and he’s watching my set. I see that he’s there in the middle of the crowd so I stopped the music. I pointed at him and addressed him in front of everybody. I’ve never met him before and I wanted to tell him that it’s a lot of people criticizing him right now, and I’m not here to criticize him. I wanted him to know that at the moment, he had the juice. He had people listening to him, looking up to him, and we gotta be careful what direction we’re leading people in. We’re given these platforms for a reason. Even that word in his name, “Jesus.” You got our savior’s name as part of your name, so use it. I articulated it in a way where he didn’t feel like I was trying to diss him or call him out or anything. There was people in the crowd who was telling me afterwards like “Whoa, bro. You kept it 1,000 with dude.” But after I got offstage, we talked for like 5 minutes. All I remember him saying was a lot of thank yous. Because I know that’s something he doesn’t get every day, I know that’s going to stick with him.”

STASHED: Would you say your teaching background kicked in?
Dee-1: Definitely, he reminds me of one of my students. He’s not a bad dude at all. I don’t know him personally, but he has an innocent spirit. A lot of my students that I taught are in jail right now. A lot of them are gangster rappers right now. But I taught them in eighth grade, and I’m seeing their Instagram feeds now, and how they’re coming across. Guns in the pictures, guns in the videos. Slim Jesus reminds me of them.

My music has to lead people to a certain place just like a lesson plan. When I put a mixtape out, a song out, or an album out, it has to lead people somewhere where they feel stronger, more educated. Where they feel like their spiritual health is better after listening to it.

Photo Credit: Sean Pressley

STASHED: How does it feel to come from New Orleans, a place with so much musical history, especially with Cash Money?
Dee-1: Those were my childhood heroes. I feel like the way I looked up to them when I was a little boy, it makes me want to be successful on a large-enough scale that kids in New Orleans can look up to me. They were from the neighborhood and were really superstars. I want that because I feel like it’s just really carrying on tradition.

I do feel like I’m something New Orleans have never seen or had before. No rapper has my subject matter or my mission or my open proclamation of being a man of God, wanting to bring people closer to being real, being righteous, and being relevant in everything they do. That hasn’t been the mission statement of the rappers growing up.

I feel the tension in the city. The city loves me but sometimes it’s hard for one man to change a mindset that’s been prevalent for generations. A mindset where we all consider ourselves thugs or we’re always ready to sling that iron, and sell dope. Lil Wayne raised us. Look at what he raps about.

STASHED: What do you say to the fan who can listen to you, Lecrae, Lupe Fiasco, but also Lil Wayne, Slim Jesus, and others?
Dee-1: I wouldn’t judge them. They’re human beings. And all these people who are Christian rap fans, they’re listening to those other artists too. They’re just not going to tell you. That’s all that is. They listen to it too. A lot of these pastors, how you think they get in church and can reference T.I. “About the Money”? They know because they listen to it. They might say that they don’t overindulge in it, or they don’t allow themselves to get caught up in it, but they listen to it. I get it. I never listened to Christian rappers growing up. I didn’t know what that was. I listened to DMX, Nas, everybody in Cash Money, and everybody in No Limit.

STASHED:  When did your taste in music transition?
Dee-1: The transition never happened. I still listen to DMX, Nas, and a lot of the stuff I grew up on. I keep up with what’s current so I keep up with a little bit of everything. But hip-hop music isn’t what I turn to for my inspiration. I listen to the Motown era from the ’70s, soul music when they were talking about the struggle, talking about love in a not so overly sexual way. I even listen to country music because I like how they tell stories. My grandpa and my daddy got me listening to jazz ever since I was a little boy—Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong.

Lupe asked me that before when we were on tour. I had this Yo Gotti song on repeat, like 50 times in a row, and Lupe was like, “Dawg, what’s up with you?” It was just the energy that I connect with. Even though I’m not saying curse words, I’m sitting there censoring myself.

STASHED: So basically, you can be in it but not of it.
Dee-1: I wouldn’t recommend it because that’s hard. I’ve had to peel back on it because there was a time where I was overindulging in it. You don’t even want it to become your lifestyle but it’s ingrained in your stream of consciousness. Without you even knowing it, you become desensitized to things you wouldn’t normally let slide. You do it without even knowing and that’s what happened with me. I have to balance it off with things that feed my spirit in a healthy way. That music feeds my inner rebel, my inner kid from the hood. I feel like I can take all of this stuff in. I’m around all of this. I’m listening to all this type of music. By the time I put my music out, people are like “Wow.” It’s familiar. It comes from that energy that we see that’s so prevalent but I somehow filter out the negativity. And I put it out in a way that’s cleaner.

STASHED: That’s gained you a ton of recognition. From “Sallie Mae Back” going viral, to the senior editor at ESPN The Undefeated speaking on your ability to rap.
Dee-1: It’s an honor because I only watch two stations, ESPN and CNN. And the local news of whatever city I’m in. It felt great. I think the reaction to the song and the video felt even more gratifying. Sometimes you look back on your work and say, “I did pretty good.” I feel like I nailed it.

Photo Credit: Sean Pressley