The Great Adventures of Dope Boy C: Dope for President- Behind the Music

1st Day In Office- Literally the last song I recorded for the mixtape. I needed an intro. Something that made a statement. Bean-One hit me on aim on my way from LA on the train to NY. He literally sent me like 300 beats! This beat was somewhere near the bottom...shhhheeeeesh! When I heard it and heard the crowds applause I immediately uttered the words "First day in office, i'ma free Mumia of all charges". BOOM! Intro! Got it. This one came pretty easy cuz it summed up everything I was talking about on the tape. Knocked this out in bout 10 mins and I think it set a great tone for the listener.


State of Emergency- I had this song sitting in the cut for a minute. I actually did like 3 different songs to this same beat. Seige had this beat in a folder with beats he didnt like. I thought it was monster. I was on a super "Amerikkka's Most Wanted" listening streak when I made this. The actual pro-tools file for this song is "Amerikkka". But this song represented that unspoken voice of the ghetto everywhere.


Watch For The Sirens- I don't know how I met Chemical, probably on Myspace, but he gave me that beat 5 years ago. I remember being on the train in New York writing that 1st verse. "Crack moving day and night, watch for them blue and whites..." another one of those "Amerikkkas Most Wanted" overload session. This joint was talking to all them cats running wild in the streets hustling tryna make a come-up. Just tellin em to watch for them sirens. The streets too hot. My man Tef heard it in the studio and told me to flip the hook a lil better than what I had it. He pulled that ol "Deep Cover" "They Coooming" out the hat and made the song magic.


3 Little Pigs- This and "State of Emergency" were done on the same day. I was in that zone. There was no pre-thought with the concept. I sat there for like 5 mins and came up with the opening lines. The whole fable, 3 little pigs, the house with bricks, the wolf- that whole analogy came outta thin air. To this day I wonder how no rapper has ever flipped that concept. Another ignorant Seige beat.


Wake Up!- Easwood emailed me a file with like 1000 beats on there. This one was near the top of the pile thankfully. Literally I heard the beat drop, stopped it on itunes, loaded it in pro-tools and knocked out the 1st verse right then and there. The words just came to me. Took me like a month to get the 2nd verse out and the 3rd verse was like a month after that. This song represents the anger, the pain, the struggle. It's hella emotional at the same time tho. Very powerful. I added in the news clips at the last minute to give it a more effective feel.


You Ignorant Bitch- I wanted to tackle the issue of the media very disrespectfully. I feel the media comes off very biased, very disrespectful and very stereotypical, so I said, I'm take that same energy they give and throw it right back in their face. I gave Redwine the sample and he made this beat in bout 10 mins. I toyed around for a while, then somewhere, somehow I just said "You ignorant bitch!" Bingo! Theres the song. Everything else was pretty much easy after that point on. Torch came thru to add some comedy being the reporter. He nailed it.


Round Here- Thats the ghetto anthem! I wanted to flip an old Scarface/Pimp C flow on this one. That ol' southern gagnsta flow. This is strictly for the hoods. This is an accumulation of stories i've heard/saw/been through all in one, spoken in 1st and 2nd person perspectives. Easily Lex's favorite song. Homeboy Vlad gave me this beat along with another joint that didnt make the final cut from the producer Buzz.


Like This- Hyphen may have given me 100 beats for this mixtape also, this beat, automatic. I needed a grimey stick-up kid "I don't give a fuck" record to make this shit well rounded. When I heard the beat I wrote the hook instantly. The verse came maybe 3 days later. I did a verse on somebody's mixtape and I was tryna top that verse, took me a minute but once I got the "Squeeze on a nigga, left a G-flat, played keys on a nigga" I knew I was good to go. I had 2 people in mind to be on this record. This song almost didn't make it. I had 2 people featuring on here and both of em were super busy wrapping up their projects. One person couldn't get it done in time and Bun-B sent over his vocals literally after we had mastered and finished up the artwork, so by this record was the very last addition to the album, it almost didn't feel right without it. This represented that "Ignorant shit" i was talkin bout in "You Ignorant Bitch".


I Been Hustling- Tyrese found this beat on an instrumental cd and gave it to me to rap on. I didn't even know it was a Biggie beat til my man Picasso told me. I wrote that 1st verse at a church service I went to (I hate church so I was just writing raps in my head). That was my mentality, and that represented the mentality of any nigga in the hood tryna get it and get out. Ironically my man Dereck Fisher from the Lakers was actually there in the studio room while I recorded the vocals, hence the shout-out at the 3rd verse.


All For The Money- This is the lessons of money. I'm big on conspiracies, government coverups, scandals, etc. Hence the "Dope For President" but this is where I really touch on politics especially dealing with the financial crisis going on today. Many people glorify money and I wanted to show many different facets of dealing with money on this. Tha Adjicktivez gave me a few beats but this one stuck out like a sour thumb.


Chant- I totally jumped off a bridge with this one. I totally let loose here. Redwine had the sample, I told him what piece I wanted and he nailed it. This is the record I knew was gonna get people talking. The verses get under peoples skin. But hey, the truth hurts. The last verse absolutely is gonna get me into some trouble, but thats why I made it. I wanted to shake shit up a lil and this was the perfect record to do it.


Preacher, Preacher- Another sensative subject. When Seige played me this beat, I thought the sample said "Preaaach" so I said "why not!?". I went in with the whole questioning the pulpit thing. Another one that might get me into trouble. I love T.D Jakes, I just thought that clip where he said "Jesus is the product" was a perfect intro to the record. Also did this the same day as "3 little Pigs" and "State of Emergency".


Black Folks- This was the ONE. I had an interesting convo with a wise man and he enlightened me to alot going on. I decided to make this record that night. Ironically, Knotch comes to the studio and plays me some beats, by chance he had this beat with the sample that said "black foolks". Talk about coincidence! The lyrics came easy. The 3rd verse was probably done 2 months after the others. This is arguable the most powerful record on here.


Tomorrow- I had the beat on my drive for 3-4 years. Never knew what to do with it. I do that sometimes. One day I just wrote that 1st verse in my head. I just had a random verse laying around my head. I was going thru my drive and stumbled upon the beat and happened to say that verse to the beat and it fit like magic. I laid it down and wrote the 2nd verse right then and there. Didn't know what to do with the 3rd verse til one day I drove through Skid Row in LA and saw how the homeless community was in shambles. I did the verse and decided to do the video to show these peoples struggles. Tyrese came up with the hook and laid it while he was on set for some movie. 2pac would've made this kind of record had he been still here.


I'm Coming Home- This is one of my favorites. The message hidden in the song is deep. I had the verses already written in my head but no beat to compliment it. I got this beat on the last day of recording. Coop sent me this and immediately I wrote the hook before I even got to the end of the beat. This is my personal favorite song on the entire tape. I'm basically telling people that the power of God is within all of us. "My mind is fly, nigga I think wings". Your mind is the most powerful thing on earth, whatever you set your mind to, you can accomplish it. I used Jesus as a metaphor for confidence, positive thinking and courage. Perfect way to end this project and segway into the next one...