Fresh off the release of his Key Glock collab project Dum and Dummer, Young Dolph came through Everyday Struggle HQ to talk about sticking to the independent side of the industry and how he views his influence on Memphis music.
"We the shit," Dolph said around 33 minutes into the discussion when asked about the Memphis scene, something which he takes credit for bringing further into the spotlight. "You know why Memphis the shit? Keep it 100 with you . . . All this shit started from Dolph. Everybody, all this shit started from Dolph. Everything that comes out. When did all these Memphis artists get hot when there's so many Memphis artists? I did that, singlehandedly."
Dolph went on to say he "put the light on Memphis," noting that he believes many artists in the region now look like and dress like him. "I love this shit," he said, also stating that "Memphis wasn't hot before Dolph came out."
Speaking on his dedication to the independent approach, Dolph noted he's "100 percent independent," meaning he gets it all when he does major numbers.
"I don't want a deal," he said around the 8:50 mark. "I don't wanna be like everybody else. What matters to everybody else don't matter to me." This part of the chat hinged on an alleged $22 million deal Dolph turned down, a decision Dolph said was inspired by a realization he had about how far he's come without inking such paperwork.
"Shit, bro, you got 22 steps to go up," he said. "You done went up 20 of 'em, you done went up 19 of 'em, by yourself. You done did it, built your own building with your hands. Why the hell I'mma goddamn bring all of them with me to go up the last three steps?"
Dolph earlier elaborated on his aversion to traveling with a security team, something he simply can't get behind. "I don't give a damn," he said around the 22:46 mark. "Even when I got shot, I got shot because I was by myself and I walk in this world by myself. I'm a person. I don't like having security. I know y'all know a lot of rappers, a lot of n***as, they gotta have security to get up and go to the bathroom and everything. I ain't that n***a. They ducks. They lame."
See the full Everyday Struggle discussion, also featuring Dolph's thoughts on the relevance of cocaine-referencing lyrics and his and Glock's Dum and Dummer project, via the video at the top of this page.
