Drei Ros has released his most powerful song to date: “Excuse My Accent.”
The Eastern Romanian recording artist boasts a following of 514K followers on Instagram, but that doesn’t begin to touch his international reach. When it comes to his records, he does his part in including artists from all over the world, emphasizing the importance in inclusion of different cultures.
Having gone through his own struggles being an immigrant in the States, Drei uses music as an outlet to not only spread awareness, but also healing power to all those who can relate. When it comes to America alone, the minorities are oftentimes looked over — and Drei makes it a point to remind them of their importance.
AllHipHop caught up with Drei to discuss when he came to Los Angeles, his roots in hip-hop, creating “Excuse My Accent,” and his process in selecting features.
AllHipHop: Growing up, did you think you’d be the international artist you are today?
Drei Ros: Nah, not really. Growing up, I didn’t really speak English. I used to listen to songs and try to rap in gibberish because I didn’t know the language. The first rap tape I got was Kris Kross, I was 9 years old. I came to the States for the first time to visit in ‘96. I remember Biggie just died, “I’ll Be Missing You” was on all the radios. I got into Bad Boy, the whole squad. A big fan of East Coast hip hop, I like Wu-Tang. I had to buy the double CD three times because I played it so much, one of my favorites. I was a big fan of Busta Rhymes, DMX. I still believe DMX is one of the best. I got into West Coast later on: Pac, Snoop, Nate Dogg.
AllHipHop: When did you come to LA?
Drei Ros: 6 years ago, I packed all my stuff and said “I’m out, I’m going to LA.” I . Before that I was in Seattle for a while, going back and forth to Europe. I came to manage some producers, that didn’t work out. I came back to doing my own music. I tried management, but it’s so hard sometimes.
AllHipHop: You’re still doing it right?
Drei Ros: Yeah, I have a couple artists I’m developing their sound. I enjoy management but sometimes it’s hard dealing with talent. They think they owe you, you’re like their father. I don’t have to clean your room, that’s not my role. If you find the right artist, it could be amazing.
AllHipHop: What about you, did you have management?
Drei Ros: I never really had management. I always wanted to find a good manager but if I’m moving faster than the manager, the manager’s not really helping me. These days, we move and don’t wait for nothing. It’s very hard to find a manager that keeps up with the creativity. All the big, good managers, they’re so busy with their big artists. You can only find somebody that wants to come up.
AllHipHop: You’re an entrepreneur too, what businesses do you have?
Drei Ros: I do a lot outside music. We even turned “Excuse My Accent” into a media company, we did a documentary about deported veterans. Rob invited two deported veterans to the video shoot. When I heard the story, I felt so compassionate about everything going on. I want to have “Excuse My Accent” as a hub for people’s stories and documentaries. I have a transportation company but it’s on pause, I try to diversify. You have to diversify especially with music because you always have to invest in yourself and your craft. There’s no way you could make it these days, you need other sources of income outside of music.
AllHipHop: How did COVID-19 affect your life and career?
Drei Ros: I released my best music since this started because I had more time. I was able to release an album executive produced by 808 Mafia called Origin, with Fuse and MP808. I did a song with Sean Paul called “Closer To You.” It’s exciting, I grew up listening to Sean Paul. When I was young, I had the corn rows and everybody sang “Gimme The Light.” Every time I work with a legend, it gets me very excited.
I have this song called “Tables Turn 2.0” with Rich The Kid, I got DJ Paul on that one. I was a big Three 6 Mafia fan. I told him “look bro I know there’s all these people on the song, but I look up to you the most. I’m the most excited about you, I really appreciate it.” I really had to humble down. It’s always like that with legends, it does it for me. I like the new generation but the legends — I know they don’t stream as much, but they’re legends.
AllHipHop: How’s it feel to have the world respond so positively to “Excuse My Accent”?
Drei Ros: It’s doing great. We’re getting a lot of attraction in the Latin countries, slowly promoting here in the States. That’s the focus of the song, what’s going on here in the United States.
AllHipHop: When did you know you wanted to release it?
Drei Ros: I had the song ready before COVID, but I had to wait because everybody’s attention moved from immigration and minorities to everything about COVID. Now’s a good time to release it and really put it out there for the people, to ring more unity and bring people together. There’s so much division going on.
