What do you get when you mix a few down home, Texas style guitar riffs with sick nice beats and a dope lyricist? You get an eclectic artist out of of Dallas that we checked for all last year and put on our Top 50 Underground List of 2012! Playdough is nothing that you expect and everything that you don’t.
To say he created a lane for himself is an understatement, and if the last year has been any indication, you will be hearing a whole lot more from him this year. He’s creating his own sound and has become a staple of the Dallas, TX Hip Hop Scene. Please take a minute to get to know Playdough:
AllHipHop.com: This is our first time getting to speak with you since you made the AllHipHop.com Top 50 Underground Of 2012 list! It’s been a long time coming! For those who aren’t familiar with your work, can you please share with us how you got started.
My pleasure! I started taking music really serious in college. My demo made it to MTV for a show called “The Cut” where you compete against other bands and have celebs in the music industry judge your performance. My band (ill harmonics) made the show, won 3 or 4 episodes and made it to the finals. From there we got signed to an indie label and put out a couple albums, I started working with a crew called Deepspace5. We put out an album in 2001 and in 2002 I put out my first solo album. Since then I’ve been continually putting out new music and touring the world,blessed.
AllHipHop.com: Who would you say your biggest musical influences have been thus far and how or what does their influence contribute to your music?
De La Soul and The Roots are probably my biggest influences. Listening to De La is when it really clicked for me that you can use melody in your rhymes but still rap the lyrics. All the outside the box stuff they did just helped me realize that there doesn’t have to be a tired formula to making Hip-Hop music. The Roots’ chance taking, instrumentation and of course Black Thought on the mic are heavily influential in my music. Taking a nice rock guitar or something not necessarily associated with rap, but still make it Hip-Hop.
AllHipHop.com: Very nice! What do you hope that your music reflects to the listener?
I think there are different levels to that answer. It may be hard to convey what you’d like to reflect based on someone hearing one single, if they listen to a whole album or your entire body of work they’d get the vision and really see what you’re on. In that regard each single probably has a unique vibe, but overall I’d like to leave people hungry for Knowledge, encourage thinking for ourselves and seeking Truth. I want my music to be fun and about having a good time, but if I have someone’s attention for the duration of a song I’d like to leave them with something lasting, hopefully eternal.
AllHipHop.com: What is one thing the fans don’t know about you that you wish they did?
That when a song means something to them, it’s totally cool if they tell the artist that made the song. A lot of fans seem worried about being considered a fanatic or jock riding if they express how much a song or an artist means to them. As artists who pour our lives into out music, we love hearing what it means to you. It’s really encouraging hearing your fans tell you what you wrote that meant something unique to them. I love my fans, though. They’re my family, my Road Dogs!
AllHipHop.com: Can you give us five words that describes you as a performer?
Wild Style: Busy Bee scene.
AllHipHop.com: What’s in the pipeline for you at the moment? Who are you working with and what can we expect?
I’m finishing up a new album with my DJ, Sean Patrick. It’s called “Gold Tips” and is based around what it’s like to kick it with us, go on the road and roll with our crew. It’s all songs about thrifting, chopping records, doing shows, cashing checks and everyday suburban emcee stuff. So far the features are Koncept from Brown Bag Allstars, Jabee from OKC and Manchild of Mars iLL.
AllHipHop.com: Please tell the people how they can keep up with you!
Twitter is the most direct to me personally, @iamPLAYDOUGH. All of my music, videos, shows and everything is on my website www.iamPLAYDOUGH.com. Holler at me, if you think I’m dope then tell a friend to get on your level and check me out. Thanks a lot for the interview, One LOVE!
Thanks again to Playdough for taking the time out and be looking for his new project dropping soon!