Troy Dunnit is making moves. Some may remember him from Montreal crew, Obscure Disorder, which also yielded Kanye West’s DJ, A-Trak. After a small success with Obscure Disorder, he has journeyed from the frozen north of Canada, to Kool G Rap’s proverbial mass-populated “streets of New York” to seek success. Perhaps it’s just as easy to get lost as it is to get discovered.
AllHipHop.com recognizes Troy’s risk-taking courage. We welcomed him to New York, in part of our effort to shine Canadian – and universal Hip-Hop. From this feature, experience shows new listeners that one thing’s clear – Troy done it.
AllHipHop.com: What’s the name of your new album?
Troy Dunnit: It’s going to be called, “An International Affair.” It’s due out in early 2006.
AllHipHop.com: What happened to your old group, Obscure Disorder?
Troy Dunnit: I’m still in it. We all came up together as kids. We were making some noise back in the late 90’s and up to 2001. We popped up in XXL, The Source, and a few other magazines. We had a few singles, but the vinyl scene kind of slowed down. To be real, I hate when people come out just to put their boys on. You have to have love for your roots, but look at Nelly. Where are the St. Lunatics now? Right now this is me doing me. When you’re in a group it’s a collective of ideas, but when it’s solo, it’s all about you. It’s about what you want to write and about and the sound that you want. I write to get twisted. My boy Eclipse doesn’t even party, but we work well together. Cat is nice. We have different styles of rhyming, but can come together on a common idea and s**t comes out crazy!
AllHipHop.com: Where may people have seen you solo?
Troy Dunnit: I went on tour with Boot Camp [Click]. Smiff n’ Wessun are my boys.
AllHipHop.com: How did you come up with the album’s title, International Affair?
Troy Dunnit: I’m a Haitian-Canadian. In Montréal, there are a lot of people from Haiti, Barbados, and Jamaica. I always came to the states as a kid. I have family in Boston. There are people from all sorts of backgrounds from all over the world doing there thing. Hip-Hop itself is an international affair.
AllHipHop.com: What label are you currently on?
Troy Dunnit: Right now, I’m shopping. I’m looking towards Fat Beats, or something larger. I see kids hustling all over New York. It’s really a rat race.
AllHipHop.com: If that doesn’t work, ever thought about starting your own label?
Troy Dunnit: I should, but I really want to ghostwrite. I wish that I would have made beats back in the day. Producers today are really making money. [laughs] I don’t wanna do paper work though. I just want to rap and ghostwrite.
AllHipHop.com: Ghostwriting seems to be a hard nut to crack. A lot of MC’s admit to reading the thesaurus or doing cross-word puzzles. What do you do to up your vocab?
Troy Dunnit: I don’t really read a lot of books. I have never finished a novel, not even for school, and I’m a college drop out… I love new information though. I also love to educate myself, so I remember interesting vocab that I’ve never heard or haven’t used. It keeps the mind fresh. S**t, I do it so I can use it in everyday conversation. I don’t like to sound stupid, but I don’t have nay shame in asking somebody about a particular word’s meaning. More than likely, so I can use it in a later conversation or rhyme.
AllHipHop.com: Who was one of the emcees that really inspired you to start rhyming and get into the game?
Troy Dunnit: Big L. He’s the illest! His word-play, deliveries, he’s just nice. I can remember when my boy, Eclipse from Obscure Disorder bought, Lifestyles of the Poor and Dangerous.
AllHipHop.com: Big L seemed to favor a packed studio. What’s the vibe like in your sessions? Is it cramped with a lot of people or only the ones that need to be there?
Troy Dunnit: Only the ones who need to be there, unless some one came from out of town or just came home. Basically, all I really need is a lot of hydro and rhyme books.
AllHipHop.com: What’s in your CD player right now?
Troy Dunnit: A beat CD from Simhalak [Montréal producer], Kanye West’s Late Registration, Game’s mixtape “Ghost Unit,” Little Brother [The Minstrel Show] and Kev Brown’s [I Do What I Do].
AllHipHop.com: What’s the difference between the U.S. Hip-Hop scene and Montréal’s?
Troy Dunnit: Montréal is different than the U.S. There are a lot of good MC’s, but not many of them get their chance to shine. When you go there, someone is always rhyming, but not many people make money from it. At the end of the day, isn’t that what it’s all about? Being able to pay the bills and put a roof over your head? I like seeing heads make money. All in all, you have to be able to survive. Hell, I still have to work to pay the bills. I’m a bartender. Not many people in Montréal are living off of their music. That’s why came to New York. Half the kids in Canada that can rhyme are dying to be interviewed. We’re up north, but it’s grinding and hustling all the same. That goes for anywhere.
AllHipHop.com: Why do you think that not as many Canadian rappers get noticed in the states?
Troy Dunnit: Too much radio. The sounds are different.
AllHipHop.com: How confident are you that when you drop the album, it will blow?
Troy Dunnit: I’m very confident. It’s the right place and the right time. I meet people everyday. I recently met Large Professor. He was really feeling my music. He’s working with a bunch of cats right now, but I’m hoping that we can put something together. I’m tired of dropping singles. They’re okay, but I want to put out an album. I have 30 tracks already.
AllHipHop.com: Who are some of the producers that you would like to work with in the future?
Troy Dunnit: Definitely Large Professor, DJ A-Trak, Ken Wood, and hopefully Necro. He produced, “No Gangsta.” Also Kev Brown. I love Kanye. It would be great if he could throw me a few beats.