S. Samuel
Renowned New York producer Dame Grease recently spoke to SOHH and explained why Maybach Music Group boss Rick Ross' protégé Meek Mill is the hottest new rapper out.
In addition to co-signing his lyrical ability, Grease acknowledged the movement Mill has built for himself.
“I can tell you who’s the best new artist, that I like, with the lyrics and style. I like Meek Mill,” Grease told SOHH. “He’s like the f*ckin’ only rapper that’s been out for the past couple years. You gotta understand, man, I’m from the era of rapping on the corner in Harlem where the dude raps, you might get slapped at the same time. At the same time, that made me think about how DMX and The LOX came out with straight bars. So of course being straight bars, it’s always a part of it but knowing how the game goes, I’ve gotta re-forecast my direction toward image, different things. You know what I’m saying? Movement. Originality. Those different things, you know what I’m saying? But my basis is straight bars. You know what I’m saying? Straight bars. I ain’t gonna lie, for years, ain’t nobody kick no bars like, ‘Ohh. Ohh, that’s deep.'” (SOHH)
Last month, Meek opened up on his image as a gritty, street-certified emcee and joining rap mogul Jay-Z‘s Roc Nation.
“That’s the new deal I put together,” Meek said in an interview. “Me coming up in this rap game, I was always an underground artist coming up by myself and making all of the moves by myself. And my manager – he’s just like me, we’ve been coming up in the streets by ourselves. So we just decided to partner up with Roc Nation and take things to another level. … I think it’s going to take me to the next level. I’ve got Warner Bros. behind me, Maybach Music Group, and Roc Nation; some of the most powerful people in the game. That’s like 80 percent of the game right there. You know, Ca$h Money, they like family. So it’s like you’ve got everyone on your team at one time, and it feels good to have all that behind you at once. It’s like a force that can’t be stopped.” (Life + Times)
He also recently clocked in studio time alongside fellow rap star Nas.
“Nas is one of the best rappers ever. Just having him in the studio, that’s a big thing to me. I grew up listening to this guy. I came and I played the beat for him and he liked my music, so we just vibed out,” he said, explaining that the feeling of his unfinished songs will dictate guest features on ‘Dreams & Nightmares’. “If I have a song that sounds like it fits Nicki [Minaj] the best or it fits T.I. the best, that’s the people I would sort of lean towards getting on them songs. But it depends on how the songs fit the person.” (Billboard)
Meek is currently working on his long-awaited solo debut, Dreams and Nightmares.
The MMG rapper also went on to talk about his upcoming debut album, Dreams and Nightmares, which drops on August 28. “[On] Dreams and Nightmares you can expect quality music and you’re gonna get the real me,” he said. “It ain’t gonna be all over the place like the mixtapes. This album I’ma make it connect, I’ma try to perfect my craft a little more; make sure the flows touch the beats a little better, make sure the beasts sound clearer. You know Frenchie gonna be on there, you know Rozay gonna be on there, but some of the features are gonna be a surprise.” (RapFix)
Check out a snippet of Dame Grease’s interview below:
