"Dorrough"
"Dorrough"
People ostensibly attend college to get an education. For red-hot rapper Dorrough, the schooling he received was a bit unexpected.
The Dallas native enrolled at Prairie View A&M University in Prairie View, Texas (about 50 miles Northwest of Houston) in order to walk on to the basketball team. Yet, in addition to his b-ball prowess, Dorrough was also an up-and-coming rapper, and while at Prairie View, he recorded the song "Do Tha Muscle" as a member of the group Prime Time Click. The high-energy tune became a sensation on the HBCU's campus and on Dallas radio, winning the Hometown Showdown on K104 FM for a week straight before being added to the station's rotation.
Dorrough capitalized on the success of "Do Tha Muscle" with the release of "Halle Berry," an ode to local women who are as attractive as the Oscar-winning actress. Though he was releasing his music independently and with limited resources, Dorrough was aided by the best kind of promotion: word of mouth.
"When I got my music out there, by the time summer would come, everybody would go back to where they're from and they would spread my music," he says. "I used that to my advantage and it worked."
Aided by his homegrown popularity, Dorrough and his infectious, club-ready tunes quickly developed large followings in such Texas cities as Dallas, Houston and San Antonio, as well as throughout Louisiana and Oklahoma.
Now recording his highly anticipated debut album for E1 Music (formerly KOCH Records), Dorrough has enjoyed more than 3.6 million plays on his MySpace page (www.myspace.com/dorroughmusic). More than 2 million of those plays are from "Walk That Walk," a sensual tribute to women who walk through clubs and turn heads with each step. The track is a hit at Urban Radio.
"I was inspired to do the song because I went to PV and there were so many females down there in all the sororities," says Dorrough, who is also known as Mr. Walk That Walk thanks to the popularity of the song. "I would see the stuff that they would really get down to. I was trying to capture the females and make it up-beat and a club song."
Dorrough shifts gears thematically on "Ice Cream Paint Job." On this percolating cut, Dorrough describes his tricked out ride over a warbly keyboard and mid-tempo drums. "Ice Cream Paint Job" is selling over 5,000 tracks per week on iTunes and is charting at Urban Radio, giving Dorrough two simultaneously charting singles.
Born and raised in Dallas, Dorrough imagined that ladies and cars would come into his life via an illustrious basketball career. As an active child raised in a loving atmosphere, he enjoyed riding bikes and playing basketball, partially because of the options at his disposal. "After school," he says, "you either went outside to hoop or you got into trouble."
Fortunately, Dorrough chose basketball. He became the captain of his alma matter (Lancaster High School), and with a special distinction: the team would run out to the music Dorrough recorded with his friends.
"I used to make music for fun, but then people were banging it," says Dorrough, whose stage name is also his last name. "I would ride down the street and hear people listening to the songs that I made. I realized that maybe I should get serious about this. I had a real strong work ethic in basketball, so just I applied my work ethic to my music. The same way I would go hard on the court, I started doing the same thing in music."
Inspired by his parents, who taught him how to be a leader and the importance of being independent, Dorrough is quickly becoming a musical force with a distinctive sound and style.
"I'm bringing an original Dallas sound to the world that was never exposed," he says. "We've always had our own swag, our own style, but we never got to the point where we could bring that out."
Until Dorrough stepped on the scene, that is.
Dorrough Music, hailing from Dallas, is the latest artist from the Lone Star State making his presence felt on the national stage.
With a deal in place with E1 Music (formerly Koch Records), the 22-year-old is ready to make a name for himself. His southern smash, "Walk That Walk," produced by DFS Production, is climbing the charts, and a video is on its way.
Dorrough Music's distinct style and sound has been shaped, in part, by his "Big D" environment, something he's been help build in Dallas. His eternal passion for hip-hop and his perpetual grind demanded the attention of labels, specifically E1. "They wanted to make me a priority. They did their research on me knew more about me than any other label," he says. "When they came at me, they knew how I'd fit into their program. They came at us with the right numbers, the right everything. Right now it's just up to me."
Skeptical people may try and dismiss Dorrough as another Texas gimmick. However, that's something the emerging rapper expects. He says he'll let his music doing the talking. "People are going to say what they say regardless. Everybody can say what they want about Dallas but we're what they're listening to," the rapper asks.
This movement, headed by his Prime Time Click, is co-signed by veteran Dallas MCs – Mr. Lucci and Tum Tum. Both of whom have faith in Dorrough's ability.
"Those are my big brothers; especially Tum. collabed and worked on a lot of music. He's down with the movement. He likes what we're doing what the city is doing as a whole," the third coast native matter-of-factly states. "I would definitely have to say I'm a great representation of a Dallas MC. I do try and keep my distinct style away from a lot of artists. But I'm really trying to come out with a Dallas sound."
His self-titled debut album, Dorrough Music, is slated for a July release. Transforming a dream into a reality is an impressive accomplishment, one that Dorrough has realized since high school.
"I've always loved music. I've always had a passion for it," he explained. "I never thought to make it my profession or do something with it until I was in high school. I was captain of the basketball team. We actually started running out to warm-up to my music before the games. That inspired me because people were feeling it."
Adding to the sentiment, "I fell in love even before I started it. My love for it made me start doing it."
That same love is what he hopes will be carried over into his music, which is housed under his own indie label, NGenius Entertainment. Along with the rest of his Prime Time Click, Dorrough Music is branding this label and his movement, which he's invested over five years into. "Just remember the name Prime Time Click; y'all will see the results later," Dorrough promises.