Tha Dirtbagz

DIRTBAGZ MP3’s ON



The three hip-hop artists who compose Tha Dirtbagz, Rawz, Kritikal and Next 1der, might not be household names, but considering their creative originality both lyrically and musically they very well should be. Tha Dirtbagz, a hip-hop group based out of Staten Island, consists of 3 young men who according to Jay Ross, aka Rawz, "My group has a real original style and sound (with a) good chemistry on tracks (dealing with) deeper issues. There is no fakeness to us, we are who we are". I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Rawz to get an inside look on the sound, style and overall ideals that encompass both himself as an artist and his group Tha Dirtbagz. These up and coming artists classify themselves as a new breed bringing music that isn’t afraid to touch on subjects that many other hip hop artists don’t. As stated by Rawz, "We’re not scared to do music that might be considered commercial but at the same time I make music for myself with topics that aren’t so mainstream".



We met in the home of Rawz where some of the beats used by Tha Dirtbagz were created. His overall relaxed demeanor made it easy for me to both learn and understand about his group.



ND: What makes up Tha Dirtbagz?

Rawz: Tha Dirtbagz is not just an image its an overall attitude. We go by the term dirty fresh which basically means to act up but look good doing it.



ND: When did you realize you wanted to be an artist?



Rawz: Well my father was a blues musician all his life and I grew up around that. I always had it in me to make music. My musical abilities are in my DNA. I even went up on stage when I was 3 at one of my dads shows and played the drums in front of a big audience so I was never afraid to be in front of a big crowd and perform.



ND: Does Tha Dirtbagz music imitate life?

Rawz: My work, along with my group, imitates our life in that we only write about things we know. Whether it be about girls or bad things that happened to us or just personal feelings. Also I think in some ways our life imitates our music too. Tha Dirtbagz personify our dirty fresh image in order to give ourselves a musical identity to make the group memorable to listeners.



ND: Do you think being an all Caucasian group from Staten Island makes it harder as emerging artists?

Rawz: As far as being an all Caucasian group I personally don’t really focus on that too much. Tha Dirtbagz want to be taken seriously as artists in general but we do want to show that white people have flavor. It’s not just about the white rapper show. As far as being a group on Staten Island well ever since Wu-Tang, Staten Island hasn’t had any notoriety. There’s a lot of untapped talent out here that should be recognized. Tha Dirtbagz would like to be the ones to make it happen.



ND: Tha Dirtbagz record music that as you said earlier serves as an alternative genre of hip hop. What songs in particular exemplify this?



Rawz: Our music has a lot of diversity from club tracks to more serious songs about our life experiences or just funny songs. A good example would be our tracks Hoodrat, Ene-MY and What Up. Hoodrat is a comedic song basically mocking the females who don’t command respect. Whereas Ene-MY is a deeper more serious song talking about how we are our own worst enemies, which is why we used a play on the word and called it Ene-my. We rap about what’s real to us, what we know and what we have been through. Our song What Up is a more in your face song about who Tha Dirtbagz are as a group. We use that song a lot during performances and it seems to be a crowd pleaser.



Wanting to get a taste of Tha Dirtbagz music myself, Rawz played several tracks for me including Hoodrat, What Up and Ene-my as well as some new tracks such as That F**kin Guy and Hardheaded. As we listened to Tha Dirtbagz songs Rawz rapped along with the lyrics. Each song, different in its meaning and style was approached by Tha Dirtbagz with the same passion and intensity. Tha Dirtbagz newest track, That F**kin Guy, talks about those people who criticize and hate on the group as a whole whereas Hardheaded deals with each group members way of being stubborn. According to Rawz, Hardheaded can be defined as, "Everyone is hardheaded in some way, these are some of our ways. Hardheaded people bounce to this HOLLA!".



Each track was enjoyable in not only in the catchy beats but the lyrics as well. Every beat matched with the lyrical content thus making it fun to listen to and easy to follow along with. Although you may not have been through the same struggles as Tha Dirtbagz, each song is still relatable. While each member of Tha Dirtbagz has their own individual style they as stated by Rawz, "We sound similar enough to sound like a unified group but different enough that you can make a distinction of who’s who".



Tha Dirtbagz are a strong up and coming hip-hop group who aren’t afraid to rap about what is true to them and not necessarily what they think people want to hear. While they are willing to make music that is commercialized even the commercialized songs are still met with the same vigor and passion as those songs closest to Tha Dirtbagz.



Overall I was both impressed and somewhat surprised at what Tha Dirtbagz have to offer to the hip-hop genre. Most of the tracks I heard are better than some things I hear on the radio today. Their refreshing originality is something that hip-hop has been lacking and is well needed. They are very few recording artists who make music that is true to themselves and good to listen to at the same time. Hip-Hop is in need of something new and fresh and something real, and I believe that Tha Dirtbagz are the ones to bring it to us. To check out some of the tracks as mentioned earlier go to Tha Dirtbagz’s websites at:

DIRTBAGZ

RaWz

nExT1dEr

KRiTiKAL



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