by Daniel V. Garcia
Daily Lobo
Success for those who transition from a mainstream job to a career in music is precarious. However, there are some individuals whose inability to adjust to a typical job is indicative of their potential to flourish in an atypical one. Exemplary of this idea is Steven Rodrigue, also known as Dreeg, who just released his debut album, Six Months of Solitude.
"The first track on the album is called "Makin' Hits," which is just a song about every job in my life that I've ever failed at," Rodrigue said. "When I made that song, it was with the realization that I wanted to be an MC as a career, and not just as a hobby anymore."
Dreeg has been involved in the local hip-hop scene for several years, and is also a member of the group Dirtheadz.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
"I've been writing since I was 15. I'm 26," he said. "I didn't really start taking it serious until the original Dirtheadz, about four or five years ago."
There have been comparisons made between his vocal technique and that of Eminem's.
"He's the only white rapper who has hit the mainstream audience," he said. "To say I sound like another white guy is to say that the next black rapper sounds like the last black rapper."
He drew contrasts between underground and mainstream hip-hop.
"To me the underground has a more positive message, and a lot more thought going into the lyrics, whereas commercial music nowadays is mindless and degrading," he said. "In underground music, they go for a grittier sound that will push away the people that will want to hear something simple and easy."
Rodrigue elaborated on this point.
"I think the problem with underground music is that they try to be so anti-commercial that their audiences are so small that they can't make a difference that way," he said.
Both approaches were taken into consideration on Six Months of Solitude.
"I want to make music that educates and entertains at the same time," he said. "When I tried to put it together, I wanted to attract both crowds, the underground and the mainstream one too. I found that a large percentage of people listen to music as background noise. If you don't appeal to those people, you lose them."
Dreeg plans to continue making music even if he is not picked up by a label.
"Getting signed is not what's most important to me, but getting the music out is," he said. "I don't want to sound egotistical, but I think my stuff is really hot. I think it deserves recognition regardless if the money comes my way or not."
