D.A., otherwise known as Most Official, took home a third-place semi-final spot in Bracket A not too long ago. Hailing from the Twin Cities in Minnesota, son is a mix of urban grime, backpacker lyricism and grown-man swagger. We caught up for a few minutes last week to talk about his win, what’s missing in hip hop and how he balances work, music and family. BEAST!!
Loud.com: So what’s poppin, man, what’s the good word with the music right now?
Man, everything is everything. It’s been a little crazy after winning the contest, trying to get this record done, trying to be the guy winning this 100 grand, you know? I believe that I’m the one to do it. But you know, just been eating and breathing otherwise, this contest has really been my focus of late.
Loud.com: Word up, that’s good to hear. You been jumping off anything live recently?
Nah, man, I actually haven’t done any shows for a long minute. My son came to live with me last year and I haven’t been out too much, just working on that transition as a family, you know? But now that the record is being worked on, and after this win, I been messing with a whole slew of producers just trying to make it happen, keep the momentum up, so you know, I’ll be out live again very soon.
Loud.com: That’s what’s up. So expand some minds here, where are you from and how would you describe the music scene there?
I’m from Michigan originally, but I live in Minneapolis right now, been here for a few years. As far as the scene, when it comes to regional recognition, Atmosphere has a huge fan base; they do their thing. They get love all over, really. But outside of them, local hip hop on an underground level is supported in a way that I can’t say I’ve ever seen before, and I’ve been to a few different underground markets. I see fans here really supporting artists. Like, when I first got up here, I had a CD done, my first CD, and I started distributing the shit up here, getting crazy feedback, just on some positive hip hop shit, real positive. There’s of course the, you know, Top 40 crowd, which stay to their own, but truthfully, Minneapolis is an untapped market for hip hop, it’s wide open. Anyone from Minneapolis that blows is gonna be huge. Other than Atmosphere, I mean they do huge numbers on tour and shit, but aside from them, no one from here has done their thing. That’s what I’m trying to do, put another star on the map. Shit, I been here long enough.
Loud.com: True, Atmosphere is dope. So what’s up, why the name Most Official?
Most people know me by D.A., which are my initials. But a few years ago, you know what I’m saying, I was just constantly hearing everybody screaming about ‘oh this is official, nah that is official,’ on and on it went. So I’m like you know what, fuck it, I’ll make it official. The way I see it, I’m the Most Official out of all ya’ll motherfuckers. So that’s why I took the name.
Loud.com: Whose influence finds their way into your music? Like, who were you really feeling growing up?
My favorites were Rakim, Run DMC, LL and Big Daddy Kane. With Rakim in particular, he was just on some other shit, this is back in like ‘85, and people couldn’t really interpret his shit! He was lyrically light years ahead of people. He was just saying some unbelievable shit. And he was so fresh in the “I Ain’t No Joke” video, with the rings and the ropes and all that. Kane, he was just so smooth, such a lyrical dude, as well. I’ve always been into lyrics. His punchlines were on the money, he started using the metaphors and similes. And of course Cool J, he was a monster. Always been on the ladies shit, and the thing about him personally, he’s literally the only rapper alive that’s been around that long that has stayed consistent and relevant, well, more relevant I guess, but that’s impressive to me regardless. What’s dude got, like 11 albums?
Loud.com: Yeah I think so, 12 if you count the Greatest Hits. I’ve heard he’s got another one that supposed to drop soon. But you’re right, he’s had some serious longevity. And, you know, with that, money and opportunity has come his way. You alluded to consistency a minute ago. Some folks think he switched up his style or got lazy. Let me ask you this – has winning the money changed things for you?
Yeah, man, definitely. Winning that money, I was just able to take care of some bills, do some shit around the house, do things for my family, you know what I’m saying? It was a blessing. But for the music, now, I’ve been able to get beats, studio time, everything like that. Winning it really solidified everything I’ve been working for and working towards, kind of a reminder like, yo, you CAN do this rap shit.
See, I’m just like everyone else on that site; there ain’t nothing special about me. I’m just a motherfucker that’s hungry. So maybe like LL, you could say everybody that knows me sees the change, but it’s become a change for the positive. I want the shit real bad, and to be honest, I wanted that 25k, I thought I should have had first place. I don’t have anything bad to say, but I think I should have had that spot (laughs). I ain’t gonna cry or complain though, but, you know what I’m saying, it just told me that I was ready for this shit, and that the work has been worth something.
Loud.com: How did you go about promoting yourself with the CD originally and then now on Loud.com? How do you think promotion has changed in the last few years?
Well, and this is around 2000, I was basically just out and about at the clubs selling CD’s, hustling my shit, stuff like that, breaking into shows, trying to get on the coattails of people already doing their thing, trying to get my shine any way I could. My main thing though, is that regardless of the promotion, the music has to speak for itself. And if the music is good enough and you got a little buzz on the whole word of mouth – that shit is so underrated, man.
For this Loud.com contest, it was almost easier in a sense, because I could use the Internet. Back in 2000, the web wasn’t being used like that. Now, I was able to touch so many people in so many different places. On my feet, I could only cover so much. But it seemed like again, the word of mouth factor came into play. I entered in Week 4, and won in Week 5. I was out there on the bulletins, trying to get on some alliances, basically hitting up everybody I knew and asking them to vote for me. Trying to just touch everyone. It was huge for me, helping put people onto my shit.
Loud.com: Aiight, bet. So what’s up, are you at school or you got a 9-5 that you’re into?
I work a 9-5 for an insurance company. We deal with annuities. Desk job, you know.
Loud.com: I know that working at a desk can sap a lot of your drive and energy to pursue the things you love outside of work. Do you find inspiration in your music from work, or how do you keep yourself on top of things to push forward with your music?
I try to separate work from music to be honest. I mean, there ain’t much that inspires me at work to do music. My inspiration to do music comes from within and things I see beyond work. You deal with motherfuckers at work that you don’t want to deal with, that piss you off, you always got that shit, you know what I’m saying? But it doesn’t affect my music. I get to listen to my music at work, I got headphones on one ear, insurance in the other.
But you’re right, it’s hard to deal with the family and work and music, juggling it, spending quality time on each. I’ve been inactive for a while as far as recording and doing shows, but when the contest came along, it was my opportunity to get on it again, because I’d gotten so far away from it. It was a rejuvenator in a sense to stumble on it, and it gives me the motivation now to put in the work and sit in front of the computer even longer. I’m inspired by the fact that I can win the shit, you now what I’m saying?
Loud.com: Yup, that’s dope. Aiight so, besides Most Official, what’s missing in hip hop today? And how does that affect what you’re trying to do with your own music?
Ha, that’s a good question, because see, that’s a big part of my music, like what kind of things are going on in it today and things that need to be changed. People are afraid to be who they are now. It’s gotten to a point where niggas think you gotta have these cars and the watches and chains, this shit, that shit, and the money, and yo, I’ll be honest, you know, money is nice. You can’t front, it’s nice to have. But when it comes to music, there’s got to be more to the content than your material items, you have to use your imagination at some point, your creativity. Any fool can do the cars, money and jewelry, but it takes a different kind of person to say a line that makes you say, ‘oh shit, that was fresh as hell!’ You know what I’m saying, there’s a difference. Motherfuckers with their content today is horrible, this whole new generation of, I can’t even call it hip hop, because it’s not, this whole snap-music thing. You got kids in the game these past seven years, and that’s all they know! So when they hear some truly dope shit, those same kids think it’s wack because that particular emcee ain’t talking about bitches and all that. The game is fucked up, and hip hop needs someone to be honest, honest about what’s going on and what good music is. So that’s my whole thing, bringing real hip hop back.
Loud.com: What are you working on now, is there an album we can expect soon?
The album is actually going to be more like an original mixtape, you feel me? It’s going to be different in regards to the music you hear, like, I got some beats from a West Coast cat, some beats from up here in the north. I went down to Florida and fucked with Tha Otherz, the dudes from the contest, they laced me. So I got beats from the South, and really, just influences that are coming from all different regions. It’s gonna be all over the place but it’s gonna be nice when it comes together.
My homie Peter Parker, he’s originally from Boston, he’s the nighttime DJ from Beat 96 here in Minneapolis, he’s hosting the mixtape for me. I’m trying have that ready by the middle of October, like, I want to be wrapping things up by the end of this month. I haven’t really decided on a title, I have a few of them, so it’s still up in the air. It’s definitely going to be an official album, but it’s going to be an album done mixtape-style. All original beats and lyrics, but hosted differently. It’s my way of bringing something new to the table.
Loud.com: Aiight man, that’s fresh. I appreciate the time spent with us, getting inside your head a little bit. Is there anything else you’d like to address that we haven’t gotten to poly about? The floor is yours, homie.
Yeah man, and I’ll start with the contest. I feel like it’s mine. Steve Rifkind is a risk taker; he fucked with WuTang, fucked with Mobb. He understands the grass roots hip hop situation. And I’m the type of emcee that can bring hip hop back. Because a lot of people misinterpret hip hop, like if you say hip hop, you talking on some backpack shit. People need to remember that it’s a culture first and foremost, and that’s where the MUSIC comes from. I think kids kind of twist it up, because they don’t understand what hip hop IS. So what they’re doing has spawned from what they’ve been shown, and it’s not really the real shit we need right now. I think SRC needs a motherfucker that can cater to the underground, to the streets and to the masses. I don’t think there are a lot of rappers that can play all sides; it takes personality and character. It goes beyond the music at some point. You have to have all the elements together when you talk about pushing an artist out to the front, and I think I’m capable for really reppin for Loud.com. That’s jus me, I got my opinions about shit, but for the most part man, it is what is, man, Most Official, 100k winner come December. Get at me.