Published: Monday - June 2, 2008
Words by Tonya Raymond
Dirtball (Photo: Suburban Noize Records)
Being an underground artist doesn't bother Dirtball, who has recently released his fourth album, Crook County on Suburban Noize Records.
"I'm in a comfortable spot where I am, so it's really nice to see how thriving [the] underground is. If something pushes me out, then that's great, but I'm pretty comfortable -- not like I don't want to excel and blow up, but I'm trying to stay positive where I am right now," the emerging rapper explains. "I'm in a really good position."
The Oregon native is not the typical rapper. For one thing, the name Dirtball is not something people come across too often. "It actually originated when I was about thirteen," Dirtball says. "I had a buddy that I used to drum with. I was the Dirty D and he was Sneaky D, and it kind of evolved into Dirtball. I had it more as a nickname, but I have always kept it as my MC name."
Not only does Dirtball like to be unique with his name, but he also likes to be unique with his style. He describes his music more as a "technical journey through lyrics." But while he is still a drummer at heart, he is able to use that skill when laying down bars at an unbelievable rate. "I utilize more up-tempo beats," he states. "I am a drummer a lot more of the patterning's that I do with my lyrics are based on a fast rapper status."
From the age of fifteen, Dirtball knew rap and music would be a part of his life, but it wasn't easy getting there. In "Tried Trued and Tested," a song featuring Boondoh on Crook County, Dirtball takes us through his struggles. "It's just being on the road, how life long this path has been. I've definitely been through the wringer and I know he [Boondoh] has too. A lot of underground artists have been through a lot to get ... it's not an overnight deal at all."
One of his many struggles besides being in the industry itself was the consistent effort to stay fresh in the music industry and to market himself. "Just getting people to know who you are [was a struggle], that's why I'm blessed to be with Suburban Noize Records and to be in this market because having no one behind you is a really bad thing," says Dirtball.
Though the Oregon rapper has hit roadblocks from time to time, he feels he has come along way and has grown because of them. In 2000, Dirtball released his first record, The Dirty D Project, and followed it up with Pop A D-Ball in 2003. "If you listen to all four records, it's pretty cool for upcoming MCs. It transfers from amateur to Pop A D-Ball, which was my first national release up to Raptillion, which came out in 2006. That's when I stepped my game up as a lyrist I think."
On this album, Dirtball offers a more rock/rap vibe compared to his other records. One track that stands out in his mind though he loves them all is "Moonshine Rhyme." "This guy from my group, Potluck, made a really sick beat. It's a great drinking song."
But when asked if his unique style, will be something the music industry would be receptive to, he doesn't let that bother him. "Sometimes I think 'hell yes.' I really try not to conform a lot to what is out there, though you see when you don't conform, the market might be a little harder to trudge through. But if I think the other way then that means I'm kind of selling myself out, not really doing what I set out to do, which is to have a different sound," Dirtball explains. " It's hard sometime to have a different style. I've shocked most people when they see me live it's kind of a shocking thing so I have that shock value that keeps me going."
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