Talent: Disc Jockey
Mix Tape: Down South Slangin Series
DJ Crew: Noize Mob, Shadyville
Contact:  www.djchuckt.com
                www.myspace.com/djchuckt

 

Hailing from Charleston, SC DJ Chuck T is one of the South’s top DJs and has only been in the game since early 2001. Born David Thrower, Chuck T entered into the DJing game after a successful but stressful rap career. Losing his passion for rapping, but not his passion for music, Chuck T felt that through his knowledge of the music industry he could help aspiring rappers get the exposure they needed by dropping mix tapes. He also learned from his experience as a rapper that most radio stations won’t play music from underground artists due to radio station “politricks” so he infiltrated a well known Charleston radio station in hopes of changing the cruel and unusual treatment that underground artists were receiving. His first mix tape release, entitled Ghetto Gangstas Vol. 1, was released in March 2001 and quickly flew off the shelves of music stores across the southeastern region of the United States. Ghetto Gangsters Vol. 2 and Vol. 3 followed and also were major hits through out the southeast. DJ Chuck T not only gave his listeners the music they wanted from major artist, but also included many underground artists who were on the rise. Chuck T also used his weekend radio show to break new records from national artists and slide in a few records from underground artists as well. With his name ringing bells all over the southeast and both major and underground record labels calling for Chuck T’s assistance with various projects, many local DJs saw their stocks fall and chose to hate on Chuck T rather than step their game up. In early 2002 Chuck T left the radio station and has been blackballed in Charleston radio ever since. "This radio game in my city is fucked up." quotes Chuck T. "They only want to play the same shit all day long. Niggaz are tired of hearing the same music over and over again. There are 3 urban stations in my city and they are always gonna be the same unless someone takes a chance and plays the music the streets want to hear and break new records also.” But the streets embraced their King and not only did Chuck T’s mix tapes become a hotter commodity, but he copped some turntables and began spinnin’ at some of the biggest events in the southeast. In the last year DJ Chuck T has had many lucrative job offers for executive positions at record labels, radio stations, and music store chains but has chosen to stay independent and unaffiliated with one particular company or clique so he can further help underground artists and keep new music circulating in the streets. In 2003 DJ Chuck T dropped a total of 55 mix tapes and is responsible for helping 6 underground artists and their record labels sign major distribution deals. Right now Chuck T is hard at work on his record label and management firm, Port City Productions, his southeastern music and video distribution company. By the end of 2004 DJ Chuck T and Port City Productions will definitely be a Super Power in the music industry.

 

 

 

 

Are you originally from Charleston?

I’m originally from Charleston man.  Born in Florida, raised in South Carolina now I reside in North Carolina. 

So now you live in North Carolina?

Charlotte, North Carolina man.  I really travel back and forth. I've lived in both of the Carolinas.  But Charlotte, North Carolina as of right now.

What's the music scene like in North Carolina?

I’m gonna be honest with you man, the Carolinas is pretty much kinda crazy cause its where North Carolina and South Carolina  and the dirty south meets.  So it’s a real funny market for music cause you can be in one town and it be on some real east coast shit, some real lyrical shit like Little Brother and you can go to the next town which is like 30 to 40 miles away and you got the Petey Pablo, crunk, booty shakin type shit.  Its a real hard market and I feel that’s why we haven’t broken yet because nobody really knows how to market us. 

How did you get into DJing?

Man I’m gonna be honest with you, I started off as a rapper.  I started rapping when I was probably like 17 or 18.  I put out an independent album with some neighborhood friends and my brother.  It did pretty well.  We did like 4500 units locally.  It moved real well but you know we ran into a lot of issues as far as the radio.  Soundscan wasn’t really a way of getting signed at that point in time but at that time the labels were looking for some BDS spins but the radio was on some real homo ass shit.  We had a few deals on the table, but we didn’t accomplish our goals because we didn’t have the BDS spins to back up our soundscan.  In the mean time everybody was still in the streets.  Most of the group got locked up.  My brother got locked up and I was pretty much left of my own.  Rapping is a slow hustle and I really sat back and analyzed the game and figured out what I really wanted to do.  My talents could be used doing something better.  I needed to be in a position where I could be helping other people.  I pretty much lost the passion to rap after going through all of that shit so I said you know what, “the rap game needs a DJ”. Hip hop needs a DJ right now.  DJs were the niggas that really ain’t putting that work in the streets and trying to help these indies and newly signed artist.  So there you have it, I woke up one morning and really really decided what I wanted to do, and started putting out mix tapes.  Got a job at the local radio station as a personality then I got some turntables and started mixing and it complete evolved to what I have now.

So is that why you call yourself the “Lord and Savior Of Southern Mixtapes”?

Naw not really, that came later on.  I call myself  “The Lord and Savior Of Southern Mixtapes”, because if you compare what I’m doing around here in the mix tape game, you can compare it to the life of Jesus Christ.  He walked with the common man and so do I.  At a point in time, you know the some were not trying to look out for the best interest of the people.  They were looking out for the best interest of themselves and that’s what a lot of these mixtape DJs and DJs in general are doing.  They’re really not focused on preserving hip hop and keeping the flow of new artist and keeping the flow of new music and talented and good music come through. They’re really mainly focused on their own game so Chuck T gotta walk with the common man.  I gotta walk with the lonely man and go to the people that really need my help and that’s what I’m sacrificing myself for, because I can be like everybody else and focus on myself and get all the big names and money and shit on the little man.  That’s what I’m not here to do.  I really feel like I’m here to help the young people, and the new artist. 

What the best way that you think indie artist can promote themselves to get more exposure?

They need to start off not thinking to big.  A lot of the artist that I deal with, they see MTV, BET and they want to start off going straight to the poles.  You can’t do that.  You have to focus on perfecting your craft.  That’s the best way to do it. Sit back, analyze the game, perfect your craft and decide on a style. A unique style, an original style and perfect your craft.  Work on your music first and from there, you get your music down, then slowly start locking on your fan base.  Start by locking down your street, locking down your block, locking down your neighbor, locking down your city and slowly radiate outwards.  Most people want to hop in their rides and they drive everywhere and they not concentrating on flooding one area first.  So its once you flood one area, then you move onto the next area.  Everybody thinks to big now of days.  

How do indie artist go about getting radio play?

Radio is not the only way to get it.  Look at 50 Cent, he is a true method on how the streets can work for you.  Also if you look at our track record as far as the south in general, we never depended on radio, we never depended on videos, as far as the Ghetto Boyz,  Scarface, Master P and Cash Money.  They all depended on that street grind, that street hustle and that’s what we gotta get back to.  Everybody is depending to much on the radio and people doing these little dvds right now and that doesn’t need to be our focus.  We are starting to lose the focus on why we’re on top right now cause we found our fan base and got  the streets behind us and that’s why we’re on top right now.  Nobody gave us anything in the south and we don’t depend on nothing and I feel that the new school is really fucking the game up cause they now locking down their street.  You gotta find your fan base. 

What do you say to people that say Chuck T is to arrogant and to confident?

Well I be like, obvious you really don’t know me.  At the end of the day, everybody that knows me knows that of course I’m a confident dude cause I know what I’m worth.  I know what I had to do in order to get to where I’m at.  I know I had to struggle, I had to strive, I had to sell cds outta the back of my car; selling mix tapes outta the back of my car.  I use to sit in the house and cut out cd covers, print them out on my little printer and box them up.  I know the grind.  I been through the grind.  At the end of the day, everything that I’ve accomplished, naturally I’m not gonna let nobody take that away from me.  I knew what I went through.  And anybody that didn’t go through what I went through, of course I’m gonna give them the cold shoulder.  You gotta work before you come holla at me.  You gotta put that grind in the streets.  A lot of people say I’m cocky but that the end of the day, I know my worth and I’m very confident in my work. 

Do you belong to a DJ Crew and what made you choose to join that crew?

As a matter of fact I belong to the Noize Mob DJs as of right now.  The only reason I got with Noize Mob is because they saw me grinding. They saw what I was doing and they really reached out to me and they let me know what they can do for me if I did the same for them.  Our crew is mainly based off of connections, networking and helping each other.  We’re not even a DJ crew, we’re a DJ family.  At the end of the day, nobody is at the top of the food chain and getting a big fat check.  Nobody demands for you to play a certain record.  There is no demands for anybody in my crew. Plus I have an executive position in my crew.  I’m one of the generals, I call the shots. 

What happen to Shadyville? Aren’t you part of Shadyville?

Hear it for yourself!!! (Click)

Didn’t you say that girls would have sex with you cause they thought you knew 50 Cent?

Of course, I was really never proud of what was going on in the crew, but I was proud to be part of an elite organization or an organization that I thought was elite.  I never got anything out of Shadyville.  They never gave me anything.  Everything I did, I had to do on my own.  I had to basically manipulate the game in order to work for me because they weren’t working for me.  I had to twist the situation around.  While they were sittin there getting big checks cut off a lot of members of the crew and nobody was benefiting, I was the one making the crew benefit from me.  I got into a lot of free parties off of the name, I got a lot of good “brain” off of the name, and I was able to use the name itself to open a lot of doors for myself.  I’m a real resourceful person. There is a lot of people in the crew that aren’t resourceful and were depending on Shadyville to take them to the next level.  They were let down by the crew.  Me personally, I’m still part of the crew.  At the end of the day, nobody knows what to do.  Whookid still hasn’t address the situation.  Neither has the heads of the crew.  We are a bunch of road DJs running around. 

Who are some of the indie artist that you think will blow this year?

I would put my money on an artist name Fatboy.  It’s a cat in Columbia, South Carolina name Collard Greens and has a partner name Lil Ru.  They really have the best chance of going on a commercial level because of their style.  They’re some real commercial type niggas.  They make good party music, real good feel good music. 

Are you signed to a major label or do you have your own label?

Nah, neither one.  I work with a lot of labels but I haven’t really signed any paper work with anybody cause I don’t want to limit myself.  Once you sign with a major label, your pretty much limited.  You gotta go through a lot of red tape to deal with people.  I have a record label but I really don’t operate it.  I don’t put focus into it for the simple fact that I put so much attention in my own self and my own career. I feel it would be cheating the artist.  You gotta lot of CEOs that’s trying to be in front of the camera and their working on their own careers.  You got people under you that need more help then you do. 

Anything else you want to say?

Be on the look out for Chuck T.  I’m going on my award tour. Nominate for some SEA awards, nominated for some Justo awards, nominate for some Ozone awards.