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00:00What up, five, what up, bounce, Detroit, still back for Poppin' R&B, it's your boy Showtime,
00:04the czar, special guest in studio with me today, Inkster is in the building, T. Dot Pringle,
00:09what up though? What's going on with y'all boys? Welcome to the show, man. First of all,
00:14how you doing? Everything good, man, I'm blessed, you know what I'm saying? That's what's up,
00:18man, you just came from Atlanta, so obviously you out here doing your grind, you hustling,
00:22man, which is always good. People who don't know your story, I want to start from the beginning
00:27real quick, man. Talk to me about how you got into rap and what made you want to start rapping,
00:32all that good stuff, man, and let people know the T. Dot Pringle story.
00:37Well, yeah, well, you know, I'm from Inkster, you feel me? So it's a lot of cats that's from my hood
00:41that everybody might not know about, but they like significant people, you know what I'm saying?
00:46One of them was C. Dot Flame. When I was little, it used to be a studio on Plum,
00:51you know what I mean? Where a lot of people from the hood used to record it,
00:54and I used to live in Compton back when I was in my younger days, you know what I'm saying?
00:59At this time, I was probably like 11 to 12 years old, and C. Flame had took me to the studio
01:05to record, you know what I'm saying? And so after that, it really was just up.
01:10I kept, you know what I'm saying? I had the interest in it, you know what I mean?
01:16But I was always in trouble, though, you feel me?
01:18So the shit I was doing that kept me in trouble overweighed the music shit
01:24all the way up until my adulthood, you know what I'm saying?
01:26I'd have been in and out of probably 11 years in prison.
01:28I'd been locked up two different states.
01:30Every time I had some motion with the rap, it just got shut down instantly
01:34because of some type of criminal cases going on or whatever.
01:38But yeah, my journey, I had met a lot of people, significant people from Helliva to,
01:45you know what I'm saying, Hands Up, Sid, you know, a lot of local rappers
01:48who I knew just from being in the mix in the streets, not even the music,
01:51you know what I'm saying?
01:52So I always had like an avenue to do it.
01:55I just couldn't stay out of trouble, you know what I'm saying?
01:58But now that I'm home, I'm out of trouble, I'm off parole,
02:02I'm taking rap serious, and you can tell, though, you know what I'm saying?
02:05Man, I ain't really never had this much motion, especially in other states too,
02:09you know what I'm saying?
02:10So, you know, I guess not that I done got that out of my system, you feel me?
02:15Right.
02:16It's all music, man.
02:17What was the turning point for you, bro?
02:18Because you said you had been locked up a couple of times
02:20and you was locked up for 11 years.
02:22What did that do for you mentally, man?
02:24Was it like, all right, this the last time I got to do right?
02:27Really, you know, I just had to start making better decisions,
02:29you know what I'm saying?
02:30Ain't nobody perfect, you know what I'm saying?
02:32Everybody going to do what they feel they need to do
02:34to feed theyself and feed the people that's dependent on them,
02:37you know what I'm saying?
02:39But I just had to make smarter decisions.
02:42I just had to think more before I acted and moved,
02:44you know what I'm saying?
02:45I ain't no saint, you feel me?
02:47And I ain't about to act like jail scaring me from getting some money,
02:50you know what I'm saying?
02:52I'm definitely not as impulsive as I used to be,
02:54you know what I'm saying?
02:55Especially with my kids being involved, you know what I mean?
02:57I just made better decisions.
02:59And if it don't, if I don't feel like my reward outweigh my risk,
03:03then I'm not even about to do it, you know what I mean?
03:05Because I'm the type of person, no matter what happened,
03:07I'm going to take my consequences on the chin, you know what I mean?
03:11So I just think before I act, you know what I'm saying?
03:14Is it worth it?
03:15Is it not worth it?
03:16You know what I'm saying?
03:17Ain't nothing more important than me being there for my kids,
03:19you know what I mean?
03:20That's why I'm taking this music.
03:23It's more serious now.
03:25It's not just a hobby no more, you know what I'm saying?
03:26As long as I can feed the people depending on me with this music,
03:30I'm going to be doing music.
03:31And that's what it's looking like right now, you know what I'm saying?
03:34Music opens a couple doors, you feel me?
03:36They didn't used to open before.
03:37What was the first time that you was like,
03:39okay, this is really, I need to actually start taking this?
03:42Because you said the music opened the doors.
03:44So what was the first door that opened?
03:45You was like, all right, man, no more foolishness, man.
03:47I got to stay with this, man.
03:49I think when somebody paid me $2,500 for a feature in a video.
03:56What?
03:56You know what I'm saying?
03:57Yeah.
03:59So that's when I was like, okay, damn.
04:01I wasn't even looking at myself the way other people was looking at me.
04:04You know what I mean?
04:05Me, I'm a street cat from the hood.
04:07Right.
04:07You know what I mean?
04:08That just happened to rap, you feel me?
04:11But when I started to realize how much influence I had.
04:15That was your first feature they paid you $2,500?
04:17No, that was my first feature.
04:18Oh, okay.
04:18I was about to say, yo, first one.
04:19When I got that much for a feature, that's when I was like, I had to sit back and you
04:25feel me?
04:26I had to sit back and evaluate sometimes like, damn, if I can do this more often, whatever
04:31I did to make him feel like he wanted to give me $2,500 for me to be on a song and a video
04:38show him that he felt like it was going to do something for him.
04:40You know what I mean?
04:41I'm like, okay, I got to stay tapped into that market.
04:43I got to make sure, you know what I'm saying, that this is something that's prevalent, that
04:49that's not just happening every night, but happening all the time because that's how a lot of people
04:52is out here eating or stuff like that.
04:54You feel me?
04:54When I think I could, that's when I was like, okay, I got to take this most serious.
04:58You know what I'm saying?
04:59Got you.
05:00You performed at the Inkster Fest a couple of years ago, man.
05:03Talk about that experience performing in front of family, friends, peers, people that watched
05:07you on your grind to see you perform on that stage, man.
05:10Did that, how did that feel?
05:12Yeah, you know, that was one of the best feelers in the world, you know what I'm saying?
05:15Because they say you get the most hate in your home time.
05:18You know what I'm saying?
05:19I've heard that before.
05:19A lot of people say the philosophy is that you got to go outside your home time.
05:24And then come back.
05:25And then come back.
05:25I've heard that before.
05:27Because they used to seeing you and growing up with you.
05:30And a lot of people that grew up with you, if they start to see people putting you on a
05:34different pedestal or looking at you in a different light, and they feel like they the same people
05:38that then played curveball with you, then street fart with you, then sold dope with you.
05:44And now they say we was right here, but now people putting you up here, it kind of make
05:49them feel like to acknowledge you up there is to lower their own value or image, you know
05:55what I'm saying?
05:56So a lot of people don't like to do that because they feel like you're all the same people.
06:00So they don't like to give you your props when you earning them, you know what I'm
06:02saying?
06:02So, but when I did the InstaFest and when I seen the response from the crowd, you know
06:09what I'm saying, that was, it made me feel like, you know what I mean, okay, I might
06:15be a little different than the average person because, you know what I mean, I don't really
06:19get that type of hate from my hood.
06:21I mean, not the majority, you know what I'm saying?
06:23InstaSmall, you know, things happen, it's going to be, you know what I'm saying, heads
06:27bumping or whatever the case may be.
06:29But for the most part, my hood behind me, for sure.
06:33That's for sure, man.
06:34I'm glad to hear it.
06:34And they definitely are, man.
06:35I see a lot of support coming from you.
06:37A lot of people, you know, reaching out to you all the time and they just saying like,
06:40yo, this guy's it.
06:42You know what I'm saying?
06:42So, talk about your relationship with Helliva and Ant Beats, man.
06:48How did that come about, man?
06:49I see how they helping you with the showcase that you got coming up, right?
06:55Yeah, hell yeah.
06:56So, and Helliva did, well, they both produced for you a lot, man.
07:01Ant Beats did your most recent project, Surgical.
07:04You helped with that, correct?
07:05So, talk about how that relationship, man.
07:06How did both of those, what was it like linking up with both of them?
07:09Nah, I believe the first time I met Helliva, you know, Face from Inkster, from the hood.
07:16Okay, yeah.
07:17Face had took me to Helliva because he wanted me to get a beat from Helliva.
07:20You know what I'm saying?
07:21And when I went to Helliva's studio, when he had a downtown, this one, he was still downtown.
07:27When I ended up meeting him and kicking it with him, it was like Helliva had seen something in me,
07:33you feel me, that made him lock in with me to this day.
07:36And this was in 2000 and, I believe, 17 or 15.
07:41This was, might have been 13.
07:44I don't know, you know, with the time, I kind of lost because of all the, you know, in and out of the jail I did.
07:52But it was, it was like either 2000 and, I want to say, it might have been 2015.
08:00Ever since then, we've been like then since when I first met him because, you know what I mean, I get, you know,
08:04people recognize, you know what I mean, real, especially a cat like Helliva because he's genuine.
08:09He can see the fakeness or the genuineness in you, you know what I'm saying?
08:12So, Face ended up introducing me to Helliva, I believe.
08:15I don't think I met him before then.
08:16So, I think that's, that's when I met Helliva and we just liked him since then, you know what I mean?
08:21He one of the ones that was just like, man, you got to stay out of trouble, you know what I mean?
08:24Like, our first song was hard to respect the shooter, you know what I'm saying?
08:27But, I ended up getting locked up, you know what I'm saying?
08:30I came back out, we got back at it, I got locked up again, you know what I'm saying?
08:35We go, this the, shit, I've been home, I think, five years now.
08:41I got off parole and everything, so we just been rocking, you know what I'm saying?
08:44He happy, proud, shit, I'm happy.
08:47And Ant Beats just came through the mix just for me being around people like Helliva, you know what I'm saying?
08:51And one of my mans was recording with Ant Beats and I was up there at the studio with my mans
08:56and he already knew who I was and shit and stuff.
08:58But, uh, and he like, uh, shit, let's do something, I'm ready if you ready, you know what I'm saying?
09:04Right.
09:05And we came with that, uh, we came with that surgical.
09:08Why the title surgical, man? Where'd that come from?
09:10Uh, you know, uh, on train today when Denzel had got it to the, uh, the shootout at the end with Jake.
09:16Yeah, yeah, yeah.
09:16He was coming from the back, he was like, I'm surgical with this, Jake, you know what I'm saying?
09:21That's where it came from, you know what I'm saying?
09:23Okay, nice.
09:24Uh, I want to ask you because you had mentioned, you know, you being a street rapper.
09:27Sure. Um, the rules of the rap game change a little bit now, man.
09:32People, um, I guess snitching is, is acceptable now.
09:38Does that make you move different as a guy who, you know, when you started rapping and how you moved in the streets, it's different now.
09:44Does that make you go, okay, you know what, what I was doing, what I was saying, I can't because of how it is now.
09:49Yeah, see, the rap game only changed because the streets changed, you know what I'm saying?
09:53Like, it was one point in time where you had to be like, to be, to be talking, the way you're talking, you had to be like a certain type of individual or it wasn't going to be respected, you know what I'm saying?
10:02And then it was just, it was like a different time, a different era, a different standard at one point in time.
10:08And now it's different than that reflecting in the rap music, you know what I'm saying?
10:11Like, you couldn't really, you couldn't do no bold stuff like tell on a guy, testify on a guy, write statements on a guy, send a guy to prison.
10:20And then come back around the neighborhood like nothing happened, you know what I'm saying?
10:24I come from a time where even as a kid, you know, I was born in the process, I was born in the guards, you know what I'm saying?
10:29I moved across the Ave when I got older, after I had stayed in Compton for a couple of years, you know what I'm saying?
10:34I moved across the Ave when I was 13, so I jumped off the porch across the Ave, technically, but I'd have stayed all over Inkster, you know what I mean?
10:41And I'd have been around a little bit of everybody, notorious cats from the hood, you know what I'm saying?
10:45There was one point in time where mama's, baby mama's cousin's sister's brother's was in jeopardy for you, you know what I'm saying?
10:54Telling on somebody, you know what I mean?
10:56I know a cat who got locked up for a murder and somebody was testifying on him and his brother allegedly went and killed him and then got locked up and they both doing life, you know what I'm saying?
11:09Wow.
11:09That's like where I come from, you know what I'm saying?
11:11So, you know what I mean, but now it's like you can get away with stuff like that.
11:17So, like the rap game is kind of watered down because like words used to mean something if you was a street cat rapping, like your words used to mean something, you know what I'm saying?
11:28Now you can make stuff up and still, you know what I mean, have a run because the weight of the words don't mean as much no more, you know what I'm saying?
11:35So, me, I just stay in my lane, I ain't gonna let that change what I got going on, you know what I mean?
11:41My words mean something to everybody that know me, you feel me?
11:44So, that's how I'm rocking.
11:46I ain't about to let nothing or nobody water that down, you know what I'm saying?
11:49My man, long-lived, my guy, I know Lopez, but he got a line where he say,
11:54a rap with all the money in the world couldn't get a verse from me, you know what I mean?
11:58That's just what it's gonna have to be, man.
11:59I ain't, you know, that's where my value as an artist and a person come from, so I just gotta stick with that.
12:05Fact.
12:07So, before we get into the showcase, I just want to ask you one more thing about the,
12:10who were some of your musical influences, bro, growing up?
12:12Because you talked about See That Flame.
12:15Yeah.
12:16Was there anybody else that you was like, this is, I can do this because I saw him do it?
12:21The first person who I ever got influenced by as a rapper was DMX.
12:28Ah, DMX was a dog.
12:29The very first, you know what I mean, in the era where Biggie, Pot, Jay-Z, I was a DMX fan.
12:35Yeah, me too.
12:36I was like 10 years old and I knew the whole, every album front to back, you know what I'm saying?
12:40Like, I could relate to DMX, you feel me?
12:42Like, it was something about him that I could relate to.
12:45Which album?
12:45Was it Blood In My Blown or was it Darker Tell Us Hot?
12:49All of them.
12:49All of them?
12:50Yeah.
12:50It was all of them, you feel me?
12:52You been eating long enough, now I'll stop being greedy.
12:54Just keep it real, potty.
12:55Give to the needy.
12:57Ribs is touching, you feel me?
12:58Don't make me wait.
12:59Bess around and I'm gonna bite you.
13:00Snack the plate.
13:01That's a pretty good DMX impression, gang.
13:02I felt that at 10, you know what I'm saying?
13:05Yeah.
13:05So that was, I could connect with DMX a little more than everybody else, so DMX, it was Boozy
13:14and Webby, and Quietest Kept, one of my favorite albums when I was younger though was Joe Budden's
13:20first album, you know what I'm saying?
13:21And he get a lot of flack because he, you know what I'm saying?
13:24You need to pump it up.
13:25But the, you know, things he be going through social media wise, but he can rap.
13:31He can rap.
13:32And he had a hard album and I be listening to what people be saying because I be around so
13:38much, I grew up around so much street stuff that when I hear somebody rapping street stuff,
13:44I really, even as a kid, I'd be analyzing and weighing it up, you know what I'm saying?
13:48And I felt like he was telling the truth, you know what I mean?
13:52So if you ever listen to that Joe Budden's first album, you know what I'm saying?
13:55Then you know, but that was one of my favorite albums when I was a kid.
13:59I think that came out when I was like probably 13, 14.
14:03All right, so you got a showcase coming up, man, November 23rd.
14:07Now, originally it was for Inkster Artists, but now I think you've opened it up to pretty
14:11much everybody, right?
14:12I was going to open it up to everybody because I ain't think all the Inkster Artists were
14:16serious, you know what I'm saying?
14:18But now they came around.
14:19Now they came around.
14:19Once they seen I was about to open it up to everybody, the slides got filled the same
14:24day.
14:24All right, so I'm assuming you-
14:25So shout out to The Hood for standing on business, you know what I mean?
14:28I seen that, I'm assuming that you saw the same post that I saw where it was like,
14:32who's the best rapper in Inkster?
14:33And it made you go, okay, let's do something with this.
14:36Why was that important to you, bro?
14:37Yeah, because it was like, since everybody having a discussion, it's like, okay, where we
14:41go from here?
14:42We just talking about who the best rappers out here just to have a Facebook conversation?
14:46Right.
14:46But can we use this to create some motion for everybody that's getting talked about
14:50in this conversation?
14:52You know what I'm saying?
14:53So when I sync that, when that post start going viral on Facebook, I'm like, okay, this
14:56the perfect time to create some motion for him.
14:59Anderson's just talking about it, you know what I'm saying?
15:01Let's put it out there then.
15:02Let's piggyback off this and see if they can get somewhere about it instead of just talking
15:06about it on Facebook.
15:07You know what I mean?
15:07So it's November 23rd.
15:09Where is it at, man?
15:10It's November 23rd at Bar 101 in Romulus, right off Equestrian, Merriman.
15:15I think it's 31222, Equestrian Road.
15:18Okay.
15:19From 8 p.m. to 12.
15:22We got Helliva as one of the hosts.
15:24I mean, it's one of the judges.
15:25We got Ant-Beast judging.
15:27We got Brandon Smith.
15:28He's the owner of the Star Factory.
15:29He judging.
15:30We got E, Get Your Life Entertainment.
15:33OG, Inkster Native, is one of the judges.
15:35And then we got Murder Midmedia as one of the judges.
15:38And then we got Molly Brazy up in that thing hosting.
15:41So, you know what I'm saying?
15:42It's going to be a night.
15:43It's going to be a lit event for sure.
15:45That's what's up, man.
15:46Last thing, and I'm going to let you get up out of here, man.
15:48What?
15:49First off, well, actually two more things.
15:52What's next for, what do you think is next for Inkster artists, especially yourself?
15:57Where do you think we go from here?
15:58Because the emotion is there, but it's just like we need another push.
16:01What is the next thing that we need to do to put, you know, what's on the next, man?
16:06I think the next thing for Inkster is one or two artists getting all the way in the door
16:11and then just bringing everybody else with them like the Flint wave.
16:14You know what I'm saying?
16:14I think it's like a Flint mirror coming for the Inkster scene.
16:21You know what I'm saying?
16:21Whether it's me, whether it's L.O. and Rudy.
16:24You know what I'm saying?
16:25You know, real rich Izzo.
16:26He really the only one from Inkster with a deal right now, you know what I mean?
16:31But, you know, it's politics involved with that, so, you know what I mean?
16:34You just never know, but it's going to be a major artist.
16:40I mean, it's going to be an artist getting on and then opening the door
16:44for all the other Inkster artists to come through there too, you know what I'm saying?
16:48Because once one of us get in the international spotlight like Rio did,
16:52you know what I'm saying, they're going to want to know what else going on out there.
16:54You feel me?
16:55They didn't come in the YNJs, they didn't come in the Louis Rays,
16:58even though Louis Rays been rapping for a minute in the Flint, you know what I'm saying?
17:00But once Rio got on like that, it's like he got that international spotlight,
17:04you know what I'm saying?
17:05The RMC Mike's, you know what I mean?
17:07The YSR Grams, the 3200 Trey, it's going to be, I don't know whether it's going to be,
17:13who's going to be the Rio the Young O.G. from Inkster?
17:15But once it happens, you know what I mean, Inkster's going to have a wave,
17:18you know what I'm saying?
17:18We just small and we just got to learn how to, you know what I'm saying,
17:21work with each other and put a couple of things, you know what I mean, to the side.
17:25But if we can do that, you know, it's a bad coming for sure.
17:29Nice.
17:29All right, last thing, man, I'm going to let you get up out of here.
17:31Your Project Surgical is out right now.
17:34What else you got coming for, you know, for people to be on the lookout for?
17:37I know you got some music or some shows and more things on the way,
17:40so let people know what that shit you're going to look out for.
17:43Absolutely.
17:43So be on the lookout for all the videos dropping from Surgical,
17:46but the next album I'm about to drop is a joint album with me
17:50and Helluva and Ant-Beast next now, you know what I'm saying?
17:52Like this, every song on Surgical, Ant-Beast did, you know what I'm saying?
17:56It's only one song that's another, with Ant-Beast and Beat Gang,
17:59you know what I'm saying?
18:00But it's only one song where it's other producers,
18:02but Ant-Beast they're on there.
18:03And it's Helluva, Ant-Beast, and M-I-A-J-C all on the same track,
18:07you know what I'm saying?
18:08That's Bill Pickett off Surgical.
18:10But I'm about to do another joint album with Ant-Beast and Helluva,
18:13and then I got a show December 13th in Atlanta,
18:16at Atmosphere in Riverdale.
18:18That's a lot of hood.
18:21That's what they be saying, T.I. used to be at too.
18:23But that's December 13th.
18:24Y-T-B-Fax, Rio DeYoungo-G, Jack Funny, Rush Boy, Trey, me.
18:30They got a couple of the baddies hosting, I think, what's her name?
18:35I think Big Lex from Baddies and Dolly.
18:39So it's going to be time for show.
18:42You know, hood to hood, might catch a couple flights down there.
18:45That's what I'm saying.
18:46T.Dot Pringle, man, I appreciate you for coming, man,
18:48chopping it up with me, man.
18:50You're welcome back anytime, brother.
18:52And shout-out to your Instagram and everything,
18:54so people make sure they can follow you and everything.
18:56Yeah, follow me on Instagram at 423T.
18:58That's 423TDOT, YouTube, T.DOT, T.DOT, Pringle.
19:04Yeah, everything run together.
19:05Type one in, the rest should pop up, though.
19:07It's 105 with a bounce, showtime to start, T.DOT, Pringle.
19:10Peace.
19:10Y'all.
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