Interview: A Conversation with A.Dd+

If you’ve been hanging around these parts for a few weeks, you may have read a few words on Dallas natives A.Dd+. If not, now is as good a time as any to get acquainted with the dynamic duo. I had a little e-sit down with A.Dd+ this past week (Google: changing the way you browse the internet and interview rappers). Check out the results.

(For the full 360 experience crank up the volume & bump their debut project: When Pigs Fly)

For those just getting acquainted, who is A.Dd+?

Paris: A.Dd+ is Paris Pershun (the short one) and Slim Gravy (the tall one).

Explain the name A.Dd+: what’s the origin, what does it mean, and how do you pronounce it?

Paris: Our group name is based on the first few letter(s) of our birth names. My first name is Arrias and his is Dionte, or Dd, which is what people called him growing up. We put that together and called ourselves A.Dd+, also playing off of the disorder. The plus sign is silent, yet symbolic. It means being beyond what everybody else is on, always adding to the craft, never subtracting. It can also stand for “A Dynamic Duo,” “Always Doin’ Dirt,” “Audio Day Dream,” etc.

Have you had some difficulties early on with a name new fans might not necessarily pronounce correctly?

Slim: Always. It’s pronounced like aye-dee-dee, with the plus sign silent. People call us Add Plus or A.Dd Plus, mainly because they see our name on social networks that don’t allow punctuation or characters in names. It causes minor confusion, but it’s all good. The folks who listen to our music know what up ‘cause they catch us saying it, so that’s a good way to really know if folks are true fans *laughs*.

When did you guys get together as a group?

Paris: We’ve known each other since we were 13 & 14 yrs old. We started writing at about 17 years old and came up with a group name when we were 19 and 20. That’s when we started taking the writing and recording seriously.

Growing up in Dallas, what’d you listen to?

Paris: I listened to everything, ‘cause my mama listened to everything from Blues to R&B and Jazz. I’m a big fan of Frankie Beverly and Al Green, and I have been known to wanna give it to Anita Baker *laughs*. In terms of Hip-hip, I was on Bone Thugs, Jay-Z, and of course Outkast.
Slim: I mostly listened to rap. I didn’t grow up around a lot of music, so anything that was hot at the time was what I was on. A group by the name of DSR was the hometown crew, so I listened to them from time to time.

Who are some of your biggest influences outside of the city?

Paris: Outside of the city, my biggest influences growing up were Jay-Z and Outkast. Newer influences are Big Krit and the whole TDE crew, especially Ab-Soul and Kendrick.

Slim: My biggest influences are Lupe Fiasco, Nas, Jay-Z, Outkast and Cee-Lo.

When listening to older artists, what do you look for as inspiration? What cues have you taken from some of your favorites? What do you see in your contemporaries that inspires you?

Paris: I’m more inspired by the instrumentation – the way the records were produced. It seems like so much more time and effort was put into the music back then, like, they DID NOT want to fail. They DID NOT want the listener to be like, “What the hell is this?” in a bad way. I keep that in mind when we create music. Lots to learn on that end, but the drive and desire for quality is always there.

Slim: Hell yeah, what he said. But I also listen to vocal arrangements and layering, take note and try to apply it to what we do. Of course, we aren’t singers, but I find ways to apply that shit when we construct hooks.

What’s the feeling like between different cities in Texas? Is their some rivalry musically or is there a sense of camaraderie?

Paris: In a sense, there is some minor animosity between the Houston and Dallas scenes, but not as much as people may let on. We’re only four hours apart, so the rap shit can be territorial and competitive. Houston is the only city folks think of when it comes to Texas rap, but Dallas has a great range of creative and boast-worthy musicians in all genres, not just rap. We’ve been to Houston and gotten love. We’ve been to Austin and San Antonio and gotten love too, so its all good.

Does Dallas have a developing network of young artists and promoters? Is there a sense of camaraderie?

Paris: Yeah, things are really bubbling now. There is definitely a sense of camaraderie amongst those of us who are like-minded in our approach to music and even business and shit. Our generation of hip-hop artists, promoters and fans in Dallas have never seen anything like what’s going on right now, so it’s a cool thing to see unfold. Of course, the more things bubble, the more competitive things get. So there is a sense of community and camaraderie, but there is also a spirit of competition. Our team is really focused on what we do. Sometimes that gets misinterpreted for us not supporting or trying to keep a low profile on the scene, but shiiiit we’ve done over 150 shows here in 2 years! Everyone we roll with, from our manager, to our producer, and DJ has been paying dues in the Dallas scene for years, so hopefully people understand that.

What has the response been like in Dallas so far?

Paris: We get a lot of love in Dallas, man. We are extremely grateful for that, too. When we first started recording seriously with our manager in 2009, there wasn’t a very active hip-hop scene. They were always people making music, but not really an audience for shows and shit. The groundwork for that kinda thing had been laid by groups before us like PPT (which our producer Picnic was a part of) and others. Some folks say we were a big part of the resurgence of the hip-hop scene in the city. So in that regard, we are at the forefront. We didn’t realize that’s what was happening, though. We just wanted to perform. Because of our consistency and the quality/originality of our output, we attracted a lot of supporters. We’ve done over 150 shows in Dallas and within the state since 2010, so we proudly accept the recognition that we’ve earned here. With that said, we’re still tryna reach more people within the city, but we know it’s just a matter of time. We have a goal to give out, sell or have people download 20k copies of our debut mixtape, When Pigs Fly, which came out in late March 2011, before we move on to the next project. We’re almost half way there.

If the scene was so underdeveloped in Dallas, where did you turn to for Hip-Hop as teenagers?

Paris: Of course, we had radio and we’re young so we had the internet. That thirst for knowledge of all types of music was in me, so I would go out of my way to find new music. When I was in high school, I listened to everything from East Coast to Dirty South to West Coast shit. I was a big Outkast fan, the biggest Rocafella fan too. Everyone was. From Jay to Beans to Bleek to Kanye to Freeway, and Young Gunz, etc. I was on all that shit heavy. Like I said before, growing up in a household where my mama listened to everything instilled that curiosity and love for all kinda music in me.

Slim: I was in to the same rap shit as Scrappy (that’s Paris’ first rap name *laughs*), but my ear for music drastically changed after high school when I got on Little Brother, DOOM, Lupe and others. I was always an Outkast and Jay-Z fan and an even bigger UGK fan.

Have you had stronger support locally or with the internet community so far?

Slim: Both have showed us a ton of love. The local support is more tangible, though, and those folks are our foundation. Their power in numbers helps attract attention from the outside. When folks see that our own people from Dallas support us, that we’ve been invited to open for big acts that come through our city (like Wu-Tang and Devin the Dude) and that we’ve put on our own sold out shows here, it brings other folks, from major and up and coming bloggers to internet radio shows and individual folks in different cities. It’s cool shit.

To date you’ve worked almost exclusively with Picnic Tyme on the beats? Do you prefer to keep production in house?

Slim: We prefer to keep things in house, because we are still developing our sound and that shit is a process, but we are also open to working with other producers if the chemistry is right. In fact, although our debut was produced by Picnic, we worked with other producers, like Black Milk and local Brain Gang producers Blue and X’Zavier on our non-album loosies. We have several unreleased tracks produced by Black and others. Who knows what we will do with them *laughs*.

What are some of the challenges you see in translating regional appeal into a national following?

Paris: We don’t see any MAJOR obstacles. We feel like once more people hear our music and see what we are about, they’ll wanna fuck with us *laughs*. It’s a steady grind, and we’re all about it.

Do you think there’s still a bias against certain sounds within Southern Hip-Hop? Does it surprise you that someone like KRIT, for example, is gaining notoriety with a sound not all that far removed from your own?

Paris: Good question. The answer is fa sho YES! In the south, we make a wide range of music, but for some reason the music that breaks is the shit that represents us in one, some say bad, light. People love dancing, so we need music for all occasions, but it’s time for balance. Our generation and the generation after us, especially if they aren’t from the south, only really know one kinda southern sound. That’s a tragedy *laughs*, especially since we have had some of the most diverse artists in hip-hop like Outkast and Goodie Mob. Then we have UGK, 8Ball & MJG, Three 6, Scarface and even Cash Money. All of those artists sampled or incorporated scratches and shit – things people don’t even associate with southern music. Our legends are like dinosaurs to the new generation *laughs*. So to hear an artist like KRIT come through and incorporate the best of the south was a great surprise. I remember first listening to “KRIT Wuz Here” and saying, “Damn this mufucka is amazing.” Whether people realize what he’s doing or not, they can’t deny quality. You can tell he’s not one of those mofos only raised on rap ‘cause his shit has soul. We are influenced by the same artists and create with a certain philosophy about good music, so it’s cool to know we aren’t alone. *cough* TrynagetthatfeaturefromKRITifyoujustsohappentoreadthis *cough*

Slim: To add to that, we have T.I., Ludacris, Z’Ro, Jeezy and so many others who still make quality music. People talked so much shit about the south, but our style dominates almost every artist’s sound now. Look around and tell me I’m lying.

What’s the next step? Is there a new project on the way?

Paris: We have some prospective tours lined up that we can’t speak on just yet, but it’s looking like 2012 will be a big year for us. We are also working on an EP, The Plus Sign is Silent, that we’ll release at some point next year once we’ve met our goal of 20k WPF albums out in the world. As of now, we have production from our producer Picnictyme, (who produced WPF in its entirety), from Detroit’s own Black Milk (Random Axe, Danny Brown, Slaughter House) and Dallas’ own S1 (Kanye West, Beyonce, Jay-Z). We also have 4 videos in the works right now, some for song from WPF and some from the non-album “loosies” we put out over the past few months.

Would you be satisfied carving a lane in Dallas (and Texas at large) but never reaching national exposure? If you could have the longevity that some artists in the Bay Area achieve, would you trade that security for a potentially riskier shot at countrywide reach?
Paris: Damn! Hell no we wouldn’t be satisfied! *laughs* We want national exposure, but we want it on our terms when the time is right. Easier said than done, I know, but we have an amazing team and we really do shit the way we want whether there is a precedent for it or not, so we’re confident we will succeed in whichever way our definition of success evolves. For now, we’re concentrating on making the music we love and getting it out to as many people as possible. We’ve been getting a lot of love in the city and we want to keep growing and expanding that to other hoods, the rest of the state and beyond. In due time…

Slim : Hell yeah! I would love to have that national exposure and even worldwide. I would not be satisfied with local fame *laughs*. We know we have a challenging road ahead of us to achieve that with the least amount of compromise, but it ain’t ‘posed to be easy.