Born as: Eric Dobbs
Foundation: Chicago, IL
AND THE STORY IS TOLD...
Like many minorities, I was a product of a single parent family. I have a half sister and brother, both I have no contact with. This is not by choice, but more or less the situation at hand… I came up as one of the unfortunate ones in my click, or should I say my Organization. When other kids had, I was trying to get. But ultimately this contributed to my present day determination and overall will power. Through it all I remained a humble and down to earth person.
I went to Morgan Park High School, and it was there that I was exposed to many different styles of rap. Morgan Park had so many Ill MC’s that it was ridiculous, so many different people and so many different accents, summing it up- SO MUCH FLAVA! I had always written rhymes, even before High School, but I just didn’t have the nerve to spit them. I think High School was just tuning me up for what was in store for me at the next level.
Now when I say the next LEVEL, I mean the NEXT LEVEL. For the MC’s that has made it, that would be assigned contract with a label. For me it was “either shit or get off the stool”, well at least that is the way my mother put it. What she was really harping about was me going to college and making something out of myself. I just thought it was a tactic to get me from around her, but honestly speaking she meant get the fuck up out of the hood.
Momma plainly put it, “You will get into much trouble if you stay here, and I don’t want to loose your dumb shit, because the streets are rough and at times unfair.” It wasn’t like Vietnam, but she was aware that my crew wasn’t your average “can I eat dinner at your house tonight” type – we were running in gangs. Now when I say gangs, I mean gangs for real. Chicago’s street gangs were on the rise for power wit hats cocked and ace deuce was becoming a thing of the past, it was all about the money! To this day I still try to teach the shorties under me, and let them know that it’s all types of opportunities available to them, we just have to be resourceful in finding the best match for whatever the situation is. Unfortunately some are listening some are missing.
My motto for life is “Without Struggle, there is No Progress.” This is what I tell the kids that I work with everyday, and more importantly, I tell that person in the mirror that same thing everyday I wake up
