Las Vegas rapper Dulamite gets a lot of flack for calling himself the certified king of Las Vegas but you have to admit he does put in work, and every successful rapper has an inflated ego, look at Kanye West, LL Cool J and Kool Moe Dee to name a few. To succeed in Hip Hop you have to be your biggest fan, your own hype man and have the skills to back it. As Jay Z’s said, “Men lie, Women lie, Number’s don’t”. The secret is too have the right balance of confidence and humility that Dulamite seems to possess. Dulamite is a typical Gemini; when he’s Dulamite he is an egotistical self-proclaimed king and when he is Abduhlah he is humble, intelligent devout Muslim who loves his mother and is not afraid of hard work. Ever since he saw Heavy D and The Boyz “We Got Our Own Thang” on Video Soul he knew he wanted to be an emcee. He thought, “I could do that” Growing up in the early 90’s Dula saw that he could either get in trouble in the streets, play basketball or write rhymes and focus on rapping. He says Hip Hop saved his life by keeping him off the streets. I have a feeling his mother had a part in his salvation as well, She kept him busy and supported has always supported his interest in Hip Hop.
Dulamite formed Young Fly Mistaz Entertainment when he was just a sophomore in high school, a little empire that handles artists, models, booking, filmmaking, and internet promotions. Dulamite has managed to single handedly make quite a name for himself in the local Hip Hop scene. He books himself, is the first Vegas rapper to be featured on a major mix tape, a 2008 Justo Mixtape nominee and has created a huge online presence and is featured on many major websites. He tries to surround himself with real, hardworking people, as he says, “ no bitchassness allowed”. Dulamite credits Jay Z, Biggie, Nas, Camp Lo, Busta Rhymes, Beanie Sigel, and Cassidy as his greatest influences. Hip-hop has changed since the old school. Young industrious moguls in the making such as Dulamite have people like Jay Z, Russell Simmons, and P-Diddy to look up too, people who have literally made millions of dollars from Hip Hop. While money is great, Dula says at the end of the day he would rather have respect than money.
Dulamite believes Hip Hop is on life support. The Internet has become the streets; kids come home from school and jump on the computer. While the Internet is a great way to get you name out there and your music heard it could also reduce sales. It is so easy to download a song in 30 seconds that people no longer take the time to really pick and choose their music. The ringtone business has made music into more of a product to make a quick buck. The heart and soul of Hip Hop gets lost in the shuffle. Dula believes that if the music industry goes back to the old formula of the executives have a vested interest in the music as an art form not just a product and the artists are putting out tracks with substance not what they think everyone wants to hear. He also feels that rap gets a bad name but the rappers could be doing what they are rapping about instead of making music. As for T.I, Beanie Sigel and others who can’t leave the streets at alone, he doesn’t understand why once a rapper has earned respect, money, and credibility they blow it. The point of making of is to get out of the hood. You can still keep it real by looking out for the people who didn’t make it out.
Dula sees himself eventually continue to promote himself, drop a few albums, fulfill his dream to sell out Mandalay Bay and then be a scout for new talent. He feels after an artist has made 5 albums they have said everything there is to say and should give the new guys a shot. Dula sees himself always working in the music industry in some capacity. He also has a degree in TV production and has already done 3 documentaries and his currently working on one on himself. His upcoming projects include Dulamite: Numbers Don’t Lie I’m The Certified King Volume II, he’s hosting a DJ Pimp and DJ Ophax Mixtape this summer, a winter release for J-Myth, more models for Exquisite Modeling will, and a Young Fly Mistaz Compilation. Dulamite may just be the one to put Vegas Hip Hop on the map.
