- I'm putting' you on the spot right now.

- All right.

- I need top five.

- Oh.

- And I don't wanna limit you to Nashville.

- Okay.

- So I'ma say Tennessee.

- Ooh.

- I'ma say Tennessee artists.

I don't know if limited it Nashville.

- Limit it to Nashville.

- Is that better for you?

- Yeah, that's better for me.

- Let's go.

And then I might still want top five Tennessee.

- That's tough.

- So let's Nashville, Tennessee in no particular order.

I no particular mean, obviously Leader and Buck.

Okay.

- So.

- That's two.

Yeah.

Quane.

- Quane Cash.

- Paper.

City Paper.

- Fifth one's a tough one because, I mean, I.

- Think you forgetting something I like, I'm gonna be really, I'm gonna be really surprised if you forget one like that came before all of them.

- Welcome everyone to another episode of a Slice of the Community.

I'm your host, Jerome Moore.

And today we have an infamous guest, Nashville Legend, music legend here in Middle Tennessee.

Dolewite DJ Personality with 1 0 1.1 to beat Jams Dolewite in school.

Man, I always wanted to say that, man.

Welcome to the show, man.

- Man thank you so much for having me.

It's a pleasure to be here.

- I'm, I'm so excited as a Nashville native to finally sit down and talk with you about music, your life history.

I wanna give you your flowers right now.

Whole bouquet of 'em, because like, I don't know if you understand that many of us grew up with your voice on the radio.

Like that's all we know far with the hip hop genre, Dolewite, Scooby, synonymous, hip hop legends.

And so, I don't know how much credit a lot of people give you, but I'm gonna give you your credit.

- Thank you.

- And your flowers right now.

So thank you for the experiences and the journey that you took me on and many others personally.

- Wow.

- In music with hip hop right here in Middle Tennessee, Nashville, Music City, all of that.

So, thank you man.

- Man, thank you for saying that, that growing up as a, as a kid that, that listened to radio every day of my life, lock myself in my room at 8 o'clock to listen to Ryan Cameron on, on V103 in Atlanta where I grew up.

And then to hear somebody else kind of say, I did the same thing.

Except you were the one on the radio, that means more to me than, than I can really have the words to express.

So thank you man.

- It's well, it is well deserved.

And I know many people watching this feel the same way.

And so again, a whole bouquet.

- Thank you.

- Dozens and dozens of flowers.

- Thank You, man.

- I wanna get right into it.

And this is, I just think it's important to acknowledge this, cause I know he was your brother.

He was a big part of just who you are as a man, your career, Scooby, rest in power, Scooby, How did his passing this affect your, your, your passion for music?

Did you want to continue doing it?

How did you, how did you take that?

- I think there was a, there was an aDJustment, a big aDJustment because if, if you go from, not from talking to somebody, not just somebody, but like, literally dude was like my brother, my best friend for, you know, 15 years from the time we were met in college at, at 18 to the time we were, we were on the beat at that point, 10 years.

And, and we did college radio together for five years.

And then it was 15 years that this is my best friend.

And then there's an aDJustment period of going from a two person show to a one person show, which I had to find out who I, who am I without this person here.

And that took a while and I still, I I would still rather him be there now, you know what I mean?

10, 11 years later than, you know, do the show on my own.

There was some, there was a lot of uncertainty, you know what I mean?

When, when something like that happens, I think you wonder, do I continue doing this?

Do I want to continue doing this?

How do I continue doing this?

Who am I without this person?

And you, I mean, yeah, like there, there was, it was a big aDJustment period.

It's probably the thing that, that the biggest, besides having a child, probably the biggest career wise anyway, the biggest change in my life I've ever, I've ever experienced it there was it, it's like he was connected to everything that I did, everything that I had personally as well.

So, I mean, he was my best friend.

So you, you lose your best friend, my business partner.

So then whatever the, everything he handled then falls on my shoulders.

And then there's the part of the radio show where I don't have this right person to talk to.

- Right.

- Not just on air, but also like off air.

And it's like, you know, you, you do a break and then all of a sudden it's just like silence and there's nobody there anymore.

And that's, it's different.

It's different.

- With Scooby not by your side anymore?

Did what was, what was the naysayers probably saying like, Oh, can, can you do a radio show by yourself?

Did you, did you, did you lose any credibility yourself by, by not having Scooby right there with you?

- Not right away, no.

I think honestly, like, I don't know that, that I've ever felt more love from a community than I did at that point.

Like, Nashville really kinda like wrap their arms around me, you know what I mean?

And, and I, I think that's less about me and more about the person that he was.

Right.

Because Scooby and I were, as much as we are the, the same, we were very different individuals and he was a very embracing person.

He's the person that would, if you met him, people, we used to joke because people, he would meet somebody and then like three seconds later they would be telling him their entire life story.

And I'd be like, well I don't know.

I don't know why people do this to you all the time, but I'm sorry that, you know what I mean?

- Right.

- And so he was that guy.

So he never forgot anybody.

I forget everybody's face, everybody's name.

Like, I awful memory.

I mean, I'm basically like rendered handicapped after he, he left because I couldn't remember anybody's name anymore.

He was the one that was always there to be like, Hey, that's blah blah, blah.

We know them from, And he was just a very embracing person.

- Yeah.

- And so I think that, I think that a lot of people as time went on, maybe expected that from me.

And it's just, it's not who I am.

You know what I mean?

Like, I'm gonna go do my thing over here.

And, and, but, but for, for Scoob I think, I think a lot of people, especially people he was close with sometimes, or not even people that, I won't even say the people he was close with, they, they felt that the way I did.

It's like he had a hundred best friends, you know, know what I'm saying?

And, and everybody, a lot of people felt the way about him the way I did.

- Yeah.

I just, I just thought it was important for us to have that, that that brief conversation about that because I know how much not only mean to the city - Yeah.

- And just music, but also to you.

So I appreciate you,you know, getting a little vulnerable and talking about that because I think like, again, it's different from reading it in the papers.

- Yeah.

- You know, but seeing you talk about it personally and open up and, and really know like he was your brother, he was your best friend.

Laid best radio.

I think like I appreciate that.

Because I think we all have people like that in our lives.

They might not always be our colleagues, but it's like, you know, losing anybody is devastating, but like losing a best friend, a peer, a colleague, a teammate, it hits different.

So I appreciate you opening up about that.

Now, Dolewite, I like how you played the name on Dolemite.

- Yeah.

- So how is it being a DJ and personality, a white DJ and personality in a predominant black space?

- I think, I think that it is, I think earlier people had more of a reaction to it than they do now.

- Okay.

- When I was, you know, 18, 19 and at Georgia Southern, I'd be like, No, I'm a DJ.

And they'd be like, No, for real.

Like seriously.

I'm like, no, no.

Like there's records in my car.

You know what I mean?

And now it's, it's, it's not, it's not as uncommon.

I, I do think it's important because I see, I, I see a lot of other white DJs.

I do think it's important that if you're going to be in this space, that you contribute more to in some way societally to, to use your platform, your voice, whatever it is you have.

To be on the right side of certain issues and arguments to be had.

And, and I see I have seen in the past and not here in Nashville, just nationally, You know, a couple of "All Lives Matter" white DJs.

And I've been like, - Yeah, right.

- Yo Bro, you need to find another occupation.

You know what I mean?

- How did you figure that out?

Like for yourself in understanding like, I'm, I'm, I'm a kind of a guest in this space.

I'm a guest in this space and I love hip hop, I love this music.

But like, when did you really realize or understand that like, that your voice and your presence means something different and can be even more powerful than in, in some instances speaking up about some of the things you're talking about?

- I, I think I, it was a long process and you still, it's one of those things where I still learn things every day.

I think the first thing, all white people, whether you're a DJ or you know, you're the CEO of whatever company, it doesn't matter, we're all white people, The first thing we need to, to all do is really listen to the issues that black people particularly, but all minorities, but black people particularly have.

We need to sit down and listen and say, All right, open mind.

I don't know what I'm talking about.

I want to hear you.

And I think most white people, myself included, struggle with that.

Especially being brought up in this country where it's, you know, this is the greatest country in the world, blah, blah, blah.

That's what you're taught when you're white and you grow up.

And you, you kind of almost brainwashed into thinking that.

But I think if you diversify the people around you, if you diversify your friends, and if you and I are friends, I have an obligation, no matter the racial barrier, to hear you out and to listen to you and to listen to your point of view.

And I don't think enough white people do that.

I read a book by Robin D'Angelo called White Fragility, and she made a point in the book to, to literally say, if white people don't, if I have a, if I have a child with a, with a white woman, right?

And we had a white baby, and the white child is, is growing up, I don't, and they have all white friends surrounding them.

I don't look at that child and say, Why are your friends white?

You gotta diversify a little bit.

You gotta learn how to move in different spaces.

Right.

We don't stress that to our children.

And whereas if you're any other race, you have to learn how to move in white spaces a little bit.

- Right.

- And I never thought about that before.

So every day's a learning period.

A learning experience, and between Scoob and, you know, my wife, especially my wife has dragged me kicking and screaming about, you know, certain things that I was bullheaded to.

- Yeah.

- And now I feel like I have more of the approach conversations less defensively and more of, if I said something that offended you, it's not like I don't try to over explain it or "white explain" it or anything.

I'm just like, Yo, my bad.

How did that offend you?

Like, let's talk about it.

Like, tell me how you, I wanna learn it and grow from that.

I wanna learn that.

And, and that is to me, the approach that all white people should take.

- In hip hop spaces.

- Right.

In hip hop, in every space.

- But no, I want, I want to concentrate like on the hip hop space right?

Where ownership is still predominantly white.

When you talking about labels.

Records, distribution, those things.

What are those kind of conversations or what, what are some of those moments where you may have to like talk to a peer or a colleague that might be white, it may be missing that like, Talk to us.

Talk to us about that.

- It happens.

I mean, it, it happens and, and luckily in the space that I've in since I've been the program director and kind of in charge of these certain things, things that I have to keep my staff protected from or whatever.

- Right.

- I've had higher ups in the company that have listened, that I've said, Hey, like, I can't ask this person to do this thing that you've asked them to, that you want me to ask them to do.

- Right.

- And these are the reasons why.

- Right.

- And that's been it.

- Right.

- And there's, there's never been any pushback.

- Good.

- So I've, I haven't had to, to have that discussion.

- Right.

- I haven't had to have that fight, if that makes sense.

- Right.

- You know what I mean?

Since I haven't, I haven't, haven't had to be like, absolutely not.

This cannot happen if you're about to fire somebody here.

- Right.

- It's never been that way.

It's always been like, Okay, I get it.

Yes.

We'll have somebody else do it.

You know what I mean?

- Yeah, I think that's, I think that's, that's great to hear.

And again, that's why I'm like, I'm so thrilled to have this conversation because again, I think it's important for us to know as Nashvillians and Middle Tennesseeans, like, Hey, like, like I really like as a voice of music in Nashville in a predominantly, you know, black genre.

Like you've been leading that and I just been curious of like the power in your voice.

What do you think about that?

Have you used that to, to not only like elevate music, but like elevate social change or address things when you know, like people are hearing you on the airwaves?

- I, I think, I think the, the biggest thing that I can contribute is not necessarily taking a side when it comes for, for my black friends and family to hear.

- Right.

- But taking a side from my white friends and family to hear and, and that's been, that's been a, a tough one.

- Right.

- In my personal life that has been tough.

- What has been the toughest thing about that?

- I have family members that are not as racially open as I am.

- Right.

- Or that are racist.

I have racist family members.

And some I have just kind of written off and said, all right, I can't deal with you.

And some I've tried to change to no avail.

- Right.

- You know, so that, that's been tough personally.

- Right.

- But the thing that I try to contribute outside of that is, you know, with my podcast or when we have to have those discussions on radio, I feel like, you know, if I'm talking to a predominantly black audience that's I think 60% or so of our audience, 60 to 70% depending on the quarter, I'm just preaching of the choir.

- Right.

- But we do have a large percentage of white people that listen as well.

- Right.

- And those are the people that need to, a lot of times, need to change.

- Yeah.

- Or that at least like something in the culture enough to maybe listen.

- Right.

- And if I can get them, I feel like I've done a good job.

- I wanna go back to like the family dynamic.

- Right.

- You do have a black wife.

- I do.

- Right?

- Yes.

- How has that y'all have a, you know, biracial child right?

- Yes.

- That identifies as black or...?

- We haven't, She's five.

We haven't gone there yet.

- Okay, all right.

- Know what I mean?

- She's white passing I think.

- Right.

- But yeah.

- How has like those conversations and like, how's that like, you know, we still in the south.

- Yeah.

- We still here.

Like people still maybe look and figure out like what is that experience been and what is that new kind of approach for you?

- You know, outside of, it's weird because there have been times when, when maybe people have stared at us and stuff like that as a white person, I don't notice it.

- Mm.

- You know what I mean?

And that's one of those, that's another one of those things.

- Yeah.

Yeah.

- Yeah.

Like I don't.

I don't.

I don't see it.

But that, that has happened.

Not often, but it, it has happened.

We live in the city.

I work in the city.

We're not venturing out to, you know, the outside counties very often.

And so everything here in Nashville is, is cool.

- Right.

- You know, I mean there's not many issues here.

The, the problems that we've had honestly have come from my failures to deal with my family members directly.

And that's, that's where the issues we have had have come.

- Right.

- And a lot of that was just me learning.

Because when you grow up in a white household, it, it's accepted.

It's, it's, Hey, even if, even if your family is not racist, even if your, your parents who, whoever are have, as they say, don't have a racist bone in their body.

- Right.

- If somebody, if a cousin, an uncle, a grandparent says something racist you and you say, Hey, you know, why did they say that?

It's like, well that's just how your uncle is.

- Mm.

- And me learning that that's unacceptable - Right.

- was a tough lesson for me.

It really was.

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

You didn't think this interview would be going here, did you?

(laughs) - No.

I did.

No, I did.

I did know it was going to go there.

That's why I got you.

That's why this is this interview.

- Right.

- People at home, be like, I didn't know, I didn't know Dolewite was getting into it here.

- Yeah.

Yeah.

- It was different being, being a white man in hip hop, you see it, we all see it.

The white audience members dropping the N bomb.

- Oh yeah.

No.

- How do you, how do you, how do you handle that?

How do you approach that?

Because I'm pretty sure, you know, white audience is probably coming up to you with a different type of energy, approach.

Maybe not even knowing you a DJ or maybe they know you're a DJ, but because you might share the same skin color deal, they might might feel like, ah, I can get, I can get off with something.

- No.

- What is your take on that?

What have been situations that you'll probably have to, you know, address, maybe that?

- Let me say, I have been a DJ in, in like a, a club DJ for 25 years at this point, almost 26.

I have been blacked out drunk DJ and I've never one time said the word drop the word on the mic.

So if I can do it when I am, if I can, if I can control whether or not I say that word, - Right.

- and I'm blacked out drunk.

- Right.

- You can too.

And it's, it is unacceptable.

It's just, it's like, it's like white people.

We don't have to have everything.

- Right.

- We don't have to have that.

We can stay away from that.

- Right.

- That way you offend nobody.

- Right.

- You don't have to worry about it.

It, just omit the word from your vocabulary no matter what the circumstance is, and you're good.

- I'm curious, like what made you gravitate to to hip hop?

Like as a, just as a, as a, as a, as a as a white man, - I don't know.

- as having family members that maybe are not racially diverse, mentally.

- Like, I think I remember I started really like getting into it probably seventh, eighth grade.

- Okay.

And this is in Atlanta?

- This is, this is in Atlanta.

This is early nineties.

So this isn't like, this is when you had to find it, you know what I mean?

- Right.

(laughs) - Like hip hop wasn't, like on the radio all the time.

It wasn't, it wasn't, you had to like go out, like look for it.

You know what I mean?

I think, I honestly think, I think I grew up with a lot of insecurities and I think the bravado of it, the the confidence... - Yeah.

- of artists in the genre.

Like I wanted to be confident like that.

- Right.

- And I think that kind of drew me to it, towards it more than any other musical genre at that time.

- Give us a story of like your, your beginnings of DJing.

Like something that, like, you either did really good or you just failed miserably.

(both laugh) But maybe that moment like, like, yes, I can do this.

Or maybe like, ah, I don't know.

Like, this may not be for me.

- Let me think.

That's a good question.

Thinking back to the early days.

So we're going back, back to college, um, I think, I don't know if it was, you know what, from the time we bought our first turntables, we had a party booked that day.

Scoob I, from the time we, we linked up.

So I, I did a radio show from 3:00 to 7:00 AM on the college station at Georgia Southern.

And every week Scoob would come and be like, I'm gonna come to the show with you tonight.

I'm like, All right, cool.

And then like, it'd be 2:30 in the morning, I'd go knock on his dorm room door and he wouldn't be there, right?

I'm like, All right dude.

And so he told me that every week he finally came one week and the week he came, he never stopped coming after that.

It was immediate.

And I was like, okay, I don't know if I can do this by myself.

- Right.

- But this works.

- This team.

- This team works, right?

- Yeah.

- And so that summer we, we saved up and we were able to buy our, our turntables and which I mean is $1,500 set up, which was back in the early, back in the nineties.

It's a lot of money now, but it was a lot of money then.

You know what I'm saying?

Like it was a lot of money then.

- Right.

- And, and we were able to, we were able to purchase our turntables and we went back to school and we had parties booked and it was always, I, we, we were, we had parties booked and were always, for whatever reason, great at knowing what records to play when.

We couldn't transition for anything, we were just getting started.

We couldn't mix, blend, scratch, none of that.

- Right.

- But, we could rock.

- Right.

- And I think we always knew the radio thing, the dynamic between the two of us and, and... the parties, we always knew we could do it.

- Right.

- I don't know if there, there was ever a moment where we were like, I don't know if, I think there were moments maybe where we were like, I don't know if this is gonna work out.

- Right.

- But I don't think we thought that we were not good enough for it to work out.

If that makes sense.

- I wanna bring you back home a little bit to the Middle Tennessee area when we talk about hip hop.

Alright.

We talked a little bit about like, like just the one on 101.1 itself historically hasn't got a lot of publications around hiphop here in Nashville, the Middle Tennessee region.

But you know, this, this thing, this hip hop versus country music dynamic here, growing up here and you being on the radio since, you know, I was 10, 11 years old, I know you feel this too.

You know, it's like we don't get the credit, we don't get the recognition.

But now I think you're seeing a lot of this, you know, this renaissance of just hip hop music here in Nashville.

Man.

What is your take on, on that?

- Look, man, those mainstream publications are, are they, they'll do a story every now and again and that'll be it.

- Right.- You know what I mean?

They don't see it.

They don't hear it.

They don't want to.

If they did, they would try harder.

- Mm.

- But I also think there's something to be said.

I, I think when I moved here, I don't know that many people were proud that they were from Nashville.

And I think that has changed and that has changed without any of those publications, without any of that spotlight.

I think now people are like, people are proud to be here.

- Right.

- I'm proud to live here.

You know what I mean?

- Yeah.

- I think and I think that has changed without those publications.

And I, you see, you see a lot of black culture in Nashville go mainstream now.

We saw it with hot chicken.

There would be... without black Nashville there would be no hot chicken.

(voices overlapping) - Yeah.

There is no, And then I don't know, I, I didn't see much of it.

I saw some of the, the PBS documentary on, on country music.

But come to find out no black, no black people, no country music either.

You know what I'm saying?

- We got the banjo itself - Yeah.

- From West Africa.

We know this.

- Yeah.

- So, you know, you, you find those things out.

And I think that, I think we're very close to a spotlight being shined on the culture on black Nashville to really highlight the gifts that it has given the city.

And this city is not where it is today... - Right.

- without black Nashville.

And, and I think it's sad that the publications haven't.

- Right.

- But it's also a testament to the people to continue inventing, being creative.

- Right.

- Without that, that kind of spotlight on them.

- So I know a lot of artists are listening to this and they want some gems from Dolewite.

What can hip hop artists do in Nashville if they're not getting in publications?

If we know, like we know the barriers.

- Right.

- And we know the cloud that's over the genre.

- Right.

- What can they do to navigate that and pivot around and still maybe break and, and still maybe, you know what I'm saying, get the music where they want to be in the city of Nashville without having to leave?

- I think you, I I I think it's been done.

I mean, you look at Lito.

- Yep.

- For, for instance, I mean I I I think if you look at the blueprint that he set, it's there.

It's, it's, the question is always no matter what, no matter what it is, if you're, if you are, you know, making food, if you're making music, if you're whatever it is, it's like if you have a good product, right, that's great.

But how do I get people to like my product?

And that's always the question.

- What's that blueprint then?

Because I know a lot of people know Starlito or - Right.

- or All Star, you know, depending on how, like what is that like, paint that picture for us.

What is that blueprint for artists that's listening?

Because I know they like they taking notes right now.

- Right.

- But what is, what is that blueprint then?

- I think.

I think what he did, and I don't know, I I know Lito well, we... - Right.

- We've always had a good relationship.

I think the thing that he did more than anybody was he was relentless with his music and he understood social media, blogs, websites better than most, better than not just most artists, - Right.

- But most like people at a, at a record label.

You know what I mean?

He understood how to get into those systems, how to get his music pushed out in those systems.

And that's the question you'd have to ask him, like, how did you do this?

Know what I mean?

- But even from a DJ lens though, because you know, you, you, you could break a record.

So what does that look like?

I.

- Think it's different now.

- Well it's different now.

Yeah.

Yeah.

But like, so for even from now, like if an artist like I'm want get my, my music on the radio, because I think radios so important, but I just even wanna be connected with a person like Dolewite that has knowledge that might have connections.

Like what does that, how does that person do that?

How does that artist do that?

- I think that a artist would, I think first of all, artist has to have a good product.

- Okay.

- And that's not my opinion.

- Right.

- You know what I mean?

- Yeah.

- Like, I think too many people are like, you're gonna really like this record.

What does it matter if I like this record or not?

- Right.

- It matters if the people like the record, like I told you, I've been the night club DJ for, you know, 25 years at this point.

One thing... you can have the greatest, greatest record in the world.

It could be sonically you could bring me, you know, Michael Jackson Thriller.

- Right.

- If that crowd does has never heard Michael Jackson Thriller... - Right.

- And I throw it on and the dance floors packed, they are going to clear out.

- Right.

- You know what I mean?

- Right.

- And so you have to think about what I do on a radio's kind of the same thing.

You have all these other options.

You can stream, you can punch out to another radio station, do all these other things If I play something you don't necessarily like, even if it's a great record, we all know that this record is gonna be a hit.

The first time you hear it, you might punch out on it.

So you have to understand that I think first of all as an artist, that you have to figure out a way to make yourself your voice, your your brand and your music familiar with people.

- Okay.

- So like, if, if you turn on a ra, if you turn on a radio right now and there's an artist's voice that you don't recognize, you've never heard it, you might punch out but you know Drake's voice and if it's a Drake record you never heard, you might stay with it a minute if you are a Drake fan.

You know what I mean?

And so artists, the, the tricky thing about being an artist about how to get your music heard is, you know, you have to, you have to show everything is a level and in order to get to the next level, you have to be able to prove I've got X amount of people that want to hear my music.

I've got x amount of fans that wanna see me perform live.

I've got this many people buying merch, I've got, you know what I mean?

And every one of those is a level up.

- Well now everybody, y'all got the secret sauce.

You know, y'all, y'all got the secret sauce.

- I don't know what the secret sauce is.

I just.

- Gave you the, just gave you the list that y'all can go down.

Because I think, I guess especially coming from you, like, I think that matters.

Because I think your, your voice matters.

Your presence matters is just what you've done historically in, in the genre.

People want to, people want to, to feed off of that.

And I think like that information is gonna help somebody, some artists, because maybe they're not thinking about it or maybe they, they like, okay, if this is what I'm missing.

- I think you also have to, to put your, to put your mind in the perspective of the person or people or whatever entity that you're trying to get inside of.

So if you're trying to get inside of radio right, you have to think like, is it a good business model?

If they play a record that nobody knows and if nobody knows it, are they gonna like it?

If that's not a good business model.

- Right.

- You wouldn't run your business by doing things that your clientele doesn't like.

- Right.

- You know what I'm saying?

You're just not gonna do that.

It's a bad business model.

- Hip hop is, you know, it's controversial.

It's, it is educational, It's storytelling.

What do you feel about the state that hip hop is in now?

Especially with, with drill?

This is, it is a different sound.

It is primarily dominated by a sound from the South, which I think I love it.

It's great because, you know, I'm a, I'm a die hard south fan out here and you know, New York and them, they didn't wanna give us our credit for many years.

So y'all, y'all had to take this.

But you know, many people will contribute a lot of the crime, a lot of the things that that happen in communities, primarily black communities.

You know, hiphop perpetuates that or influences that.

What is your take, especially from a, from a white lens and somebody that's on a radio and plays the music.

- I think that, I think that if you're gonna blame music for things that were systematically happened before that genre of music was around, you're not very bright and you don't know your history.

The problems that have that, that plague certain communities are are there because primary needs aren't being met.

- Right.

- And so if you wanna blame a music or video game or anything else, - Right.

- You don't know much about what's really going on.

Because these problems have been there long before hip hop came along.

- Man, that's an ... that was beautifully put.

That's like, I don't know, like that's that that, that statement cleared because that's what a lot of people will contribute to.

Especially like with black men and just feel like hiphop perpetuates a lot of that stuff.

But like what you said, kind of just what I say, what.

- I said on this podcast a million times is we know studies show that the more educated the person is, the least likely they are to commit any type of crime.

- Right.

- And so if you really want to control crime, do you put more police on the ground in those neighborhoods or do you spend your money in education to make sure kids that are growing up in impoverished neighborhoods get properly educated and that makes them less likely to one day commit a crime.

- They're not ready for this type of Dolewite, They not, they're not ready for this Dolewite right here.

So speaking on that, does the artists hold any type of social responsibility to the type of music... - That's a good question.

- That they put out?

- I, I think that's a great question.

I think you could... - We want a great answer though.

- I don't know if I have one.

- We want a great answer.

- I don't know if I have one.

I think that I, you know, I think it's one of those situations where no artist is saying go out there and do this.

- Right.

- But I think that inadvertently anybody with any platform can be influential.

And how do you want to be influential is the question.

I can't answer that for any artist.

- Do you hold any of the artists that you listen to, to any type of social responsibility based on your listenership and say, Oh, if this artist is saying this and doing one thing, I maybe fall back.

Do you hold them accountable for that?

Or is it just purely music for you regardless of what they do?

- I think for me it's pure, pure, purely music.

- Okay.

- But I also think, I think my place to judge any of that as a white person.

- Okay.

- Not where I need to be.

- I'll put, put, I'm put put you on the spot right now.

- All right.

- I need top five.

- Oh.

- And, and I don't, I don't wanna limit you to Nashville.

- Okay.

- So I'm gonna say Tennessee.

- Ooh.

- I'm gonna say Tennessee artists.

- I don't know.

- Limit it to Nashville.

- Nashville does better for you.

- Yeah.

That's better for me.

- All right, let's go.

And then I, I might still want the top five Tennessee.

- That's tough.

So let's Tennessee in no particular order.

I particular, I mean obviously Lito, Young Buck.

- Okay.

So that's two.

- Yeah.

Quanie.

- Quanie Cash.

- Paper.

Tha City Paper.

- Tha City Paper.

- Fifth one's a tough one because I mean, I think.

- You forgetting something I like, I'm gonna be really, I'm gonna be really surprised if you forget one like that came before all of them.

- What, Kool Daddy Fresh or Pistol?

- One.

One of them.

One of the two.

(both laugh) - How can you go five though?

I don't, I don't.

- Either.

One of those movements that were hard.

- I had to have older cousins put me on like especially Kool Daddy Fresh and Pistol.

- Yeah.

I came at the, I came during, Quanie was the guy when I came.

And then shortly after it was Buck.

Shortly after that it was Lito.

- Okay.

So you guys started at five.

Cool.

- That's six.

That's the top.

- That's your top six.

- Yeah.

- In Nashville.

- In Nashville.

Yeah.

- Now we have to go Tennessee.

- That's tough.

- You, you don't even wanna try?

- That's tough because I mean you got, you got Eightball and MJG, Three 6 Mafia... - It's a top five.

It's supposed to be tough.

It's supposed to be hard.

- Yeah, I know.

- It's supposed be hard.

- Can I do the, as a white person, that's not my place to judge.

- No.

You can't do that.

Can't do... you a DJ.

- I can't play that card?

(both laugh) - You are a DJ.

This is professional question in your space, we need to know.

- I mean, I think that enough because I think, I think, I mean... - You know, people listening, people are going to hold you to this too.

- I mean you look at what Eightball and MJG and Three 6 Mafia did for the entire state.

- Right.

- You know what I mean?

Like that two as a group.

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

- Eightball and MJG and Three 6 Mafia.

I mean, Yo Gotti.

- Okay, that's three.

- Lito, Buck, Moneybagg Yo.

So, that's three more.

- Lot of Dolph fans, lot of Dolph fans, Dolph fans.

It's mad right now.

- Dolph.

Yes.

- Dolph.

- I mean, it's a lot though.

- It's just too much.

- But that's the thing, - Eightball and MJG and Three 6 Mafia.

I think you go kind of one and two somewhere just because, - In Tennessee?

- Tennessee, there is... - Okay.

I think that's... - I don't think there's a movement without them.

- As we are winding down, I want ask you this, Do you feel like you get enough credit personally for, for your influence and what you have brought to the city of Nashville and Middle Tennessee?

Why or why not?

- I don't know.

I, I don't know that that's on me to, I, I remember a quote by Walter Payton is, if you're good, you tell people if you're great, people tell you.

- Okay.

- And I try to live by that.

- Okay.

- I try to live by like, look man, if I'm doing a good job, people are gonna tell me, it's gonna, it's gonna show ratings, longevity.

- Right.

- These things.

And I, I it has.

- Okay.

- And I have had plenty of people say yo, like just last year was my 20th year with The Beat in December.

It's almost 21 years.

- Oh wow.

- It would be 21 years in December this year.

- Congratulations.

- Anytime I make those posts on like Instagram or anything like that, - Yeah.

- Like the, the comments light up.

Yeah.

- And it, it, it really does like feel good.

- Right.

- But I don't need that every day.

- Yeah.

Well you're getting your flowers here.

- Thank you.

- You gonna get, you know what I'm, you'll get 'em and hopefully you get 'em from all the people that's watching and listening to this because I, again, like, I don't know how many people like physically tell you to your face, but man, like you don't, like we had grown up on you though - Man, I appreciate that.

- We had to grow up on you on the radio if you wanted to listen to hiphop here in the city or throughout Middle Tennessee.

We had you and Scoob.

- I hope it was enjoyable for you.

- No, it was.

That's why you here, that's why we talking.

If it wasn't, I don't think I wanna, man, I want to end with this.

What's next?

I, why haven't you started a label or something like that?

Like what's next for you musically?

Especially now since like independency how you can do things, streaming and all that is just kind of shifted, radio has shifted.

There's a lot of more options and avenues.

- Yeah.

- That one, especially with your background and experience and knowledge could do, is it, could, are we getting a Dolewhite label?

We going, we going you going start a national powerhouse?

Like I would wanna know.

- You know, I take opportunities as they come about.

I I really do enjoy the podcast space.

- Okay.

- As as you do.

- Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

- I enjoy having those, those longer, deeper conversations where I can, you know, be a little more serious.

I enjoy that.

You know, I don't know about starting a label myself.

I don't know if that's something that I would want to do right down the line.

If, if one of these, I mean we have every major label here in Nashville.

If one of 'em wanted to start like a, a hip hop branch out to hip hop and they reached out to me.

- Right.

- I would listen, - Hey man, you a white man in America.

You can do it.

You can do you want, you can saw the label today if you want, people will come.

- Yeah.

- That's Nashville.

I think we need that though.

I think, I think, I think I think we need that here for the city.

- Everything that you need, everything that, that a Nashville artist needs is right there on Music Row.

- Right.

- Every major label.

- Right.

- You just get one of these guys to, to take a chance.

- Yeah.

But I want, I wanna give you a last word though.

If, if it's anything around Nashville music or something you just wanna share that we didn't really touch on, but I wanted you that space to just really hit on before we close out.

- Just, I just gratitude man.

Like, yo the city's never failed me.

You know what I mean?

Like, I mean 20, almost 21 years now.

You don't see that in this industry.

You don't see radio personalities last in one market for 21 years.

It doesn't happen.

You could, it just doesn't happen.

You know, there's not many, I think with the exception of maybe Woody and Jim on 1 0 7, 5, the River, shout out at Woody and Jim, those are my guys.

I don't know that anybody in the city has been doing it longer than I have and been on air consistently for that, that period of time.

So, but that doesn't happen without, if people don't like you or people don't respond to you, people aren't there for you.

So, you know, its, it is.

- Been probably because you're a white man, you know, a white man in America, I get it.

- But the city, the city has definitely, definitely embraced me, man.

And, and I do appreciate it.

And I think, you know, career wise, I've always said, I think my most proud moment was when they, they we unveiled the sign for for Schoob Street.

we mean to the city.

Yeah.

Is is, I still, I still can't really wrap my mind around.

- So thank you.

Well man, thank you for being here, taking the time man to just talk and like I know people gonna love this.

Thank you.

Just, man, I appreciate you man.

I.

- Appreciate you.

- Flowers.

Just, I'm just gonna keep giving it to you because I, because I, I really think that's crucial and that's I think that motivates people to keep going.

And so Dolewite flowers more.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you man.

And thank y'all for watching another episode of the Slice of the Community and we'll see y'all next time.