Volume 1, Issue 2 |
When you meet the Dukes of Daville for the first time, you’d never detect that they are the extremely talented
individuals they truly are. But take one listen to their amazing work, and you’ll automatically know that you’re in
the presence of something great.
I Am Entertainment Magazine sat down with the Atlanta based duo at their studio and discussed the music
business and their new release, 13th Floor.
IAE: Where are you guys from and what are your individual names?
RIC: Well, of course, I’m Ricky Suave Balboa aka The Fire.
JS: He said “of course” like ya’ll know his name (laughs). They call me Jimi Smalls, Soul Brotha #1, and together
we are Dukes of Daville.
RIC: We’re originally from Hinesville, Georgia which is the 912 area code. We’re both army brats.
IAE: So how long have you guys been together and what inspired your music?
RIC: We actually started doing music together back in the day. We used to say we met on the baseball fields in
Hinesville, but really we met before that because we used to go to the local youth center and they would host
talent shows there. So I think being around that creative element is what inspired us to do music.
JS: Yeah, because it was really nothing else to do in Hinesville but play sports, do music, or chase girls
(laughs). But we were in about the 6th or 7th grade when we started really hanging together.
IAE: What makes you guys different from the other Hip-Hop artists in Atlanta?
JS: Content. With the new EP we just put out, 13th Floor, the whole purpose is to get back to the soul of music.
Music is so microwave today, and the industry is very canibalistic in that it is eating it’s own soul. Most of the
music on the radio has a hot beat on it, but will it give me something I can think about after all the dancing and
the clubbing is over? No! So you’ll notice that there are no club records on this album. The beats are hot and
you can bounce to them, but the lyrical content isn’t about partying and clubbing. We call it “Soul Food - Part
2,” because nobody’s putting out any substance records that make you think.
RIC: It’s free too! We’re just trying to feed people information that will open their eyes to the truth about what’s
going on in the world today. I grew up in a Christian home, and even though the music we do isn’t
Contemporary Gospel music, it is similar in that we are getting the truth out, just like in Gospel.
IAE: You guys just go out of your major label record deal, so you understand the highs and lows of
being signed to a major label. Tell the aspiring artists out there, what the reality of the GAME of
music?
JS: Yeah, we were signed to Capitol Records, but the game has changed so much from the days when labels
were developing artists. Even though we were signed, we got no support in the realm of marketing and
promotions. All Capitol did was provide us with better studio equipment than what we already had. But beyond
that, all of our success has been a result of our work ethic, not the label’s doing.
RIC: Then you have to know the business, because if you don’t, the labels are going to take advantage of you.
I feel sorry for the person who goes into the game thinking it’s what they see on TV.
JS: Also, labels are offering 360 deals now, where they get paid for stuff they don’t even have any right to lay
claim on. Sadly, people are signing those deals and selling their souls to get in the game! That’s why we made
this 13th Floor EP, because nobody wants to stop on the 13th Floor and examine what’s there, which is why you’
ll get on an elevator in a high-rise building and won’t even see a 13th Floor button (laughs). I guess ignorance
is bliss to some people?
IAE: What was the creative process like when you created this particular 13th Floor EP?
JS: Prior to the start of the project, we had already been educating ourselves about some things that we had
never fully explored, so we felt the need to work on a project that shed light on what we had learned. Lyrically,
we took the narrow road that’s least traveled but has the most resistence.
RIC: We had a lot to talk about, but couldn’t get it all in on one EP, so this particular one is just Volume One
(laughs). We completed it in like 3 weeks though.
JS: There’s entirely too much stuff going on in the world for us to be clubbing all the time. What are we
celebrating? We’re at war, in a recession, and nobody seems to recognize it? That’s what the 13th Floor is
about, overall. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a depressing album, it’s fun, but it’s real!
IAE: The DIY (do-it-yourself) movement has grown tremendously in recent years, as it refers to
music referred to this new 13th Floor EP you’re currently promoting. So how difficult has it been
promoting the release independently?
RIC: Again, the label never gave us anything to build on as far as reaching a broader fanbase than we already
had in Atlanta. For example, we had a song on the TV series “Private Practice,” which led to over 22,000 hits a
day on our MySpace page because people dug the song. But the label didn’t do anything with that! We were
like, “Come on yaw! Let’s do this, it’s time!” But they acted like it wasn’t even happening?! So we’ve always
functioned as an indie group, and remained grassroots.
JS: Right now, the bloggers of the world have been the target for us, because they have so many people
following them. But what shocked me was, a particular blogger liked the 13th Floor EP, but wanted to charge us
a crazy amount of money to write about it. So we’re just grass-roots, like performing live with our band, things
like that.
IAE: If you could change one thing about the music industry what would it be and why?
JS: The people running the labels who are behind this dumbing down of music (laughs).
RIC: I would put Dukes of Daville’s music all over the TV and Radio airwaves, because people need to wake up!
individuals they truly are. But take one listen to their amazing work, and you’ll automatically know that you’re in
the presence of something great.
I Am Entertainment Magazine sat down with the Atlanta based duo at their studio and discussed the music
business and their new release, 13th Floor.
IAE: Where are you guys from and what are your individual names?
RIC: Well, of course, I’m Ricky Suave Balboa aka The Fire.
JS: He said “of course” like ya’ll know his name (laughs). They call me Jimi Smalls, Soul Brotha #1, and together
we are Dukes of Daville.
RIC: We’re originally from Hinesville, Georgia which is the 912 area code. We’re both army brats.
IAE: So how long have you guys been together and what inspired your music?
RIC: We actually started doing music together back in the day. We used to say we met on the baseball fields in
Hinesville, but really we met before that because we used to go to the local youth center and they would host
talent shows there. So I think being around that creative element is what inspired us to do music.
JS: Yeah, because it was really nothing else to do in Hinesville but play sports, do music, or chase girls
(laughs). But we were in about the 6th or 7th grade when we started really hanging together.
IAE: What makes you guys different from the other Hip-Hop artists in Atlanta?
JS: Content. With the new EP we just put out, 13th Floor, the whole purpose is to get back to the soul of music.
Music is so microwave today, and the industry is very canibalistic in that it is eating it’s own soul. Most of the
music on the radio has a hot beat on it, but will it give me something I can think about after all the dancing and
the clubbing is over? No! So you’ll notice that there are no club records on this album. The beats are hot and
you can bounce to them, but the lyrical content isn’t about partying and clubbing. We call it “Soul Food - Part
2,” because nobody’s putting out any substance records that make you think.
RIC: It’s free too! We’re just trying to feed people information that will open their eyes to the truth about what’s
going on in the world today. I grew up in a Christian home, and even though the music we do isn’t
Contemporary Gospel music, it is similar in that we are getting the truth out, just like in Gospel.
IAE: You guys just go out of your major label record deal, so you understand the highs and lows of
being signed to a major label. Tell the aspiring artists out there, what the reality of the GAME of
music?
JS: Yeah, we were signed to Capitol Records, but the game has changed so much from the days when labels
were developing artists. Even though we were signed, we got no support in the realm of marketing and
promotions. All Capitol did was provide us with better studio equipment than what we already had. But beyond
that, all of our success has been a result of our work ethic, not the label’s doing.
RIC: Then you have to know the business, because if you don’t, the labels are going to take advantage of you.
I feel sorry for the person who goes into the game thinking it’s what they see on TV.
JS: Also, labels are offering 360 deals now, where they get paid for stuff they don’t even have any right to lay
claim on. Sadly, people are signing those deals and selling their souls to get in the game! That’s why we made
this 13th Floor EP, because nobody wants to stop on the 13th Floor and examine what’s there, which is why you’
ll get on an elevator in a high-rise building and won’t even see a 13th Floor button (laughs). I guess ignorance
is bliss to some people?
IAE: What was the creative process like when you created this particular 13th Floor EP?
JS: Prior to the start of the project, we had already been educating ourselves about some things that we had
never fully explored, so we felt the need to work on a project that shed light on what we had learned. Lyrically,
we took the narrow road that’s least traveled but has the most resistence.
RIC: We had a lot to talk about, but couldn’t get it all in on one EP, so this particular one is just Volume One
(laughs). We completed it in like 3 weeks though.
JS: There’s entirely too much stuff going on in the world for us to be clubbing all the time. What are we
celebrating? We’re at war, in a recession, and nobody seems to recognize it? That’s what the 13th Floor is
about, overall. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a depressing album, it’s fun, but it’s real!
IAE: The DIY (do-it-yourself) movement has grown tremendously in recent years, as it refers to
music referred to this new 13th Floor EP you’re currently promoting. So how difficult has it been
promoting the release independently?
RIC: Again, the label never gave us anything to build on as far as reaching a broader fanbase than we already
had in Atlanta. For example, we had a song on the TV series “Private Practice,” which led to over 22,000 hits a
day on our MySpace page because people dug the song. But the label didn’t do anything with that! We were
like, “Come on yaw! Let’s do this, it’s time!” But they acted like it wasn’t even happening?! So we’ve always
functioned as an indie group, and remained grassroots.
JS: Right now, the bloggers of the world have been the target for us, because they have so many people
following them. But what shocked me was, a particular blogger liked the 13th Floor EP, but wanted to charge us
a crazy amount of money to write about it. So we’re just grass-roots, like performing live with our band, things
like that.
IAE: If you could change one thing about the music industry what would it be and why?
JS: The people running the labels who are behind this dumbing down of music (laughs).
RIC: I would put Dukes of Daville’s music all over the TV and Radio airwaves, because people need to wake up!
| Dukes of Daville - Recording Duo |
After Leaving Their Major Record Label Deal The ATL Duo Is Officially D.I.Y.
| Dukes of Daville |
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