Pro Dillinger Speaks on Upcoming Album and Early Musical Influences
WORDS WITH WORD$ INTERVIEW #14
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Yo, it's the Pope, 1000WORD$.
Introducing Pro Dillinger, an artist whose dedication to his craft and relentless pursuit of greatness have set him apart in today's Hip-Hop landscape. With a flow that's as vicious as it is skillful, Pro Dillinger delivers bar after bar, hitting listeners with lyrical combos that are hard to ignore.
The journey hasn't been easy for Pro Dillinger, but his commitment and many sacrifices have made him an artist's artist. From his standout performance on his projects “Pray For My Prey" to eagerly anticipated releases "Dirt Don't Hurt" and "Steiner Brothers," Pro Dillinger has consistently proven himself as a force to be reckoned with.
As a good friend and collaborator, I've had the opportunity to witness his talent live on stage multiple times. In this exclusive interview, we dive deep into Pro Dillinger's catalogue, his early influences, and what it takes to make it in this game.
THIS IS WORDS WITH WORD$.
1000WORD$: Yo, this is 1000WORD$. I'm here with my brother Pro Dillinger. Let the people know where you from my brother.
Pro Dillinger: Peace, what up man. I'm from Haverstraw, New York. Rockland County to be specific.
1000WORD$: Fire. How was it growing up in Rockland County?
Pro Dillinger: It was difficult, you know what I mean? It was difficult for a minute. We didn't really have too much when I was young coming up. But my mom made do, my pops did what he could, and I'm here right now. So at the end of the day, it's still difficult out here. It might be even a little worse than what it was back when I was coming up because all of the young boys and stuff getting active. So I just try to more or less stay out the way, stay focused on what I'm doing, and just mind my business.
1000WORD$: How was the culture in your house? What were your parents listening to?
Pro Dillinger: My mother is Puerto Rican. So a lot of salsa, like a lot of salsa. My pops is black, so on that side I was getting a lot of soul, R&B, funk, gospel, you know what I mean? I had a real good blend of everything together. It was a lot of Latin influence in my house, a lot of black influence in my house. On Sunday mornings, my mother would get up early. She'd just start cooking breakfast for us and shit like that, but we'd be listening to Farrakhan on the radio. So it was different, a nice little blend.
1000WORD$: Nice. So now going to school out there, how was the culture in school?
Pro Dillinger: The same. When we first moved here it was a lot of white kids. But as the years went on, I got my kids in middle school, the old neighborhood started looking the same. So pretty much the same, a lot of Hispanic kids, a lot of black kids, a lot of mixed kids, and we all listen to the same shit. We all used to thug in the same block, you know what I mean? It was the same.
1000WORD$: What era of Hip-Hop do you feel like you grew up in?
Pro Dillinger: I feel like I grew up through like three years of hip hop. I'm from '84. So I remember the tail end of the 80s, a lot of Run DMC and LL Cool J. Then I remember the house party era where everybody dancing, big flat tops and shit like that. Then I remember when it turned to gangsta rap. And then after that, it went down south. I'm still here. I'm grown up now, but it's crazy that it took that long for everything to circle back to New York and the sound that we're at now.
1000WORD$: When you were able to put together your own palette of artists and music that you wanted to listen to at a young age, who were some of the people that you grew up listening to?
Pro Dillinger: First and foremost, Hector Lavoe I always tell people Hector Lavoe is my spirit animal, you know what I'm saying? Lots of Hector Lavoe, lots and lots of Rick James, Prince, Michael Jackson, Celia Cruz, Tito Nieves, Tito Rojas, like everything, bro. When I was little I used to want to be a salsero, but I couldn't sing. That's what gravitated me towards rap music, you know?
1000WORD$: Yeah, what was the moment that captivated you [to be] like, "Yo, I want to do this Hip-Hop shit," you know what I mean? What was the song that you remember [your] first time hearing [it] on the radio, and you're like, "Oh shit."
Pro Dillinger: "Release Yo'Delf" by Method Man. That was the song that made me want to be a rapper, you know,? I tell the story a lot but my older brother was in a group home. He went AWOL from the group home and he was all the way in Far Rockaway, Queens. N***a went AWOL and came all the way up to Rockland dolo. When the group home people came to get the n***a, he left a couple of tapes in my house by accident [in] his Walkman. That was my first Walkman and my first couple of tapes. The tapes was Method Man's "Tical" and Onyx's "Bacdafucup." I remember when I first heard "Released Yo'Delf," that shit changed my life. It opened up a lot of doors for me because after I heard "Tical," I went back and listened to "36 Chambers" and that took me down a rabbit hole. After that was "Liquid Swords," and then Old Dirty Bastard's first album, and then "Ironman." It took me down a whole rabbit hole bro and then I just never came out.
1000WORD$: Fire. What age [did] you discover you could put words together?
Pro Dillinger: I wrote my first rhymes when I was like 12. It wasn't really that good, but up to that point, I was already listening to shit on the radio and learning the words to different songs. So I had cadence, you know what I mean? I had the basics, but I just didn't have enough worldly knowledge, you know, I was little kid.
1000WORD$: Facts. How do you feel you approached the first time that you created your bars? Was it aggressive as it is now? How do you think you approached it at that age?
Pro Dillinger: I was just putting words together, bro, and trying to sound tough and shit. I've always had a different voice, but I didn't know how to use it then. I didn't like the way my voice sounded because it was just different from everybody else's. I did that for like two years and then when I was 14, I put oout my first project. We pressed up 300 CDs. I was selling them shits hand to hand on Canal Street, moving around the hood. One for three, two for five, I sold all of them too.
1000WORD$: What's the name of that project?
Pro Dillinger: It was self titled. It was called "Protege." There was seven songs on it. Three of them I made the beat. I used to make beats back then and all of that. That's when I really started to gain a little confidence in his rap shit. I was like, "Oh, aight," you know what I mean? And then I just kept dropping joints. With this project that I'm about to put out in February, if I count all of them, this is like my 28th project.
1000WORD$: In New York City we have mixtape spots. What were the mixtape spots around where you grew up at, if there was one in your town?
Pro Dillinger: It used to be like all the gas stations and shit, during the 50 cent era, DJ white owl era and shit. Me and my n****s used to rush to the gas stations because the gas stations in my hood is all ocks. So all of the ocks, they know what the new fly shit is. They used to come up here maybe once or twice a week with new White Owl mixtapes, new mixtapes, you know what I mean? And then of course, you know, we got a spot in my hood called Mr. Cheap, it was like where all the hood n****s go to get they white tees and boxes and shit like that. They used to have all the mixtapes right there on the counter, bro. And with the mixtapes came the fucking instrumental tapes. The J Armz, the DJ Lazy K tapes, all of that shit. So we was running down on all of the fucking instrumental mixtapes and all of that, bro.
1000WORD$: That's fire. That's fucking fire. Now, did you go to any concerts growing up?
Pro Dillinger: Nah. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to do a lot of concerts growing up or a lot of hip hop shows and stuff. My parents, they encouraged it. They didn't mind me being into the culture, but they weren't like, "Yo, come on. I'm gonna take you to your first show" or whatever, you know what I mean? I had to do all that myself. So initially, the first show I ever went to was a punk rock show, and then, I just kept going to those because the energy felt familiar, you know what I'm saying? Moving forward, when I got older, I realized that punk and Hip-Hop [are] the same. You know, back in the late 70s, early 80s, there was no clubs for punk rock or Hip-Hop. So we shared a lot of the same venues, you know what I'm saying? We shared those with the new wave n****s too. So it was punk, new wave, and Hip-Hop, and we all blended together. I think that's why we got the sound that we have now. The energy was the same. So I was going through a lot of punk shows until I started doing Hip-Hop shows myself. That's when I started getting exposed to that shit, you know? But it's all the same energy.
1000WORD$: What was your first performance?
Pro Dillinger: I was like 15 and my manager at the time, after I did that first project, he rented out the little goon spot in Nyack. it was a whole other different neighborhood then mine and all of that. People used to get hurt in the Elks in Nyack. N***a rented out the Elks, he set it up and shit, and I did a show there, you know what I mean? It was fire. I had a good time. My parents were there. All the homies was there. It was dope.
1000WORD$: What are some of the local legends in your town, if there are any that rap, that you grew up listening to? Like someone from your town that your like, "Oh shit," you know, local heroes that nobody probably even heard of?
Pro Dillinger: Several, bro. One of them so happens to be Sep, who we all familiar with. I know he hates that I tell this story, but Sep used to be a rapper back in the day, the best rapper in my neighborhood. The n***a was like 50 Cent before 50 Cent, smacking rappers, all types of shit, deadass, I mean this shit. I came up under him and I credit him and Potato God a lot for molding me as an aggressive style type of rapper. I had to be. I was a young n***a rapping with a bunch of old n****s and shit. So Sep for sure, my other big bro Iron Robe, Saigon. He's from Spring Valley not from Haverstraw but he's from the county. It was a couple of cats out here doing it, like, really really doing it, you know? For me to still be here now, still doing my thing, still respected at my age, and having been done what I did out here for so long, but almost getting a second wind and a breath of fresh air with this shit, I'm privileged bro. I'm honored, you know what I'm saying? That I have another life in this hip hop shit and I didn't just fade away into one of them "could have been" n****s. Every hood got n****s that could have been something. I don't want to ever be no "could have been" n***a. I want to be the n***a that did it.
1000WORD$: Facts. How was your first experience when you received a project of yours on vinyl?
Pro Dillinger: It was crazy, man. Shouts out to of Frank's Vinyl. They were the first company to give me an opportunity to press up my work. He did real good business with me. I didn't have to chase this guy for no money, the promotion was great, the product looked beautiful, the fans was happy, and I was excited. It was a milestone for me, bro. When I go downstairs and I looked through my vinyl collection that's always my prized one, you know what I'm saying? The original press from Frank's is a constant reminder.
1000WORD$: And what album was that?
Pro Dillinger: "MOSfoul." "MOSfoul" was my first pressing, you know what I'm saying? So salute and shout out to Frank's Vinyl Records for doing that for me, man. I really appreciate them.
1000WORD$: Growing up, if you was to be a wrestler, what wrestler would you be?
Pro Dillinger: Ah, man shit. There was so many, bro.
1000WORD$: But right now what wrestler describes you?
Pro Dillinger: Sting.
1000WORD$: Haha, yeah.
Pro Dillinger: Black and white Sting too, not surfer Sting. I was surfer Sting in the beginning. I'm black and white Sting now.
1000WORD$: Why do you pick Sting?
Pro Dillinger: Black and white Sting to me was probably the best gimmick. You couldn't exactly say it was a U-turn, right? Because he wasn't a bad guy. But he was anti-NWO he was anti-WCW and, son he was just there. That's how I feel.
1000WORD$: He was like a nomad.
I'm not with no politics. I'm not with no bullshit. I ain't on no cliquey shit, like, it's me. I'm Sting.
1000WORD$: Facts, that's fire. Who are your influences in hip hop that make you feel like, "Yeah, man. I gotta go hard like these motherfuckers."
You mean like guys currently that inspire me?
1000WORD$: Nah, nah, like growing up. When I listen to you I get like Styles P, like a fucking Kool G Rap [vibe], you know what I'm saying?
Pro Dillinger: Oh, absolutely. You know, [Mobb Deep], NAS, [Wu Tang Clan], [The Notorious B.I.G], you know what I'm saying? Those were all my influences. And then when The Lox came out, are you shitting me? At the same time, I had local influences. I had people that I was growing up under, learning the craft from, you know what I'm saying? My older brother Shinobi, Sep and them guys, [Iron Robe], CX, and Secret Service. Man, these n****s used to be so dope. [Wu Tang Clan] used to come up here just to kick it with them n****s and go record with them. [Wu Tang Clan] used to throw barbecues n***a, at Rockland lake. So I was always around this shit. I just didn't know that it would turn into what it turned into now, you know what I'm saying? So mad influences, bro.
1000WORD$: What does The Umbrella mean to you?
Pro Dillinger: Greatness. It's the same shit that I said when I was talking Henry Blanco to me, when I think of The Umbrella, it's such an incredible, unique thing that nobody's done since [Wu Tang Clan], you know what I mean? Not on purpose. I didn't try to follow the model, but, that was the blueprint that was laid for us. You could actually go back in time and witness how they made nine n****s famous all at one time. Everybody did their own thing, everybody had their own way, their own fans, and when they came together it was like fucking Voltron. So that's how I feel right now. I feel like what we're doing is special, like what [Wu Tang Clan] or what [Griselda] was doing when they first dropped, you know what I mean? It's something that can't be described. It's something that you can't trap in a bottle. It's something that you can't recreate, you know what I mean? I feel like it's special. That's what the umbrella is to me.
1000WORD$: Last year, September 3rd, I threw a show. I think it was September 3, right? That was my first time seeing you officially performed because for your first show, they closed it. For Chelsea Music Hall, you invited me to a show and they shut it down because I guess the time was done. So you performed outside. [I was outside taking pictures.] It was crazy for me as a fan. Fast forward to The Cookout, I see my bro Pro Dillinger pull up with the outside shirt, and he just came on stage and got busy, man. You got busy, bro. And to be at the birthplace of Hip-Hop and a place I call home, Tuff City, you know what I'm saying? As an artist that performed there, how do you feel the energy was in that place?
Pro Dillinger: It felt right. Walking though the crowd, I felt like I was making an entrance, you know what I'm saying? Like Sting. That's why I wore that shit that day, you feel me. I really felt like that.
1000WORD$: That's how I felt n***a. This n***a came out the rafters.
Pro Dillinger: Yeah, out the rafters, you know what I'm saying? I just popped out, everybody started looking scary and shit. That's how I want it to feel every time, you know what I'm saying? That show was very very special to me because, first and foremost, I was born in the Bronx originally, in Lincoln High School. We moved up here to Rockland in like 1995-1996. So that was special to me, right there. Being outside, you know, performing outdoors, I never did that before so that was real different. The crowd energy was great. I had never seen that many people at one time, besides supply and demand. I think more people were at The Cookout than Supply and Demand, honestly. It felt like more people there. And it felt a little more intimate.
1000WORD$: It felt like the people that needed to be there it were there.
Pro Dillinger: Exactly. And to have to be on a bill like that, with the artists that you brought in, it was like almost like, "Yeah, aight. I belong here," you know what I'm saying? Some niggas get intimidated by that shit like, "Oh shit, [Stove God Cooks] is performing, Estee Nack is performing, so and so is performing." That motivates me because one day I hope to be as recognized as these particular brothers. Knowing that that's in my future, why would I be intimidated to go up and do my thing? It's just another show. For me, it's another day at work, bro. I'm clocking in.
1000WORD$: This is what you signed up for. Word.
Pro Dillinger: This is my job, you know,? This is what I do. So I put on the stink face and I come do my shit
1000WORD$: Facts. How much have you sacrificed?
Pro Dillinger: Oh man, plenty. I'm not talking about music shit, I mean just period. I've sacrificed time, money, friends, relationships, anything. I'm not saying that that's always a good thing. But when you're caught up in the pursuit of greatness, not everybody or everything in your life is going to get the same attention that it deserves. It's like wrestling, bro. You on the road 350 days a year. You don't see your family. There's none of that, you know what I mean? But you know you're trying to be the top guy. That's why I'm out here like this. I'm trying to be the top guy. I want to get top dollar. I want to I want my face on T-shirts. I want people painting pictures of me, wanting me to sign shit, and walking up to me giving me hugs. That's why I'm here. I want to be the greatest, bro.
1000WORD$: And you're on your way, bro.
Pro Dillinger: Thank you, brother.
1000WORD$: You're on your way, my brother. What do you got coming up next, my bro?
Pro Dillinger: "Dirt Don't Hurt" drops February 28th. And then in March, me and Snotty are dropping the "Steiner Brothers" project. I gotta let you hear some records off of that, lowkey.
1000WORD$: Yo, please man, Let me tell you something, man. When y'all motherfuckers get in that bag, when you get in that bag. "Sting vs. Flare" is an amazing piece of work, bro.
Pro Dillinger: Thank you, bro.
1000WORD$: So I could imagine what "Steiner Brothers” is gonna sound like.
Pro Dillinger: This one's not going to be as technical as "Sting vs Flair." See, with "Sting vs Flair"
1000WORD$: It was like a match.
Pro Dillinger: Yeah, and it was very technical. We were saying wrestling terms that only motherfuckers that's in the game would know and shit like that. The "Steiner Brothers" is more like a slobberknocker. This is just some gangster shit.
1000WORD$: Attitude Era revived.
Pro Dillinger: Attitude Era shit, yeah. But it's not me and my bro facing each other, it's us versus everybody else.
1000WORD$: Ah, I got you. I got you. That's fucking fire, bro.
Pro Dillinger: We've been working on this project for a minute now, bro. Snotty was getting locked up in and out of jail. I was going through some personal shit. So it just never got done. But now that we're both back in good spaces mentally and legally, you know, I was going through some shit with that, too. Now we both clean. None of us got court cases. Neither of us is on probation. None of that, you know what I'm saying? Everything is good. So we could just move forward how we want to move forward. So that's where n****s is at with it right now.
1000WORD$: What are the things that you need to get you in the zone to write or record the way you do?
Pro Dillinger: Most of the time, for me, it's just time. I just have to have the time and the space. You know, I'm married. I live with my wife, my kids, you know? So sometimes it's hard to get that time and that space. But when I do, I get in my basement, I close the door, I get a six pack, I get a couple of eighths, and that's all I need, you know what I mean? Good beats, and I'm locked in. Most of the time, I split [my day] into two shifts. So I'll get up and I'll start working on music probably like 8:30-9 o'clock, all the way to like 2:30-3. I take a break until like 5 or 6 and then I'll do my night shift, so like 11. Treat it like a job and it pays you like a job.
1000WORD$: Well Pro, my brother, I appreciate you.
Pro Dillinger: I appreciate you having me.
1000WORD$: Thank you my brother.