2 Deep
Shattering Southern Stereotypes
By: Adam Bernard
Last updated October 1st , 2009

Sure, he can give ya all the swag you can you handle, but 2 Deep would much rather serve you up something a little more lyrical. The 24-year-old Memphis, TN, native knows what everybody has come to expect from southern emcees, but the 50,000 units he's moved of his mix-CDs, For Everybody But You and Take It Or Leave It, tell him people are ready for a change. They're ready for the south to show the world there's a lot more to them than just dances and catch phrases. To put it simply, people are ready for a new south and 2 Deep, aka The Southern President, is looking to be the man to lead the way. This week 101D.com caught up with 2 Deep to find out more about his story.

101D.com: Start us off by telling everyone a little bit about who 2 Deep is and some of the moves he's made so far.

2 Deep: 2 Deep is just a representation of the streets, coming from nothing to something, and the new south. I represent the lyricists of the south and the have-nots and the people who are trying to have somethin. I've been doing my thing on the underground level for quite some time, probably since 16, 17. I started out independent kinda like Master P, selling a lot of units out the trunk, probably pushed 50,000 CDs out of the trunk of my car just around Memphis and the surrounding areas. Right now I'm trying to take it to the next level.

101D.com: I'm glad you mentioned lyrics because there's a stigma regarding southern rappers right now that they're more about swag than skills. Percentage-wise, how much of 2 Deep is swag and how much of 2 Deep is skills?

2 Deep: I'd say I'm about 20-25% swag, 75-80% skills because I feel like I got a lotta creativity to how I come across, but at the same time the lyrics are very important to me. A lot of times I find myself trying to dumb down some of the stuff I say in order for it to be acceptable to certain crowds and certain consumers, but I feel like once I put out a certain amount of the records that they like they'll gravitate towards the other type of music that I enjoy making more. I use the singles to grab their ears and my mixtapes more as a platform to give more of the type of music that I like.

101D.com: And you mentioned you sold 50,000 mixtapes out of the trunk of your car.  How big is that trunk!?

2 Deep: I had a pretty big trunk, actually. I had a '64 Impala and a Cadillac DeVille. Down south it's just how we do. {laughs}

101D.com: You know you've moved units when you can fit the groceries in the trunk again.

2 Deep: Right, most definitely!

101D.com: I checked out some of your videos and we need to talk about "Turn U Out," which is VERY explicit. Where did you find the girls for the video and how much do you wish BET Uncut was still around to air it?

2 Deep: {laughs} Well, as far as finding them girls I didn't have to look too far because we'll just say they stay in contact with me on a very everyday basis. We do a lot of business together and make a lot of moves together. As far as BET Uncut, I really REALLY wish that was still up because I think that would be a lot of people's favorite video.

101D.com: Talk to me about your title, The Southern President. With T.I. being the King of the South, what are your duties as President?

2 Deep: I feel like it's my duty to represent the south in the best way possible. I feel like as far as the new school there's a lot of cats that came out and they done gave us this persona and because of that we're only perceived as one way; we can only make dance records, we can only make little club records and stuff that's not gonna be around for long periods of time. The type of artists I grew up listening to are artists that are still able to make music now, whether it's UGK, Scarface, Jay-Z, they got longevity in the game and I'm trying to bring some longevity to new southern artists.

101D.com: Moving from music to life, you were in a little bit of trouble with the law at one point, facing charges of possession with intent to sell.


2 Deep: Yeah I caught a couple dumb charges when I was 18, like back to back.


101D.com: How did facing those charges affect you?


2 Deep: It makes you look at life from a different perspective. When you're on the street you're only thinking about the street and the moves you're making in the street, you're not thinking about how to fix yourself and how to fix the people that's closest to you. Being faced with the thought of my freedom being taken from me, even if it wasn't for a long period of time, it just let me know that I had to get a lot more serious with the time I do have and make the most of it.

101D.com: Can you describe the feeling you had when you beat those charges?

2 Deep: Aw man, it was real good. I wouldn't necessarily say I beat em, I did a year of probation, but it was great to say I'm back to being free and I don't have to worry about going to no court. It was exceptional.

101D.com: In terms of your life, what would you say your proudest moment has been so far?

2 Deep: I think my proudest moment is really just being able to leave my city and represent my city and when I go back home seeing the reaction from people and how they look at me now. They're looking at me like "he's next up." The good vibe from the people in the streets and the people who've been keeping account of what I've been doing all these years, it really means the world.

101D.com: Finally, what's next for 2 Deep?

2 Deep: We're gonne re-release For Everybody But You with 5-6 new songs on it. I'm working towards the release of that. I'm working towards the new year and looking forward to getting some radio play at the top of 2010. We got a lot of videos and we're actually shooting another. It will be for the single "This Is My Life." I've started to learn the visuals are more important than just making the music because the more visuals I put out there it seems the fans get more into my music and connect more with me and that's all I'm trying to do, just get noticed.

Check out For Everybody But You and Take It Or Leave It, courtesy of 101D.com!

[Tags] Feature, Rap