Biography
“Trillville
started because everybody else was being real so we decided to
be three times as real,” which is trill, says Don P. That’s
all fine and dandy, but where in the hell is Trillville? “Trillville
is any city, any hood, [and] any state that’s trill about
representin’,” he continues. “And we fa’trill
about representin’ the A-town.” As a matter of fact,
Trillville kept things so persistently trill, they convinced BME
Recordings, Atlanta’s premier indie label, owned by and
responsible for the success of artists such as Lil John &
The East Side Boyz, to attend one of their packed-out shows. Soon
after the i’s were dotted, the t’s were crossed and
Trillville had a deal with the power-team that has crunk music
eating from the palms of their hands. “They are a movement,”
describes Lil Jon. “Sorta how Cypress Hill was a voice for
weed, Trillville is a voice for anarchy and rebellion. Their focus
is on the movement of young people in high school and college.
Like heavy metal.”
The
boisterous and brash Trillville began their bid for the title
"Gods of Crunk" in 1997 while attending ninth grade
in Atlanta's public school system. Dirty Mouth was leader of the
school's snare drum line along with writing his own rhymes, Don
P was rapping and working on producing beats with his keyboard,
and Lil LA (aka Lil Atlanta) was an aspiring promoter, later to
become a rapper himself. Lil LA guaranteed and delivered a packed
house every time the group hit the stage as young Atlanta took
to their new crunk sound. Over the years Lil LA joined with his
own raps and the group named themselves Trillville, a combination
of "truth" and "real." Lil Jon attended one
of the group's sold-out shows and soon had them signed to the
BME label. Their single "Neva Eva" started heading up
the charts in late 2003, with the full-length King of Crunk &
BME Recordings Present: Trillville following in early 2004.
Songs
about keepin’ it real, staying true to the game, bar-b-q’n
versus mildewin’, and opting to ride or die always seem
to find themselves laced throughout a rapper’s lyrics to
prove his or her value and credibility. So much so it’s
gotten harder and harder to tell who’s who and what’s
what. The alternative? Keeping’ it trill. At least that’s
what Atlanta ’s own Trillville believes. Instead of keepin’
it real, Don P., Dirty Mouth, and Lil LA, AKA Lil Atlanta, keep
it trill: a culmination of what’s truth and what’s
real.
Speaking in
the lobby of BME’s offices, Don P. explains. “We are
going to continue what Lil Jon has established as the King of
Crunk. We are goin’ to keep the movement going and the energy
moving. As the heirs to the throne we will be known as the Gods
of Crunk.” Like most rappers and producers, Trillville began
their music careers in 1997 within the confines of the public
school system. As 9th grade homies Don P., Dirty Mouth, and LA
learned of each other’s talents and decided to become a
group.
Dirty Mouth,
the school’s section leader of the snare drumline, had an
innate musical talent that lead to writing and spitting rhymes.
“I got my name from spittin' dirty rhymes,” Dirty
claims. “Music has always been apart of what I do. Even
in [Morris Brown] college I majored in music production.”
This caught the attention of Don P. who already owned a keyboard
and was making beats to add to his repertoire of being an MC.
“Dirty Mouth was writing raps in the 9th grade and I liked
his raps,” further explains the former Clark-Atlanta University
Mass Communications major. “They were pretty cool. I met
LA in the 9th grade too. He was a promoter, at first promoting
for me and Dirty Mouth. One day he told me he could rap. He got
on the mic, we liked it and ever since then we been Trillville.”
Each concert featured Don P. and Dirty Mouth performing and also
showed the savvy promo skills of LA. “I always guaranteed
a packed house wherever I promoted,” LA boasts. With the
trio’s rhyme skills cross-pollinated with the production
of Don P., the lyrics of Dirty Mouth, and the promotional skills
of LA, Trillville could not be stopped. It was this entrepreneurial
spirit that caught the eye of BME.
Trillville
is tagged as “that young crunk,” representing a new
revolution in Hip-Hop’s movement. Trillville counts among
their musical influences classic artists such as The O’Jays
and Earth, Wind, & Fire, along with contemporary artists such
as Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz and Three 6 Mafia. “Neva
Eva,” produced by Lil Jon and Don P. garnered much attention
from the Atlanta crunk scene is now getting played nationally
and is the first Trillville single and video from the upcoming
album. Other songs on their upcoming debut album are “Bedroom,”
“which is for the ladies,” smiles LA. “Stay
Low,” produced by Lil Jon, is a follow-up to the smash hit
single “Get Low.” Instead of glorifying the strippers
of the shake-ya-booty clubs, it is a cut about robbing and being
robbed. “Last Day Of School” is the rebellious follow
up to “Neva Eva” and is produced by Don P.
The music
of Trillville will not only introduce Don P., Dirty Mouth, and
LA to a new fan base, but it highlights a movement that has long
since been a part of the ATL-style for over two decades. They
are the next generation of crunk and feel that their debut release
The King of Crunk & BME Recordings Present Trillville &
Lil Scrappy will not only enhance the budding crunk movement,
but also further establish Southern hip-hop as its own entity.
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