Dillon Maurer is a Jacksonville native who currently lives in Atlanta. EU caught up with him at the photo shoot at Shanty Town for this “Have you Heard…Hip Hop” issue. He came into town to work on his new record, which is being produced by Therapy and engineered by Batsauce of The Smile Rays. He will also be performing live at Summertime in the City.
EU: How is it in Atlanta? Are you performing a lot up there, how hard is the scene to get into up there?
D: The scene is tough because it’s bigger. There’s more opportunity, and then there’s more room for garbage.
EU: It’s got a loud voice because of Outkast and Juvenile…
D: With that loud voice, though, there comes a certain stigma, a certain sound that people expect and that can be to your advantage or to your disadvantage. But good music is universal. No matter where you’re at, hopefully, you’ll get some appreciation. But I wouldn’t say Atlanta is the “hip-hop mecca” that people say it is. It’s more of a media-hype thing. It all depends on your sound.
EU: You used to go by the name Intellekt, which has an obvious semantic meaning about where you think your rhymes really are, and now you’ve moved to Dillon, have you lost some intellect in going to Dillon?
D: No, I think I gained a lot more. I started rhyming when I was 16 or 17, writing rhymes and whatever, I was always enamored with it. Intellekt was the first name I picked because I’m a nerd, super nerd, always have been. Straight A student, really into books more than anything, more than sports. I was always into books, so it really fit, right? As I delved more into hip-hop and just music, it came off as cheesy to me. Cliché. My whole sound, my whole approach to it was a little bit over-the-top. It was a little nerdy- too nerdy. I’m not mad at it, it’s where I’m from. Jacksonville will give you a sheltered perspective when it comes to doing that sort of music.
EU: So was the shift about authenticity?
D: Absolutely. That’s dead-on. It’s authenticity. By taking off all of the “gimmicks” I think that that’s actually working harder, I guess. Because it’s a lot more honest. I want to be serious enough that people will take me serious but at the same time universal. Personal, but at the same time not too personal.
EU: Maybe there’s a guy who’s looking for a show to go to this weekend, and he’s got a handful of flashy flyers in front of him, and one of them is for Summertime in the City. Why should he pick Summertime?
D: Hands down, it’s absolutely about the food at Burrito Gallery is why they should go. F**k all the other sh*t, the rap shows and all the other sh*t, it’s usually just a bunch of dudes that are broke as sh*t, and I’m one of them. I just want some mahi tacos and that’s why they should go. Otherwise, if you’re at all a hip-hop fan in Jacksonville, it’s like, the way I envision this shit is going to go down, it’s like the fair for our generation. It’s like Come Together Day for some motherf**kers that want some real sh*t, not this old bullsh*t. People I went to high school with, we’re all growing up and some of them are married with kids…This is a family-oriented event, which is dope and good for Jacksonville. And the mahi tacos are really f**king good, yo. They got the chimichurri sauce that’s so good. Mmm.
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EU Critic’s Choice Awards
