Others Passed On “Lil Quita” Before Trapboy Freddy Made It A Hit, Post Malone Denies He’s On Drugs And The Coronavirus Is Altering Dallas’ Concert Calendar.
Over the last few weeks, the Dallas hip-hop scene has been turned on its head over claims that Trapboy Freddy‘s hit song “Lil Quita” — Central Track’s pick for top area single release of 2019 — maybe isn’t as novel a track as it was first made out to be.
The kerfuffle launched on March 1 when the Dallas-based YouTube interview channel RealLyfe Productions posted an interview with the Dallas-sprun DJ and reality TV personality DJ Duffey, in which she claimed she was the first to record a version of the song.
Thing is, for all the hand-wringing this interview spurred, no one’s really denying that. Just two days after that DJ Duffey interview was posted, the Atlanta-based producer J. Oliver who was responsible for the beat took to the channel to clear up the implications made in Duffey’s statement. Long story short, he acknowledged that he’d been sharing the beat around to various performers in hopes of turning it into a hit — just as anyone else in his position might do. In his interview, he confirmed that Duffey was one of the artists who recorded a version of the track — he also adds that Dallas rapper Tay Money was too — but that none of those artists followed through on plans to release the track until Trapboy Freddy gave it a whirl and decided it was the right song for him.
Check out J. Oliver’s interview in full below:
Curious as we might be to hear what Tay Money might’ve done with “Lil Quita,” we tend to agree with Oliver in his assessment that Trapboy Freddy’s work on and commitment to the track are what turned it into a hit. No individual contributor is enough to turn any song into a hit; it takes all factors working together for magic like that to take place.
Speaking of things that may or may not lead to magic: Last week, Twitter users began to speculate on the health of the beloved Grapevine-raised pop star Post Malone, who was spotted in various video clips slurring his lyrics, rolling his eyes, falling and otherwise acting oddly. Those fans suggested Posty might be on drugs, but the performer himself was quick to react to these concerns at a Friday night performance at Memphis’s FedEx Forum: “I’m not on drugs and I feel the best I’ve ever fucking felt in my life,” he said between songs.
Post Malone addresses peoples concerns about his health pic.twitter.com/ETlHsA9uDk
— LazyAsf (@LazyAsfBRUH) March 7, 2020
Futhermore, Posty’s father Rich Post has also dismissed the veracity of the claims that his son is engaging in drug abuse:
There are a lot of things you will see on social media and in real life that can skew your opinion, cause stress, raise concern or flat out scare you.
When you find yourself feeling these things you should take a deep breath, widen the focus of what you see and relax.
— Rich Post (@rriproarin) March 5, 2020
I’m getting tired of it y’all.
What does this video say? Coherently playing the guitar while simultaneously singing?
Seems a lot harder than accidental slips and stage theatrics. https://t.co/2Z2IiU7dmt
— Rich Post (@rriproarin) March 6, 2020
I don’t want to come across as dismissive to those of you who have expressed concerned about Austin.
Your sincerity and kindness regarding him is certainly heartwarming and appreciated.
— Rich Post (@rriproarin) March 6, 2020
As reassuring as this is, the optics of the below video compilation are still leaving some fans disconcerted and worried. Without a proper context, it’s easy to understand why:
post malone has been acting strange and inebriated at his shows. ppl are fearing that this behavior is from drugs and alcohol. even if you don’t like post malone pls don’t cheer this on. he clearly needs help and ignoring it only leads to tragedies. remember amy winehouse. pic.twitter.com/8L428HzVQr
— ava (@skkwalkrr) March 6, 2020
While he may not be in trouble in real-life, it’s perhaps worth noting that Posty does portray a troubled young man in the new, Peter Berg-directed Mark Wahlberg film Spenser Confidential. In the film, which is currently streaming on Netflix, Posty plays a prison inmate who has a beef with Wahlberg’s titular character. Also cool: The Fort Worth space-rockers in Quaker City Night Hawks have a song placed in the film.
One last Posty-related note before we move on: His third full-length LP Hollywood’s Bleeding will be getting the vinyl treatment as part of Record Store Day 2020, which recently announced an extensive list of limited-edition vinyl pressings as part of its annual holiday’s releases. Also on this list is A Simple Trick to Happiness, the latest from none other than Dallas’s own Lisa Loeb. Among the 415 other exclusive releases available for the Saturday, April 18, record store celebration are excluive drops from The Rolling Stones, Brian Eno, Charles Mingus, The Weeknd, Charli XCX, Wire, Tyler the Creator and hundreds of others.
You should support local record stores year-round, but this is an especially opportune moment for us to suggest you check out places such as Good Records, Josey Records, Spinster Records, Top Ten Records, and other places in Dallas. If you’re a Dentonite, we would recommend hitting up Mad World Records and Recycled Books. For those of you from Fort Worth, we would suggest celebrating at Doc’s Records and Vintage and Arlington’s Truth Vinyl. Just something to consider — because, even as some area record stores are growing, we are still losing some at a shocking clip.
Speaking of albums: Arlington product Maren Morris’s latest full-length, GIRL, was just certified as gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Congratulations on this new milestone, Maren! Here’s to hoping that The Highwomen’s excellent self-titled album follows.
By way of other (albeit less pleasant) news for Arlington, the coronavirus is continuing to impact the music industry in many subversive ways — and it’s for this reason that Justin Bieber’s team is moving his June 27 show at AT&T Stadium to American Airlines Center in Dallas. Is it possible that ticket sales for this show would have been modest even without a possible pandemic on the horizon? Probably. But, in defense of the Biebs, the COVIS-19 outbreak couldn’t have possibly helped.
There’s a silver lining behind every cloud, though: KISS is cancelling a string of meet-and-greets, including one scheduled at Fort Worth’s Dickies Arena on October 2. That Gene Simmons, ever the greedy opportunist, decided to forego a series of lucrative engagements in the interest of not contracting the virus is a testament of just how severe this outbreak is. Conversely, it’s great news that fewer North Texans will be spending hundreds of dollars just to shake hands with an insufferable, misogynist blowhard and Paul Stanley.
What’s that saying about windows opening when a door closes? We’re not sure, but it’s with this phrase in mind that we pass along word that the noted, Dallas-tied taste-making music blog Gorilla Vs. Bear is bringing back its recurring GvsB event for an eighth go on Thursday, September 24, at the Granada Theater. Performers at this one include Yaeji and Jessy Lanza. Get more info here.
Also on the come-up this week? Dallas rapper Fat Yunginn, who the Dallas Observer reports has signed a deal with New Orleans’ legendary Cash Money Records.
Dallas rapper SadFaceThuggin, meanwhile, has penned a guest editorial for DJ Booth about his own steady rise.
Beyond all of the above, it’s been a hell of a week for new Dallas music.
First up on the release docket is Jacob Furr’s new EP, Return:
Fort Worth jazz outfit Rage Out Arkestra has also released a new, self-titled album that is also worthy of your ears:
Moving on from there, Dallas-sprung producer extraordinaire Medasin dropped a new album titled RIPPLS:
Also, Friends Don’t Let Friends Do Drugs, the project of Caleb Lewis of Upsetting, uploaded his latest effort, an ache where there once was agony:
Meanwhile, beyond some popsters popping up around Deep Ellum, Colleyville native Demi Lovato has dropped a new music video for her self-empowerment anthem, “I Love Me”:
Dallas synthpop duo Nite has a new song titled “All You’ve Ever Dreamed Of” as well:
Rapper S.Cams just uploaded a new single on Soundcloud that features Spaceman Jack. This number is called “Hypocrite”:
Folk duo Penny & Dime just premiered a new single, “Velvet Sun”:
Dentonite Scott Porter, the former Record Hop ax man, has released a pair of cuts this week under a new solo moniker called Death Positive. Here’s “Starter Cult”:
Speaking of area scene vets, the longtime Dallas rap and nu disco record-spinner Big J (of Clever Monkeys fame) has released a collection of funk tracks called Frantic Love:
The genre-blending Nelson Bandela too has a new collection ready for your consumption over on Bandcamp:
The Dallas rapper Flexinfab has a new video to share for his song “Money Machine”:
Sleazy Ease too has a new visual this week, this one for his track “Drip”:
Finally, as teased last week, the Dixie Chicks made good on their promise to end their long dormancy with the release of the video for their new single, “Gaslighter”:
And that does it for this week!
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