Since I have been here in Killeen, I've kept my eye on quite a few artists.
One that has caught my attention is Dre B.
I've seen him perform at a few showcases and I follow him on social media and see that despite maintaining family life, he devotes time and work to being an MC.
After reading his Facebook post the other day and reading the good news he signed a distribution deal with Universal Records. I decided to hit him with a few quick questions:
Where you originally from? And how long you been rhyming?
I was born here in Killeen, Texas on the military base of Fort Hood at Darnell Hospital. In my first few years of life, I moved around with my mother because of her military orders before settling in and being brought up by my grandparents in the small town of Summerville, Georgia. I was raised there until I was 13, when I moved back with my mother here in Killeen and this has been my home ever since.
How long you been rhyming?
I started making music when I was 13 with some childhood friends from the Willow Springs neighborhood under an independent label by the name of I and I Records...But the negative choices made from being in the street life hindered my stability to balance the music and be serious and consistent with it. Music was always my love, but I was in too deep with the street life that I always pushed it to the side.
At the age of 18, I was sentenced and sent to the state penitentiary for the length of 6 years, which I actually completed 4 behind the walls and two on parole. It was during that time of my life where I told myself “you have too much potential, so let’s take this music life serious”. So when I got out, I once again hooked up with some neighborhood friends and we would form the Independent Group by the name of InYaFace Entertainment. This time I was serious, passionate, and driven towards it. Over the time of that course, I would break away from IYF and form my own group by the name of SUCCESS CLICK MUZIK GROUP(SCMG).
I haven’t looked back since!
According to your Facebook, you just signed a distribution deal with Universal Records, tell me about it?
Because of my consistent drive, constant music & videos being released, and my placements on social media blog sites, I was recognized by an A&R under the Universal Music Group's umbrella. It unraveled from an Instagram major blog page by the name of SayCheeseTv, where I would drop a few of my videos for major recognition because the page is followed by major household names like Drake, Meek Mill, Atlantic Records, etc. My sacrifices and drive did not go unnoticed. On April 16th, 2020, after many conversations, I was offered a Distribution deal under the Universal Music Group umbrella and today I can proudly say that I stand a part of the UMG family!
What's your plan, what does this mean for Killeen?
I have always represented my city to the fullest with the utmost respect, even when my city didn’t respect me or show the support I would want. So I’m extremely proud to be able to have grasped a major accomplishment like this to be able to shine a light on my city because there’s a tremendous amount of talent here that needs that recognition. I’m ready to achieve greatness and bring it home and show the world that Killeen, Texas is more than just a military town......It’s really a hidden gem and it deserves to be shining bright. But one step at a time and I plan to keep doing what brought me here....and that’s being me!
Here is a few of Dre B's songs, be on the lookout.... he's amongst the names of people putting Killeen on the map!
