INDIE PUSHA PODCAST

DC Gudda Indie Spotlight

Adrian Season 1 Episode 29

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0:00 | 36:36

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SPEAKER_01

Everything going with you?

SPEAKER_00

Everything going good, man. How's everything going with you today?

SPEAKER_01

Man, hey, look, I'm blessed, but I ain't I ain't making no noise, man. Not too much, at least. You hear me?

SPEAKER_00

I feel you, man. Same here.

SPEAKER_01

Yes, low.

SPEAKER_00

So so we're gonna do this, uh, you know, we're gonna do an intro, then we're gonna get into it and you know let everybody know who you are and you know what you got going on, and you know, this just like a little vibe situation. So we so we just gonna just just have a good time with it, all right?

SPEAKER_01

Yes, Low.

unknown

I'm ready.

SPEAKER_00

Let's get it, babe. All right, man. What's going on? This is your boy AD, and tonight I got a powerful guest in the building. We're talking to a man who has put over two decades into his craft as a rap artist, engineer, producer, and entrepreneur, known in the music world as DC Gutter. Brandon Tolson has built a strong independent catalog, performed throughout the DMV and beyond, and turned real life pain, struggle, and perseverance into authentic music that speaks to the people. He's collaborated with a lot of people out here, you know what I'm saying, doing his thing. Tonight we're gonna we're gonna be we're going beyond the music. We're talking about the journey, the grind, the pain, the healing, and the growth and the legacy. Everybody, let's show some love to my man DC gutter.

SPEAKER_01

Yes, low, yes, low. I appreciate that, bro.

SPEAKER_00

Ain't no problem, man. That's how we that's how we do it when you come on here. So we just gonna, you know, we're gonna just start out like, you know, tell us tell us a little about yourself, you know, and then we're gonna let we're gonna just go from there.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Basically, bruh, like born and raised in Washington, DC, man, in Southeast, coming from Potomac guys, man. You know what I'm saying? Like family oriented. We locked in. Took a lot of losses early in life, bruh. Yeah, just took a lot of losses early in life, bruh. Uh lost my mother, you know what I'm saying? When I was like around eight, man, she died at AIDS, you know, during during the crack in the AIDS epidemic. Uh grandmother pretty much raised me. We lost her around about 14, 15. You know what I'm saying? Start start going back and forth in and out to jail, ended up doing juvie life, going down Oak Hill back in the day, and still going back and forth from Upper Marlboro to DC jail. Just, you know what I mean? Just just I like going my wild shit, man. Um, and trying to just find myself and put myself in position to whereas I was just trying to do better, you know what I mean? Fast forward, man. Came home from doing the juvie life shit. They sent me out Pennsylvania to do uh some what they call residential time as a juvenile. I went out there, I did a couple of years out there, um, came back home, you know, doing my thing. You know what I'm saying? Lost two brothers, man. Lost my, you know what I'm saying? Um like I told you earlier, lost my mother and my grandmother, moving fast forward, man, in the streets, doing my thing, you know what I'm saying, and just basically, bruh, like going through the trials and tribulations, going through, you know, hurt, pain, motherfuckers spending me deceit, um, and just really trying, really find my way, bruh. Like, um, and you know, that pretty much happened from there. And you know, I mean, trying to change the way I move in life more a little bit different. So, you know, I was going in and you know what I'm saying, in and out, like working jobs. I was still trying to like trapping, still trying to, yeah, as far as the music, I always kept that consistent, and you know, just recently, you know, I'm saying, like, I lost my oldest son, bruh, to you know, this street shit, and just trying, just trying politics bruh, keep this shit always tall, bruh. Like, you know, just standing on all principles and business, but also going through a lot of hurt, a lot of you know what I'm saying, deceit, a lot of just trying to man, you know, put things together, bruh. You know what I'm saying? And that's why I'm mad in life right now. I'm trying to put everything together, you know what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_00

So when she's going through all that, how does that how did you transform that into your music?

SPEAKER_01

I just spit that something small because I'm gonna go. You know what I'm saying? Um I just dropped that shit, trying to really let everybody know what I'm going through. I ain't trying to like sugarcoat nothing as far as what I say and what I spit and what I've done, what I'm doing, what what I want to do. You know what I'm saying? So pretty much, bruh, like that's that's that's that's why I've been kind of standing with that shit. Like, I gotta let motherfuckers know the truth, bruh. Cause uh you know, it it's easy to try to spin it, but it's harder, man. Just to put your motherfucking foot in it, you know what I'm saying? Yeah, all right.

SPEAKER_00

So you've been you've been creating music for 22 years. Yeah, uh that's a lot of dedication, my my guy. So what keeps you doing what keeps you going during these early years when a lot of artists might have fell off or or quit in the earlier years, I was I was honestly, bruh, I was having a lot of fun with it, bro.

SPEAKER_01

Like, you know, in my earlier years, even though I had gone through a lot of different things, I was just having so much fun, bruh. Like that it was just like clicking up with the man, we we we dropping shit, you know. I had my own in-house studio, so it was just like let's just do this shit, you know what I'm saying? And man, just having man, just having fun with it, you know what I'm saying? Like that that kept me, you know, that kept me above walling with it. Uh as time went on, once I started going through more. Not saying I had I wasn't going through real life situations in the beginning, but as they started to hit me more, it was like, damn, okay. I started to kind of yeah, so it really more so man, just uh this man having fun and telling my story, standing on business type shit, man. Bruh, like that. That's what really kept me into it though, bruh. And uh, you know, I started rapping when I was young, bruh. Like, you know, when I had lost my mother back, you know, at I was like eight when I lost my mother. So it was like I started rapping around nine and ten. And I just kept at it. Like I had my brother, he was one of my biggest motivations to keep rapping. God rest his soul. And I just kept doing this shit, bruh, over, and it just made me feel it made me feel like I was it, it made me feel like it was my purpose, bruh. You know what I mean? I think on my T shit.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, I like that. Because you you you you got a lot of music. I listen to a lot of what you what you've been putting out, you know. I'm I'm really impressed by what you're doing. Shout out to the D and D, you know, shout out to artists that's out here in the DNV doing their thing. Pretty much like what separates you or what makes you different from any artist in the DNV, and and where did you get your name DC Gutter from?

SPEAKER_01

That's a good one, bro. First and foremost, shout out to every artist in from wherever, but from the DMV, shout out to every artist, man. All love has always been that would give me my you know me, my motivation to my style and who I am, how I'm crafted. Man, life would do something to you so viciously, bruh. Sometimes that the only thing you got, man, is you, you know what I'm saying? And not saying that nobody there with you, but life will give you a whole different spin about how you move and how you motherfucking you open yourself up to you know what I'm saying, open yourself up to shit. So far as like man, my style, man, my style was just raw from the streets, in and out. You feel what I'm saying? Like losing my mother, losing my brothers, my grandmother, losing my son, like all that culminates into who I am, bruh. So it's like I can't be on no pity patch shit and mat because I gotta tell a story like I'm telling mine. Because stories are part of my story. So that and that's why I'm at as far as that, bruh. Like I can't really, I can't really give it nothing less than that, bruh. Like, man, just just walking this path is it's something different, bruh. You know what I'm saying? It's something different, and also trying to give other people a little bit of a little bit of light on their path. So when they hit me, they like, damn, so my job been through that. I've been through that telling you, like, yeah, even though I've been through this, but I I ain't laying down though, bro. You know what I'm saying? I'm standing tall, so my rap style and how I maneuver as a real person, also in life, it's just man being grateful, being humble, but also knowing that it ain't no time to lay down right now, you know what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_00

You feel you so with if you've been going through everything you you you you deal with, because I know this is my mental health awareness. How do you deal with your grief and how do you uh like put it into your music?

SPEAKER_01

It'd be hard, bruh, to kind of like how I deal with it. I pray a lot, bruh. I've been in and out of, you know, I talk to people who I love who close to me, and you know, we break things down here and there. And as far as my music, I just drop it all in my music, hopefully, to touch the next person. And if I can touch them, then you know, you know, they may come back to me on something. Hey, man, Slim, hey, that line you said, Slim, I was not going through that. So I really for real, for real, bro. I I keep it, I keep it in God's hands, bruh. Like, and I move with it and I just stand on it, bro. From there, um I really don't I don't really do a lot of uh how can I say this? I really don't do a lot of like opening up a whole lot to different people or nothing unless I'm close to them. I really drop that shit in my music and say a lot of it, hoping that it heals somebody and also hoping that it builds somebody, bruh. So like that's where I'd be at with it, bro.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, I I appreciate it. Sometimes uh usually the interviews are you know things happening in line how they're supposed to, because uh pretty much like my May and June, my artist went into the hospital on Mother's Day, uh she didn't she didn't come back out, and it's been two years. So I still deal with the grief part of it. So pretty much I put it into what I'm doing to you know keep her legacy alive.

SPEAKER_01

That's number one. Um I not to cut you all my condolences, brother.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, I appreciate it. Same same to you. And uh with me doing that over here, like um what what are you doing like to you know, I know you're doing it in your music, but what other things are you doing to keep your your the the ones who lost legacy alive?

SPEAKER_01

To be honest with you, I try to stay synod with my fans, like with you know, with my kids, I got, you know, I'm saying I had four kids, I lost my oldest son, but with the my other three kids, I just try to stay in their life, man, and give them motivation and talk to them about whatever they may be going through and experiencing because um, you know, just just going through grief and and things early on, it's hard, bruh. You know what I'm saying? So I really try to stay in their life and telling them that hey, look, you know, it it's it's it's fucked up. Fuck you, excuse my language. It's fucked up. We gotta go ahead and lock in, and we can't it ain't no time to lay down now, man. You know what I'm saying? So I really try to get them that notion, man, and be there for them, you know what I'm saying, whatever the case may be, bro. Because I I walk with the things they they currently trying to walk through and get through. So I just try to give them that motivation, like, hey, it's gonna get it's gonna get better, but at the same time, you gotta get better with it though, you know what I'm saying? So I just be trying to put that, you know what I mean, that motivation up in them, bro. That's why I be up with it, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_00

So with like being genuine and you know, you don't seem like you you don't you don't affect the phone. Do you feel that people do you feel like your truth is what separates you from a lot of what is what's out there right now?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I feel I do feel that, but I also feel in the same term that I'm not giving all of my genuine truth. Yeah, I've been working on some uh two projects is about to come out, joint a joint called Pain and Purpose, which really like I always talk my street shit, my gully shit, shit I've been through, from you know I mean shootouts to being shy, the my brothers and them being killed, you know what I'm saying? Like my you know what I'm saying, like I talk all that shit, uh drug dealing, I to all that shit, but I always try to spin it within a narrative where it's like I want you to look at it from both ways, but at the same time, I got this journal working on called pain and purpose. A lot of good people around me have told me, like one simple on pain, you ain't dropped your pain to let them know why you was moving, like you was moving, right? So I don't feel like I really dropped my pain and purpose on people. I think you know what I'm saying. I just been, you know, just giving them a uh, you know what I mean? Uh gotta hustle, we'll be getting them money, you know what I'm saying? Like, I kind of regular to me, but um, I just feel like with this next project I'm working on pain and purpose, it's really giving people uh bird's eye view on like damn, you been through all that, and a lot of things I'm telling you, I haven't told people, you know what I'm saying? Like, I ain't told them what I've been through, or you know what I'm saying? It's just like they just think gutted just uh, you know what I'm saying? Oh damn, gotta be he he be wildin'. Nah, bro. Like, I've been through some shit that I haven't had a chance to dissect myself yet, even you know, even in what would they say, even in this big old age, that's how they say it, right? So even this big old age, I haven't had a chance to process a lot of things. So I I've been putting it a lot more my music so people can understand and uh just not just the uh uh yeah nigga, I'm getting that money. Isn't that like just the regular shit with God? You know what I mean? Everybody used to. So um, yeah, bro. I've just been trying to process, man. I've been trying to process, man. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, yeah. Sometimes, man, you just gotta take that time and do everything you do with this, like reflect process. I know it's it's it's hard, but you just have to figure out that time and and just that that space that you can just do that. Because I know you know even with me, same with you, you you put it in everything you're doing. And sometimes that helps, but you still not you still don't deal with it like you supposed to. So like I will I would just tell you, like, with everything that you've been through, just like take your time, you know, have your moments. You gotta have them. You know, they they tell us men ain't supposed to cry. But I I believe man men should I, you know, also if you got some good good guys in your life that's in your circle, you know, let them be there. Because, you know, sometimes everybody don't understand sometimes your situations, even sometimes your circle might, but just you you got that ear, they got the ear and just be like, man, just you know, just you just let you vet. And then that you vet, you you you you better, you know. So like, you know, I I would just say like, you know, don't don't hold all that that in, because that's a lot what you you you you you got going on. So like don't hold all that in. So if you gotta have your moments, man, like even if you don't want to have them around nobody, you know, you gotta go into the closet, shower, whatever, just have your moments, because you know, you you you definitely you definitely need those as well.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, man. I I definitely appreciate that, brother. I definitely got a lot of good brothers around me. Uh you know, uh the man uh man Ray Naz Gideon Peebles, great great brother, uh Tom Mother. I got some great brothers, man. Um my man Wooden Soldier, great brothers, you know what I mean. That we we he didn't talk about, you know what I'm saying, um you know life, you know what I'm saying? You know, um yeah, man, you know, I've been trying to just you know tiptoe, uh tiptoe my way around uh uh really uh uh uh uh uh just really dealing with uh the traumas and things that I've been through in my life, you know, even like I say, we had this big old age, but growth never stops. Um so yeah, man. So I definitely appreciate that, brother. And you know, you you you you know, you giving me your piece of it and the aspect of life and you know how everything moves. So, you know what I'm saying? I just been, you know, I I've been tiptoeing sometimes. I've been walking hard with it, but uh just trying to man really just get this shit together, man. I put a lot of it in my music. Now say, like I said, with my next project, pain and purpose. I haven't forty one, I haven't I haven't exuded and it came out like that because I always came out hard and aggressive. But with the pain and purpose uh EP that's coming out, I'm really just like breaking it down and kind of breaking myself down in the in the sense to whereas uh you know, I'm being vulnerable, you know what I mean? So um I think with a lot of my music, I haven't been vulnerable. I've been a lot like aggressive. So I'm being more vulnerable on this and just letting them know my pain and uh and purpose in this life, you know.

SPEAKER_00

So why are you saying that? So my question is how do you feel to be at a point that you are able to be vulnerable in your music?

SPEAKER_01

Scary back looking for the change even the couch. That's all we had in the house ever since I see. I've like, you know, just being in the streets and going through the different things I've been always been like an aggressive type of dude, you know what I'm saying? Hustling and and just being in the streets. You know, you gotta you gotta be a certain kind of way to survive. So it's like I never was able to give that up, you know what I'm saying? But when I'm at being blessed that um God brought you know he bought me this far. I just feel it's it's time to be vulnerable, you know what I'm saying? And it's time to be vulnerable for me, for me to grow more, you know what I'm saying, as a person, as an artist, and I feel like God ain't bought me this far, man, to experience these things, man, and not share them with other people who are going through their things, you know what I'm saying? Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00

So we're gonna talk about so you you have nine independent albums. Just think about that. You got nine independent albums that that takes consistency, discipline, and belief in yourself. When you look back over to your catalog, what do you hear in your own evolution?

SPEAKER_01

Oh man, that's deep. That's deep. Oh shit. Okay. Uh I I hear a lot of I hear a lot of money costs like I hope run around with a ball clap. I hear a lot, I like with a lot of it, bruh. Like I really like real life. I hear case like I said. Damn, that's good, bruh. Damn. Oh, ho, give give me one second.

SPEAKER_00

All right, I'm gonna get you. I got you.

SPEAKER_01

All right, so with a lot of it, bruh, I hear anger. Um I hear anger, I hear grief in uh in a different way. I hear growth sometimes. Like when I when I listen to somebody like dang, you growing a little bit, bruh. And I also hear like I hear hatred sometimes, bruh. Like I hear my father's and I hear what's the best word to use for this. I hear when I said what's the word basically, I don't know the word, but I tell you like this. I hear just being on a path that I don't see where I'm supposed to be, but I know I'm supposed to be, you know what I mean? So um, you know, hearing a lot of my old music, real shit, it be hurting me sometimes to hear me do those processes, bro. You're like, damn, whoo shit, and you like damn, and when you reach certain different points in life, it's like uh yeah, I tighten up, you know what I'm saying? Like maybe you know what I'm saying? So it yeah, I I I feel a lot of that, and that's why you know, going back to what I said earlier about the pain of purpose album, it's just my growth, my growth from a lot of that trapping, just doing so many things that I done back then that a lot of that shit I'm not proud of, but it's a part of my life and a part of my story. So yeah, I just really feel like um with everything, bruh. Like, I'm I'm just trying to I'm I'm just not I'm just trying to make this shit to where people understand why I was like that when I was like that, you know what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, so all right so for listeners who may not know what message do you want them to take away from when they hear your music?

SPEAKER_01

Hmm, good one for the listeners that I would what I would what I would want them to take from them, you know, from them listening to my music, don't take the struggle, man. Because we all gonna struggle, but take the part of the perseverance in the story, you know what I'm saying? Like the struggle when we're gonna struggle, that's life, yeah. But when you listen to the perseverance of what I'm saying, listen to the perseverance, bruh, and break through and break through, you know what I'm saying? Like, don't sell yourself short, you know what I'm saying? Don't sell yourself short, man. Persevere through it, man. You know what I'm saying? Like persevere through it because the struggle is only a part of the story. You if you keep listening to me, you're gonna be like, oh man, he he was going through the struggle right there, but he broke through right then. I want the perseverance, man, to hit him. I want the perseverance to sit the sit and they spurred, man. Like, that's what I want. You know what I'm saying? I want I want that, you know, for any listener who listening. Yeah, you can listen to the uh gotta gotta gun, da da da, whatever. Okay, cool, but listen to the perseverance after that, and with what I went through after the gun, and then and then the pressure verse after the that situation. So that's where I'm at with it, bro. Like, I want I want people to press a bit to see they self in a way whereas it's like I can't lay down, I gotta keep going, I gotta keep grinding, I gotta, I gotta, I gotta keep doing what makes me better, not what makes me worse. You know what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_00

So uh with that being said, what what advice would you give any indie artists out here who who's looking to come up in the game? May not always look easy, might get a little discouraging, you know, looking for the support and not getting the support that they want. Like, what would you what would be your advice to give them to just stay on the right path?

SPEAKER_01

What I would the advice I would give them personally is don't stop, keep going, and keep trying to find yourself the best way that you know how. And that's pretty much it, man. Don't stop, keep going, and find who you really are in this life and what your purpose is. Find who you are, find what your motherfucking purpose is in this life, bro. And it'll all come together after that.

SPEAKER_00

So when they say a lot of artists may want the attention, but not everybody, but not everybody wants the impact. When your supporters, fans hear your story. What do you hope they walk away with besides this disliking the music that you putting out?

SPEAKER_01

That's a good one, brother. Um, I hope they walk away with clarity and strength. You know, I hope they walk away with clarity in their mind of who they are and their strength to keep on pushing, you know, just pushing through, just pushing through, bruh. Like I just hope they they catch that, man. And you know, like I say, a lot of my music is yeah, but I just want people just to be able to push through, be strong through any situation that you got, God gonna get you through it. Like, but you faith without works is dead, so you gotta keep on stomping, you gotta keep stepping through this life, you know what I'm saying? So I just hope, man, that they they catch that part of my music, even though I know a lot of it is you know drug-related, crime related, but I really want them to really look at it like okay, gonna made it through this, I can make it through this, I can walk through this, I can stand tall through this. You feel what I'm saying? I could change as well. So that's what I I really want them to really take that part and not all uh gunner riding it with, like, you know what I'm saying? Like, I just want them, you know what I'm saying? I I want them to take it that they can they can do anything they want in life, man. And ain't even just with the rap shit, you know what I'm saying? So yeah, that that's where I'm at with it, man. They can be they can be as big as they wanna be, but they can start businesses, they can do, they can do whatever they want. It don't and not have to take this shit to where you put yourself in this little box that is bigger than that, man. You know what I'm saying? It's bigger than it's bigger than where we grew up at, it's bigger than what we went through because God got a plan for all of us. So I I just want them to take I want I want my my fans to take it there, bro. Like, you know what I'm saying? Like take it there, bro. Because guess what? God don't give us none that we we we we we ain't supposed, you know, that we can't make it through. And I I done had we talked, so I done lost like my mother, my grandma, like I didn't, I I can go on and on, but I ain't gonna lay down and don't lay down, stand up, stand firm, stand strong, and keep this moving, man. So that's what I want to get in my fangs. Don't let nothing break you. You know what I'm saying? Everything you've been through, let it make you, you know what I mean? So yeah, yeah, I feel that man.

SPEAKER_00

When they when they hear that, I know that's gonna be really encouraging. So as we as we close out, you know what I'm saying? What what what's next for for you? What projects you got that you got coming up, any shows you you're working on, and where can your fans find your music and where where can they find you at on social media?

SPEAKER_01

Okay, you know, like I was telling you earlier, I got this next joint I'm working on is pain and purpose. Like I said, I'm I'm really being a lot, I'm really being like super vulnerable on this joint. Like, you know what I'm saying? Like my woman kind of like she really kind of like pushed me a lot toward to do this joint. And I just feel like her with her pushing me, she just seen and heard things in me that you know the world needs to hear a little more of instead of just the street nigga gunner, and then you know, whatever. As far as where people can find me is DC, uh all cap all capital letters D C G U D D A on all social platforms, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, you know what I'm saying? Because you know we get I just feel like with my purpose in this, man. Like I told you, man, just to just to get people, man, was real, bro. Like, you know, I ain't taken away from none of the music now. I don't even have no down, like the so oh no, because they saying this and none of that. I just want some I want to just be able to reach somebody, bro. Like, it's like damn, I went through that. Damn, that's how you got through. Yeah, okay. So even though my path might not be your path, but it could be like, oh, his path was this way, but I gotta chop the tree down this way to get to where I'm going. But he at least gave me a direction, you know what I'm saying? So that's just where I'm at with it, bro. And that's and that's what I want my music to be, you know what I'm saying? Like, you know what I'm saying, end all be all. And yeah, man. And that that's just where I'm at, you know what I'm saying? Like, that's just where I'm at with it, bro. Like, I can't, I ain't gonna hope you already know, bro.

SPEAKER_00

Hey, so I I appreciate this interview, I appreciate this chopping it up with you, and because like really, you really helped me as well. Also, just like with you, with you, with you guys that you're working with, when you drop your your your new your new shit, you know, come back. I want you to come back here and and and premiere down with that.

SPEAKER_01

Bruh, hey, I appreciate you. And guess what? Once I once I finish you know the pain the purpose album, I'm coming directly back at you. You know, so we can drop it here. You feel me, and and and play it through, and and yeah, bruh, I'm with it. I appreciate you though, brother.

SPEAKER_00

I appreciate you too, man.

SPEAKER_01

Thank you, guys.

SPEAKER_00

So this is your boy A D with with uh DC Gutter. Be on the lookout for uh uh everything he's got going on. Support, show love, just don't show love to get anything, show love to be genuine because you want the same thing in return. So this is your boy A D, and this is your boy D. DC Gutter signing off. Hey, AD. I appreciate you, bro.

SPEAKER_01

Appreciate you, brother. I'll be at you sooner than later.

SPEAKER_00

All right, all right, bro.

SPEAKER_01

All right, thank you, brother.

SPEAKER_00

Hey, no problem, thank you, man.

SPEAKER_01

All right, all right.

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