Q&A With Colorado’s Very Own Underground Rapper Dissown

Yo Dissown! Please tell us how many years you’ve been making music? For those unfamiliar, please shed some light on your background in the Hip Hop game. Please detail.

I have been rapping for 14 years. I grew up in Colorado and was first introduced to battle rapping/freestyling in Security/Widefield. In high school I watched my friends battle rap and decided to give it try one day and realized I had a talent. As an adult, I continued my passion and performed all over Colorado Springs and Denver from 2009 to 2012. During that time, I had my own unofficial label called Hidden Skillz Records. I feel that I really advanced lyrically thanks to my very talented friends C~Lo Tha Boss Beat, Len-O, Rudy and Strykez. These guys always pushed me to be better and we played off of each other well. My greatest memory/achievement was performing at The Roxy in Denver.

Do you find most of your fanbase familiar with you from your old projects, or do you feel that you’ve been discovered in recent years more so on the merit of your music. Please detail.

I personally feel like my latest projects have gotten me the most attention and new fans. It is my best work from a professional quality standpoint. I have also evolved a lot better as an artist over the years and I believe that my fans truly enjoy how much I have evolved when it comes to my flow/delivery. My Diss track Big Bad Bunny really got me my biggest following as it perfectly described a person who was not liked in one of my big chat communities.

When compared to other artists, what is it about Dissown that stands out and makes you unique from the pack. Please detail.

I feel my versatility is what makes me stand out the most. My Albums try to cover all of the emotions so that you can relate to one depending on how you are feeling at that moment. I also try to use a lot of wordplay and hidden messages so that you have to go back and listen again to catch everything that I say. Also, my ability to freestyle on the spot. I can genuinely freestyle whatever comes to mind instead of memorizing written’s. This allows me to come up with a concept and create a song very quickly.

Tell us the story behind your recent project “Going the Diztence“, And a little about the album cover concept!

In high school I ran track and we ran Long Distance. Me and my best friends were known as Diztence Crew and our Motto was “Run Like You Stole Something”. So, this album was paying homage to my past and how far we have come. Big shout out to Blitz, B-Rox, Octane and R.I.P to Gunz.

As for my Album cover, I like the play on the DISS in the middle as a lot of my fans enjoy my diss tracks. I also like the hidden sort of smiley and frown faces that surround the DISS text. This to me showed the different emotions I put into each track. I also added that smoke in the background to just give that chill and deep effect.

What’s your favorite track off your latest album, and why? And please reference your favorite bar from this song that highlights your elite level lyricism.

My favorite track would have to be Further featuring my homie VR$E. In general, I wanted him on the album because he is one of my favorite underground artists and I think our flows went well together.

Favorite bar is “Man of many words but sometimes tongue tied from the shit I have observed, so many brain dead and behind the curve, small minds lead to logic that is absurd in terms of lessor words.” This is how I had felt with how people have been acting lately. I am an artist with a large vocabulary, but seeing the hate towards certain races has honestly just left me dumbfounded and speechless. I believe everyone is equal and I judge no one based on the color of their skin and in my opinion that shows a person’s small intellect when they have the ability to do so. I personally just felt this line was very deep and really enjoyed how it all flowed together.

For this new year 2021, what do we have to look forward to when it comes to new music? Please reference your forthcoming projects that you’re at liberty to speak of.

I actually just submitted a new Album on February 11th called Material Thoughts and it should be out in a week or so. This is an 11 Track album that I feel is some of my best work to date.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Still releasing music and continuing to perfect my craft. Always trying to outdo my last Album.

Due to the pandemic, how are you pivoting with making music around this whole Covid 19 situation?

Honestly COVID has allowed me to have more time for music as my job was moved to working from home. Since COVID hit, I have released 2 Albums.

Our most popular question!! What is your definition of “underground Hip Hop”?

No major label influence and the ability to express yourself however you want with no boss telling you No. Showing your true self and not an image that someone made for you.

Where can people find you on the web? Drop all the vital links.

@tharealdissown