News: Big Tuck Debuts
Texas has become a hip-hop breeding ground, producing huge album sales and turning local celebrities into household names. Dallas, however, is the one city in the Lone Star state that has yet to be repped. But, one Dallas native is ready to put the city back on the map in a major way.
"Everybody ain't hip to Dallas; they listen to Atlanta and Houston and skip over Dallas," said rapper Big Tuck. "Atlanta got that crunk music, H-Town got that slowed up laid back music, where Dallas got that club everybody on the dance floor music. We make people wanna go to the club and wanna fight, we're that in your face hip-hop."
Staying true to his city and state, Big Tuck only collaborated with artists from his state for his major label debut, The Absolute Truth, working with the likes of H-Town stars like Chamillionaire on the single "I Know You Want That" and Slim Thug on the "Tussle (Remix)."
"The spotlight is on Texas and I plan to keep it that way," said the rapper. "I didn't want to go out my region and do a track with 50 cent or T.I., because I don't want anybody buying an album for T.I. or 50 Cent. If they buy the album, it's on the strength of Texas."
The Absolute Truth also enlists the help of veteran Texas rappers, Bun B, Paul Wall and Dallas native Erykah Badu. With production from in-house counterparts T-Town and appearances from Big Tuck's Dirty South Rydaz clique, the album oozes Texas flavor.
"I make sure that every song on the album is a single making anthem and continue being me. I'm new, but I've been on the scene for a while now," said Tuck.
Although Tuck is just now beginning to gain notoriety outside of Texas, he's not a rookie. He first scored success as a member of the underground Dallas group, Dirty South Rydaz, who have released over 32 mixtapes and sold over 100,000 units independently in the South.
In 2004, Tuck dropped his solo project, Purple Hulk, with T-Town Music that did well enough to catch the eyes and ears of Universal Republic Records, prompting them to sign Tuck and T-Town to a label deal in 2005.
"Everyone came to us with a deal -- Sony, Warner Brothers, Asylum, everybody. We went with Universal because of how the contract was structured. It really wasn't the money because if you do the math, DSR was moving three hundred to four hundred thousand units anyway," explains Tuck.
Big Tuck's The Absolute Truth is scheduled for release October 24.
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