A while back I got a phone call from my buddy Josh who used to book shows and got me on several of them over the years. He told me that he played my latest CD for Dru Ha from Duck Down. I was pretty excited to find out what Dru thought about it considering I had been a Duck Down fan since high school . A few days later Josh told me that I would be going to Atlanta to go meet Dru and do a show where I would open up for Sean Price. I couldn’t believe it. Sean Price was one of my favorite rappers ever and I respected him as a true master lyricist.

I had the opportunity to bring a couple of my buddies with me to the show and a few days later we were off to Atlanta. The next day we were going to some Converse celebrity basketball game where there was a bunch of people I would love to meet but I was most excited about meeting P.

As we got to the place me and my buddy John sat outside and smoked a cigarette. A little while later I saw him step outside. I walked up to him and introduced myself and at first he had no idea who I was. What happened next is a memory that I will always hold onto because it meant so much to me. When he finally realized who I was, “wait… D from D-Wirks?” he said. He took me aside, away from the other people who were around and told me that Dru Ha had let him listen to the album Josh had given him. He told me that he doesn’t usually listen to demos but that this tape was something he really enjoyed and that he had been playing it like crazy. He told me that I was a dope rapper and that regardless of whether or not it would be with Duck Down or whoever else that he really wanted to see me shine.

To have someone you look up to give you a compliment on your craft when you have taken inspiration from them previously is one of the best types of compliments you can get. It made me feel so good that someone I had looked up to not only listened to my music but liked it enough to call himself a fan.

Me, Sean and John hung out for about an hour outside and talked about everything from touring to copping kicks to video games. It was like we were all old friends. Even though we looked up to him, he acted like a peer more than anything.

I thought it was dope that he was into video games and was excited when I got his Xbox gamertag. Later that night was the show. It was a pretty small venue but I was still nervous as shit. Dru Ha was to come and watch me perform that night to see how I put it down. I remember seeing Dru bugging out when I did my song “Foot On The Gas.” That was a dope moment for me. After my set I hung around and watched Sean’s performance as a fan and enjoyed seeing him go through a bunch of my favorites. A few acts performed that night, but nobody performed the way P did.

After the show I hung out and talked with Dru for a while and that was it. Nothing ever happened between Duck Down and I but Sean remained friendly and we kept in touch.

On Halloween of 2014 I released a project. I remember sending a link to Sean so he could check it out. Before I could even say anything about it he told me that he already tweeted the link.

To me, that was one of the best parts about putting out that project and one of the coolest things that could have happened. What a guy, I thought. Something so little from him meant so much to me and I felt like it validated all the hard work I had put into the project. To get a co-sign from someone like him who is respected by so many people across the world as one of the best to do it meant everything.

A few months later when Your Old Droog started popping up and people still thought he was Nas I tweeted Sean and asked him what he thought. He told me to call him, so I did, nervously. At first I thought he was gonna tell me it was Nas on the low and he didn’t want to say it on twitter but what actually happened next was even better. He said, Droog aint Nas. He’s a white dude and I just did a song with him. I didn’t know what to say for a second, other than can I hear it? He was so proud to play the song for me over the phone and I knew why immediately. It was incredible! After that, he hit me with a barrage of songs nobody had heard. All certified Sean P bangers. He told me that he had been recording a ton of music and had more than 1 full project ready to go at any moment. He told me he had a project with Lil Fame and more solo material than he knew what to do with. I felt so lucky that I got to hear all of that music that day and felt honored that he would play it for me.

I got off the phone and hit up all of my friends that knew his music to tell them what just happened, I was hype haha.

A true artist that always stayed true to his craft, and a stand up guy who I was fortunate enough to get know a bit. Thank you for the amazing music, the inspiration, the encouragement and thank you for being a real person to fans and friends alike. Rest in peace, P!!!

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