If there’s one strength that Top Dawg Entertainment has honed since its inception, it’s the value of the slow grind. At a time when artist development often takes a backseat, TDE has built its reputation on patience—guiding talent from early promise to full potential.
That approach feels tailor-made for Trap Dickey, the first South Carolina artist to sign to the label. Over the past few years, he’s steadily built momentum across the Southern circuit, with breakout records like “Blue Devils” later earning a remix alongside DaBaby. Between his viral performance on On The Radar and a standout appearance during Kai Cenat’s Mafiathon 3, his profile has only continued to rise. Collaborations with BigXThaPlug, Rylo Rodriguez, and Key Glock—including their recent single “Down South”—have further cemented Trap Dickey's place as one of the South’s fastest-rising voices.
For Trap Dickey, signing to TDE ultimately came down to consistency.
“It's like, when you walk in, you see the winners, you feel me? When you join a winning team, you don't want to be a bench player. You actually want to be one of the players that's actually getting in,” Trap Dickey tells HotNewHipHop over Zoom. “That’s why I said Golden State Warriors, because the Warriors are known for Steph Curry, but they are also known for all the role players around them that helped them get the ring.”
With his TDE debut, The Ville set to drop May 8th, and the release of his latest single "Tell Me Why," we caught up with Trap Dickey to discuss joining the label, the long-awaited TDE compilation, meeting ScHoolboy Q, Mafiathon 3, and more.
[This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.]
HotNewHipHop: First off, who is Trap Dickey?
Trap Dickey: Trap Dickey is a South Carolina artist. I'm from the south. I'm trying to tap into the whole world, you hear me? I came up, not like everybody else. A little struggle into it, but as I said, I'm here to this day. I got one of the hottest songs on the radio right now called “Down South.” I've been giving out plenty of good freestyles since “Blue Devils.” I got a song with BigXThaPlug, “No Love.” A bunch of songs, a bunch of good music, a bunch of good country music. But it's also able to go worldwide. As I said, I'm a Southern artist. I'm doing it from the south. That's exactly who I am.
You’ve mentioned having meetings with plenty of different labels. What made TDE the right home for you?
Being honest, it’s the winning team. Like, looking at all of the labels that came to me and looking at all the artists, you never really see a lot of artists complain about TDE, and, as I said, it's the winning team. Like, seeing how a lot of people over there, they're known for their work and not known for their appearance. You don't see a lot of guys wearing the jewelry and all over there. So I felt like it was a good fit for me. Like, literally, it felt like I was looking at myself as I was researching them and stuff like that.
You compared them to the Golden State Warriors. I have to ask, at this point in your career, who’s one NBA player you could compare yourself to right now?
As of right now? I'm not gonna name a rookie. I'm not gonna name anybody that just got in the league, but I'm gonna name somebody like Giannis or something. I grind for it, I put the work in for it, so that the championship, the rings, it means a difference when you really put the grind in for it. And I also came in with the same team, with my brothers, just like Giannis. Giannis is a loyal teammate. I'm loyal. I compare myself to Giannis.
What was it like meeting the whole TDE team for the first time? I know that relationship has been developing for quite some time, but what was your first impression of them?
Oh, man, it was good. It was a blessing, to be honest, to see some of the trophies, to see some of the guys actually there when I first met them. Like, so imagine, you're going to a meeting, and you actually see ScHoolboy Q. It's like, oh snap, this is really going on. Being from the country, you don't actually see a lot of Teslas, you feel me? We’re in the parking lot, and I see a Rolls-Royce. It's like, “Oh, geez, what's going on?” You feel what I’m saying? But as I said, it's so similar to joining the Golden State Warriors. It's like, when you walk in, you see the winners, you feel me?
When you join a winning team, you don't want to be a bench player. You actually want to be one of the players that's actually getting in. That’s why I said Golden State Warriors, because the Warriors are known for Steph Curry, but they are also known for all the role players around them that helped them get the ring. Everybody always says Steph Curry. Klay Thompson, but they’re not the whole team. You know it was the other guys who had to play their role to get the championship. I feel like that's a good comparison. Like, you’ve got the Kendrick, you've got the SZA, but you also got the other rappers around that make TDE look so good from chasing their dreams and doing what they do.
You mentioned seeing ScHoolboy Q when you first met the team. What was that moment like?
Oh, man, to see him that authentic, to be real, like to see him really chilling, got his homeboys, and it was crazy. Like, he was actually in the studio working, you get what I'm saying? Because once you get to a certain level, guys really have their own studio at the house, and I'm pretty sure he does. I know he can go anywhere he wants to record, but to actually see him still doing the number one step–getting into the studio, catching the vibes–it humbled me automatically. To see him literally walk out of the studio and go get in a Rolls-Royce, it was humbling. It felt so good to see somebody like that actually still grinding, doing the work, and knowing that he doesn't have to. So it made me feel really good to see him.
And he was chill. He talked to me for a little minute. It was a real moment. You know, I grew up listening to ScHoolboy too. You know, “Collard Greens” is one of the biggest songs in the world, so to see him face-to-face is crazy.
Have you been able to lock in studio time with any of your labelmates yet?
Yes, actually, I've seen a bunch of them come through. So it’s like doing songs with Ray [Vaughn], doing stuff for the comp—how you say it? The whole tape with the TDE artists.
The compilation? There’s a compilation coming out?
Yeah, compilation. Yeah.
For me to throw my stuff out there, it felt good, you feel me? It felt real good.
You’re one of two Southern artists on the label right now, but I am curious to know who your main influences are, from the South or elsewhere.
Master P, Outkast, those guys molded me, coming up in my granny’s house, actually. Meek Mill. You know, coming up in my grandma's house, it wasn't like I could listen to Lil Wayne freely all the time. So, Lil Wayne definitely, too. But a lot of the guys in the south, like the OGs, really, because I was raised at my granny’s house, so I had listened to a lot of older hip hop. So definitely Master P, Outkast, they definitely have an [impact] on me. And Meek Mill, definitely.
I’m going to dive into the Lil Wayne question soon, but I want to get to “Down South” with Key Glock. Both of you are jumping on a classic Jay-Z sample. What was it about that beat that made you want to jump on it? You mentioned working with a long list of southern rappers, a lot of your contemporaries. Why did Key Glock make sense for this song?
Actually moving around in New York, I saw Key Glock in a studio. I saw him, Icewear Vezzo. And like you say, Key Glock being from down south, we actually knew each other. I asked for a verse, and he definitely told me it was nothing to do, and smacked it just like that. He told me to send it over, knocked it out with no problem.
I chose that beat just to be versatile. Coming from Carolina, trying to be versatile, trying to jump in a different lane, trying to create a different type of sound for me, being from the south. So I heard the beat. I knew it was a sample. I knew Jay-Z had got on it. Even Ice Cube had sampled it. So I was like, it's my turn to put somebody from the south [on it]. Let it give our mix to it. And that's exactly what it was.
I do want to ask, knowing that you’re a Lil Wayne fan, whose version of “Show Me What You Got” do you prefer: Lil Wayne’s freestyle or Jay-Z’s original?
I like both of them. Of course, they’re both the Carters; they’re the champions of their generations. It's a toss-up. It's really a toss-up. With Jay being the original, it's like you see your little cousin do something. So Lil Wayne definitely did what he was supposed to. I really can't say. I love Lil Wayne's version. But you know, Jay-Z’s the original, he’s the big dog of it. So I'm gonna lean a little bit to Wayne because I'm from the south. But you know, big dog is the big dog.
When we think of the Carolinas, DaBaby is often one of the names that pops up. He joined you on “Blue Devils.” How’s that relationship developed since?
Oh man, it's a blessing. He’s on tour right now; he actually hit me and stuff. So it's a blessing to see him doing what he's doing and getting his career where he wants it to be. You know, rechasing a dream and stuff like that. The relationship is really cool. I really appreciate everything he has done for me. He showed me love. His little brother has shown me love. It's like his whole family has been showing me love. So it feels authentic with Baby. Like it doesn't come from just Baby–it comes from his whole family. His little brother, his people, his cousins. It feels good.
What’s the best piece of advice that he’s offered you?
He told me to keep working. Like, don't let your foot off the gas. He always told me don't let the internet control your mindset. Like, you keep working. Don't pay attention to everything that's on the internet. He definitely got me in the mindset of keep working because I didn't know he knew me. So when I inboxed him, he inboxed right back. It was a blessing to show myself to keep working.
Just speaking on the internet, On The Radar has been a massive platform for you. You had an incredibly viral freestyle on there, and then, you appeared on Kai Cenat’s Mafiathon 3. How did it feel going from a pre-recorded freestyle on a hip-hop-centric platform to something like Kai Cenat's streamathon, where you're dealing with a much younger generation, some of whom might not even be like hip hop heads? How was that experience for you?
To be honest, I feel like Gabe brought his lane into Kai’s lane, so it was like a challenge, because the “Blue Devils” freestyle that I did on On The Radar was live. So it was crazy that they were telling me how to do another live freestyle with them. With Kai's fan base, I wasn't–I wouldn't say nervous, but I knew it was a younger crowd. So it was just like taking on a challenge. It felt normal, but it also felt good that Gabe was taking a freestyling lane into Kai's world. Like, two worlds jumping together, and I felt good to be a part of it.
You've gone viral multiple times, but it hasn't been off gimmicks or antics. It's just been off the strength of the music. And I think that's like something really rare for a lot of artists these days to really have that organic push that takes them to that level. What advice would you give younger artists who are trying to build that momentum while staying true to their artistry and without compromising their integrity?
Promote yourself. If you really feel like you do what you do, promote yourself. It ain't even about rap, it's about what you do. Whatever you feel like you do the best, promote yourself. Show the world that you're really doing it. You can have the best product, but if nobody knows about it, it's the same thing as no product. So I feel like the world, and especially to my younger guys, the promotion is the key. You've got to put yourself out there for people to really see you doing what you're doing.
When can we expect the next tape, and is there anything special we could look out for? Is there a collaboration on this project that you could tell us about before the tracklist surfaces?
Oh yeah, May 8th. May 8th. That's definitely when the tape is coming. I got some big guys on the track. The tape is going to be called The Ville for all the areas that have a Ville inside of it, because I know everybody in every state, there’s a Ville somewhere. So that's exactly what I'm doing for the guys from the Ville, and that's exactly what's going on. And I got some big features on there.
I’ll say one of my favorite features is the K Camp feature. Like, listening to him growing up and to see K Camp, you feel me? It felt really good to see K Camp do what he do.
