DA C.O.D. Interview: SXSW 2010

The four members of the upbeat hip-hop group DA C.O.D. -- Lil J, S. Dot, Mr. Greezo and Tuk-Da-Gat -- will be heading to SXSW for the third time. Spinner recently spoke with Mr. Greezo about the group's return trip to the festival and DA C.O.D.'s plans for a new album release.

How would you describe your sound?

Soulful, Texas, international, gangster, conscious, hip-hop. C.O.D. is a more upbeat kind of tempo group. We have a real good live stage performance. We try to make a lot of uplifting-type of records. We definitely make it for the streets. We make music for college kids. We make music for a wide range of people that go to the club or really jam in their car.

How did the group form?

The group started in 2005, as far as the rap group. The C.O.D., which stands for the Circle of Death, is a neighborhood that S. Dot lived in, and Lil J and S. Dot grew up together. They've known each other since they were little kids. I showed up in the C.O.D. in 1999 and Tuk came around in 2000. That's just in this little neighborhood, where we met each other, we were hanging out, doin' all types of crazy things, and I was rappin' solo, and we just got together as a group after I got out of jail in 2005. Lil J and S. Dot were doing their own thing in the city. Since I rapped, it was natural for them to come to me. I put them on shows, and as time went on, we all got together. We put out our first collective mixed tape in 2007, and every year since then, we've dropped a new one. We've also put out other projects or what not.
What are your musical influences?

Really, any type of gangster, Texas hip-hop, know what I'm saying? Rap music. Scarface, Fat Pat, E.S.G., K-Rino, and then, of course, Outkast, UGK. We have West Coast influences. The Bay Area, definitely New York, Nas, Jay-Z, all the legends. Everybody that put out music that actually had substance to it. Soul music, too, and R&B music, rock music. We listen to everything. A lot of people can tell that by listening to our sound.

How did you come up with the name C.O.D.?

The neighborhood that S. Dot grew up in was called the Circle of Death. It was a little cul-de-sac, and there was a lot of crazy stuff happening as far as people dying for crazy reasons; overdosing, getting killed. So we just nicknamed it the Circle of Death. Whenever we would go over there, we'd be like "Hey, we're going to the C.O.D." Whenever S. Dot and Lil J started rapping together, that's the name that they used. To make it more marketable, we go by Cash on Delivery, but our real fans, our underground fans, they know what C.O.D. really means.

Does the group have a primary writer, or does everyone contribute?

Every one contributes together. I have to say, as far as work ethic, S. Dot has a very strong work ethic. He definitely stays in the lab working on music, so a lot of music that you hear, he had a large part to do with it. He doesn't write all the hooks, and that's mainly what I'm talking about, like picking the actual music and coming up with an actual concept; he does well over 50 percent of that process. Everybody writes their own verses, and at the same time, everyone puts in their own input. A lot of times, we'll be working separately and have an idea that we bring to the group. It's spread out pretty evenly, but if I had to say someone goes beyond the call, it's S. Dot. He's our lab rat.

If you could meet one musician, living or dead, who would it be and why?

Michael Jackson. Besides just the musical knowledge, it would be nice to get inside the hugest star of all time. There's not a bigger star ever. Just to get in his mind and to ask him what was he thinking when he came up with 'Beat It' or 'Billie Jean,' you know, what was it like back then? Just ask him who was his influences. If you want to talk to anyone about making a hit, it would be him.

Do you have a favorite venue to play?

I like the Austin Music Hall, 'cuz those have been some of our biggest shows for sure. It has a good sound system, and it's accommodating to the fans and stuff.

What is your biggest vice?

The Bible.

What's your musical guilty pleasure?

I listen to everything ... nothing that I'm too ashamed of. I'd probably say, Incubus.

What's in your festival survival kit?

Water, a good pair of shoes and my G1.

You guys give 10 percent of your CD sales back to the community. Tell me about that.

There's a drug counseling center, and we donate 10 percent of our sales for scholarships for people to get counseling. We're real involved with the community as far as Austin is concerned. We're always giving back to the community. That was a way that we felt would be most helpful as far as the type of music we put out. Some people might get it confused, and think that we're actually trying to promote drug usage and negative behavior, when in fact we're just telling people what's going on. If you have a problem with an addiction, seeking out help is the best recourse for you.

What are your plans for the near future?

First, they need to look out for the League of Extraordinary G'z album. That will be coming out early summer, around May. That's us, Dred Skott and Southbound. We're all three groups from Austin. The C.O.D. album will be coming out in the fall, early winter. We'll be releasing mixed tapes; we've got the 'Concealed Weapons' mixed tape, mixed by the Dynamic Duo, out right now. We also have S. Dot vs. Tuk-Da-Gat ... 'The White Boy' mixed tape will be out by SXSW. We're just gonna' keep feeding the streets.



Renee Holmes is a contributor from Seed.com. Learn how you can contribute here.