July 24, 2006 @ 11:00 am

Young Dro

Rondell Conway

Young Dro likes to be noticed. In fact, he demands attention. Tonight at a rowdy spot in Macon, Ga., he’ll have a boisterous crowd mesmerized under his command. Dressed in an eye-catching, bright-colored linen outfit, the latest rapper to come out of T.I.’s Grand Hustle camp doesn’t look the part of your standard MC. And you better believe it’s intentional. “I move on my own accord,” he says, right before he takes the stage. “To be ordinary is just not enough for me.” Dro, aka D’Juan Hart, 27, has been on the regional scene since he cut his teeth as a protégé to local luminary Raheem the Dream in 1998, during Atlanta’s more bass-friendly era. But like so many before him, Dro learned that the ascension from Westside poverty to hip hop popularity is a tricky one. Even after a brush with death (he was shot in the back in 1995), he never wavered from his dream. “Some hatin’ and jealousy led to somebody shooting me,” is all he’ll offer of the incident. “But I forgave that nigga, and I’m doing my thing now.” And never mind that his snazzy outfits attract an occasional arched eyebrow (from strangers) and lighthearted ribbing (from his crew), the Fresh Prince of Bankhead knows he’s winning everyone over with the thing that matters to him most—his music. His pulsating single “Shoulder Lean,” which features T.I. on the hook, is already a snap smash for its infectious, dance-friendly appeal. But it’s Dro’s amusing obsession with vibrant similes (“I show you how to shine dog / Froot Loop–colored ice / M&M-colored cars / Now and Later–gator type”) and dope-boy antics that are going to take center stage on his Atlantic Records debut, Best Thang Smokin’. To hear T.I. tell it, it’s not out of the realm of possibility to see Dro someday wear the crown. “Dro is arguably better than me,” T.I. says. “He’s got that shit that I had on Trap Muzik—the blood in his eye.” Later at the club that transfer of power is on hold. T.I. now has the frenzied crowd swaying to his every move while Dro patiently plays the cut. He already understands that to be a true leader, you must first learn to follow. “You can’t lose when you have somebody showing you the way,” Dro says. “But Tip’s footsteps are his and mine are mine.” And one day he just may fill those kingly shoes—in his own way, that is.

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Article tags: Young Dro, T.I., Young Dro Shoulder Lean 

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