Dontre Vs. The Industry

Welcome to a music review on 6 Wheels: I’m now reviewing underground projects to give constructive feedback and to gain more exposure for the underground. This can only be as big as you make it, so sharing is caring! Help me help you. And if you’re interested in a music review, leave a comment below after you listen to Dontre VS. The Industry. Darnell Culclager Thomas aka Don Tre, was born in Kansas City, Missouri on December 24, 1985. Don Tre was raised by a single mother, and at age 9 she decided to move him and his little brother out of the inner city area of 55th and Wabash to Lee's Summit, MO, in the suburbs. At the age of 12, he was inspired to do music by his older cousin, Richard Thomas aka GQ, who was a local artist in the Kansas City area. At the age of 17, he released his first album, “Tre 4 and Bld.” Even as a young rapper, Don Tre showed superb rhyming skills, which led him to be introduced to Virgil Sims. Sims offered him a record deal through Atlantic Records, which Don Tre turned down. Two years later, Don Tre let the streets get the best of him and he was arrested for aggravated robbery. Over 3 years while he was in prison, Don Tre wrote over 300 songs utilizing his time to perfect his gift as well as his mind, body and soul. Six months before Don Tre got out of prison, his cousin and best friend Billy Culclager, wrote him a letter telling him he missed him. One week later after he received the letter, Billy was murdered and the devastation of his loss led to his motivation to focus on music upon his release. Coming out of prison and seeing all the negativity that came with the streets and being incarcerated, he felt compelled to make a change so he released a Gospel Album called “Christ Child.” After seeing the politics within the church, he decided to take a less radical approach with his music, not conforming to the industry, and keeping the essence of his beliefs, but delivering in a more practical approach. Now let’s see who will win Dontre or the Industry. That intro is too dope- Dontre shows these clowns how to chop. "He'll kill it with your own style"- can you keep up? Off to a great start!!! On his 0-100 freestyle, Dontre does work- "Eazy does it with an attitude- call it Ruthless. His Studio was a little too slow paced for me but it was dope. "Call me a barber, sharper than a razor blade." He's truly killing rappers in the studio. His "Lifestyle" freestyle was a heartfelt tribute to his best friend who was murdered. "Tired of ripping and running- I'm out of shape." No Mediocre was a cool track and he's tired of playing goalie. "You're a mastermind but you won't master mines." Did you get that killer wordplay? I love the So Many Tears track because he's paying tribute to the legend Tupac and gets personal with us. "If you ain't been through hell and back, you can't pray on my level." The worst is Dontre's take on the Jhaine Aiko track and he makes it a classic. Loving you is about Dontre stealing your girl (if you don't treat her right that is) "You don't belong in a cage- you should fly away." The outro goes out with a bang as he "leaves your favorite rapper in a state of blackness". Overall, I give the mixtape 9.8 out of ten. My favorite track on the tape is the So Many Tears freestyle- much respect! I enjoyed the outro, pretty uplifting, but I kind of mad because I couldn't get a shout out. Maybe next time Dontre lol My least favorite track was No Mediocre, probably because I didn't like the beat to begin with and the lines didn't exactly punch me in the face. I'll highly recommend that you listen to this tape if you're a fan of hip hop and support the underground. The album is a free download and a great listen- you can listen to it here https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0BzOsKklsoD97cndNZ184X3dpblE# Stay tuned for the next music review on 6 Wheels.