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In an interview with Essence, EARTHGANG, the Atlanta-originated rap group, reminisced on their college experience at Hampton University. Fresh off their EP Rip Human Art, the duo discussed the impact Hampton thad on their creative thought processes.
EARTHGANG is a rap group that currently releases music under the Dreamville music label, famously owned by hip-hop legend J. Cole. Doctur Dot and Johnny Venus, who both attended the university in the late 2000s, founded the group while in school. Hampton talent litters Dreamville, including J.I.D. and Hollywood JB.
Emcees from Atlanta, Georgia, have long dominated the rap music genre. Even today, the city continues to produce top-tier, elite talent. 21 Savage, Lil Baby, and Future are all examples of ultra-popular rappers from the ATL. None of them, however, have had an HBCU experience.
“I think Hampton definitely helped us establish two things,” Doctur Dot said. “One, I think college helped us establish a kind of musical space of our own creativity. We’re from Atlanta and we could have easily followed Atlanta trends, but that time away forced us to make our own style of music.”
Dot continued, “And I think that’s what attracted talent like J.I.D., and, JB – who helped us create Spillage Village. The fact that we were all away from trends and just forced to be in an isolated place where we just could create on our own.”
Further in the interview, Essence writer Okla Jones inquired about EARTHGANG's homecoming experience.
“Probably seeing people I ain’t seen in a long time and remembering things that I haven’t remembered in a long time,” Dot said, “because we store different things in different parts of our brain and sometimes we don’t revisit them until we’re in the environments that trigger them in the first place and it’ll be nice to go back and be like, ‘Dang, I did used to walk here.' Or, ‘I used to enjoy looking at this.' It would be nice to have those kinds of memories again.”
Johnny Venus added, “So, we'll get a chance to reminisce with the fans and really see how far people have come and grown within those years of graduation to now, seeing people pursue their purpose and achieve, and turning up, getting lit, of course.”
