[Editors Note: After sitting down with them at Mr. Lee’s studio, on set with Slim Thug for their music video and so the way their mixtape was hitting the streets of Dallas, I new these guys meant business. Then I observed the songwriting. Pop, R&B and of course the spectrum of Hip-Hop, this duo are individually equally talented and together a unique to the game. Pay attention to these guys. – Steve Raze] The wonderful world of rap music has turned into what some would say is an industry full of facades. Things are seldom what they seem and individuals are hiding behind false monikers. Mid-West/Southern duo Thugged Out offers quite the contrary. What you see is what you get, and what you hear is based upon a true story. The twin brothers Mutt Dogg and Bullet, from Gary, Indiana now transposed in Dallas, TX, show an entirely different spectrum of the small city that bred the king of Pop. Sharing an account of the grit and grind that has gone into making their own lane, Thugged Out discloses a design in which they have carefully structured enabling them to make the fallen third member of the group proud while putting on for a city in which they are the Hip-Hop presence. Music/VideoThugged Out Ft. Slim Thug – “That Girl Bad” [Heater Of The Day]A
Thugged Out Ft. Slim Thug – “Fair Exchange” [Heater Of The Day]
AllHipHop.com: First off, where did the name derive from?Thugged Out: At the time, that’s who we were. We were just that, Thugged Out. Now, we’re like the blueprint of a Thug; we can show you how to get in and out of the game. AllHipHop.com: What is it like to be in a group with somebody as close to you as your brother?Thugged Out: It’s beautiful; it’s great to work with your family. And then we’re closer than most because we’re twins. AllHipHop.com: How might a listener be able to tell the difference between you and your brother while listening to a song?Thugged Out: I (Mutt Dog) have a higher pitched voice than Bullet Boy and Bullet Boy’s content are sometimes more on the gangsta side and mine might be closer to the commercial side. Yeah and physically I’m [Bullet Boy] bigger physically than Mutt Dog [laughter]. AllHipHop.com: Who decided to do music first?Thugged Out: Mafioso, our older brother and third member of Thugged Out; who was shot and killed, was doing music with another group before we even thought about rapping. We were like Mafioso’s hype men. If it wasn’t for Mafioso we probably won’t be rapping. Bullet Boy and I got locked up and when we got out the three of us formed Thugged Out. AllHipHop.com: Is there ever a sense of competition between the two of you?Thugged Out: Yes, all the time, we are very competitive with each other. It’s healthy competition because it makes us stronger but at the same time we give each other advice. We share the same drive, goals and ambition to strive for success. AllHipHop.com: Do you both have the same musical influences?Thugged Out: Yes we do, we’ve been influenced by Tupac and others in the game like Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and DMX AllHipHop.com: At what point did the transition from hobby to career take place?Thugged Out: At the very first show we did. When we noticed how the crowd reacted to our show and how they knew every song we put out on our first album, we knew we needed to be in the game of entertainment. AllHipHop.com: Explain how the collaborations with mainstream artists such as Slim Thug have come about. Thugged Out: We was new in Texas but our song was burning up on the radio [“That Girl Bad”], so we reached out to Slim Thug to do the remix. Since we was coming out of Texas, Slim realized that we wasn’t no dancers and saw the song had a lot of spins, he jumped on it and we took it to the next level.AllHipHop.com: Gary, Indiana isn’t a town that has held much presence in the Hip-Hop realm, what is the Hip-Hop culture like in Gary?Thugged Out: The Hip-Hop culture is growing considering that we coming up now, Gary, Indiana always had talent, look at Michael Jackson, he was from G.I. but we are the next generation stars. Gary, Indiana has seen us from the time we first started to now. Our city supports us, they are happy for us and they want to see us successful. The people of G.I. know our background, they know our struggle and they want us to put G.I. on the map. So, yes there is a hip hop culture in Gary, Indiana and we are the Hip-Hop scene along with Freddie Gibbs, Finger Roll, Don Vito and others.AllHipHop.com: It’s as if you two are now upholding the legacy of your brother Mafioso, what type of pressure does that bring about?Thugged Out: It really isn’t no pressure because we are doing what any other brother would do, its more hurtful than anything because he’s not there physically but he still lives on in spirit. We always strategize every move we made by three, with him gone, it feels crazy with out him. He was always the solver of situations in this rap s###. AllHipHop.com: What can people expect from Thugged Out in the immediate future?Thugged Out: We got 3 mixtapes coming out one called Global Thugg by DJ Drama, another one called Tearing Up The Interstate by DJ Smalls and another not titled. Then we have 2 new singles “Fair Exchange” (radio joint) and “Swagged Up” (club joint) with videos to go with them including shows, features, ect…. Stay tuned to be a witness a Global Thugg Take Ova.