HOUSTON, TX – For someone to embrace the role of “Street Dude,” they must have a pretty unique resume.
Jerone Black perhaps fits the bill better than any other rapper out there.
Hailing from the streets of Alief, Texas – on the southwest side of Houston – Black has lived the life that defines “Street Dude.” His story includes a period as a drug dealer, as a father of seven children from five different women, and of periods in-and-out of jail. But his story isn’t one that’s only filled with a series of questionable decisions – it’s also filled with redemption and triumph and, currently, of a man trying to show young people on those same streets that there’s a way to make it in this world without breaking the law … and that’s through music.
And it’s for all those reasons that he can claim the title Street Dude.
“When people hear my music I want them to get the full message of dealing with a street dude,” he said. “I want them to know that they’re dealing with someone who came from poverty. They have to know that they’re dealing with a person from the neighborhood. I didn’t have nothing. I had a single mom working two jobs to make sure the lights stayed on. Plus, I don’t sound like nobody. I definitely have a sound like nobody in Houston. I’ve been in all the circles and I sound like one-of-a-kind – Street Dude is unique.”
Rap has always been a part of his life. From a young age he said he remembers getting together with friends and just coming up with flows on the streets. As he grew up, he began to become more serious about his music. He was inspired by the artists Scareface, and to date he’s been able to collaborate with a number of rising stars in the hip-hop genre – including Suc member Point Blank, Will Lean, and Jdawg artists from Slim Thugs label Boss Hogg Outlaws. Through those collaborations he said he learned the business side of the industry, and he’s worked to hone his sound.
All of that has led to the release of his new album, “STREEDUDE,” which he recorded at RawChild Studio with the help of Hoodbillie Productions. It’s an album that chronicles his life on the streets and tells his story of living the struggle. It shares stories of friends who went to prison, friends who died, and his growing reputation within the neighborhood. Ultimately, he hopes this album will serve as a spark to inspire other younger people from the neighborhood to trust in music as a way to escape the hardships of living in the streets.
“I’m doing this for the hood and the people,” he said. “I’ve been to the streets and in the streets and now I’m into music, and that’s the message I want to send to other people on the streets. I want to open doors for other people in my neighborhood who want to do it. I want to give them a source of an escape. That’s the whole point of me doing music. And now that I’ve grown my name to someone who is well-respected and people know that’s what I’m about, I think we can go far with it.”
This new album is the first step, he said. He hopes to release another two albums over the next five years, however, and he’s also working with multiple other artists to develop some mixtapes that can be distributed throughout the neighborhood. All of it is an intention to build his platform as a Street Dude.
Twitter: @streetdudefl
