ATLANTA – Popular Atlanta rapper, producer and entrepreneur Don P of Trillville is excited for fans to listen to some of the new projects he is working on including his new music and biopic movie about Trillville.

For Black Music Month, WSB Radio spoke to Don P about his journey through his legendary career and the exciting projects he is working on.

Growing up in Decatur, rapper, Don P, whose real name is Donnell Prince, said music was a constant in his life and it inspired him to want to create his own music.

“I started recording tapes and brought them to high school to let them hear it and they thought it was dope,” he said. “My biggest influence growing up was Master P. I wanted to be more like a CEO. Master P, Timberland and Lil Jon inspired me to want to make beats.”

As a teenager, he worked at Best Buy and purchased a machine to make beats.

He formed the group Trillville with his friends LA and Dirty Mouth in high school.

“One year, I had to go to high school because I failed math by just one point. LA invited me out to a party and I saw him and other people perform, and we clicked,” he said.

One day, a friend gave him Vince Phillips’ phone number; he was the CEO of BME Records which was Atlanta icon Lil Jon’s label.

“One day, I called him up and said, ‘people keep telling me that my music is dope,” he said. I said, ‘I’m not sure if it is or if it is not, but you can listen and see.’ He liked what I said. It was something genuine about that conversation, so he invited me out to the office, and I let him hear the music. The song he picked was “Neva Eva.”

Don P started going out to different clubs around Georgia to perform “Neva Eva” with fellow Trillville rappers, LA, and Dirty Mouth and “killed it.”

“The next thing you know, Lil Jon was signing us,” he said. “I had to go to that office every day after every show making sure I was in Vince Phillips’ face trying to make sure he didn’t forget us.”

Don P credits Lil Jon, Vince Phillips, and countless others for paving the way for them not only as young artists, but for believing in them early on.

“There’s no way we would’ve been able to do what we did without the people paying the way,” Don P said. “Lil Jon, Jermaine Dupri, Jazze Pha, Pastor Troy, Rico Wade, Dallas Austin, Outkast and Goodie Mob. All of these people who came before us. All these cool people who set the bar. Pastor Troy played a big part of getting more Atlanta songs played on the radio not just on the mix, but in the rotation.”

Sometimes he’s so busy making music and working on other projects that he doesn’t always take the time to look reflect on his own legendary status in music.

“Quavo hit me up the other day and reminded me I was a legend to him,” he said. “It’s very humbling. I still get that same feeling from the first time we performed “Neva Eva” until now. I like it when the newer artists sample it. Drake sampled Some Cut, and Young Nudy “Neva Eva.” The younger artists sampling it and keeping it alive, it feels good.”

A major moment growing up in Georgia was watching Outkast win the Best New Artist Award at the 1994 Source Awards. Then, Andre 3000 made his infamous, “the south got something to say” statement.”

“For the first time, we felt seen,” he said. “For the longest, it was Wu-Tang and Biggie, all the New York artists. It was the West Coast, Snoop and Dre and Pac. We loved those artists, but this was our own in Atlanta and in the south. We were so proud of Outkast and our artists from here. Goodie Mob with Soul Food. That statement made everybody in Atlanta feel like it was on. It was a turning point for the south in general. It shined a light on southern hip hop.”

Don P also talked about the evolution of mixtapes through the years.

“Back then, you were just trying to get the word out about who you were, what you were doing and what you felt,” he said. “It was the equivalent of a tweet or post today. Nine times out of 10, the biggest song on the mixtape became the song for the album. For an album, everything must be perfect. Everything must sound amazing everything has to be the best. One is for the streets, and one is for the masses for the world.”

He has released several albums with Trillville and Lil Scrappy and has released mixtapes and other music projects. He has also produced dozens of tracks with other hip-hop artists.

“It is a gift and a curse to be rapping and producing,” he said. “Even if you look at the Kanye West documentary, he was great at making beats, but he had to fight like hell to get people to take him seriously on the rap side. Even Dr. Dre, one of the greatest known for making beats. It is fun because you get to be as creative as you can be.”

Don P created the beat to “Neva Eva” more than 20 years ago and the song blew up worldwide. He has produced for many rappers including Gucci Mane, Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock, Yung Joc, T-Pain, Roscoe Dash, and others.

“It is always dope when you can produce because the beat is like the canvass,” he added. “I produced with my favorite artists of all time 3 6 Mafia. Collaborating with them was one of the highlights of my career.”

Don P says one of the things that he learned from Lil Jon is work ethic. “Lil Jon’s work ethic is insane,” he added.

Don P and Lil Scrappy released “Get Active” in 2023 and recently released an album together to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their Trillville album.

“I came back to Atlanta from Los Angeles, and we talked about making more music to celebrate. I made about seventy-five beats, and we picked through them. We all started recording.”

Working with Lil Scrappy is always nostalgic to Don P and his energy is always great.

“If there is an opportunity, he is going to take it,” Don P continued. “He does music, tv he wrestles. He is like a renaissance man. It was fun working with Trillville and Scrappy again.

Don P and Trillville recently performed at Hot 107.9′s annual Birthday Bash at State Farm Arena.

Don P said he is excited to be working on the new Trillville biopic called “Welcome to Crunkville” a project he began creating two years ago.

“I woke up one day and realized the story had to be told,” Don P said. “I wrote the script a couple of years ago. Our story is unique because this was before cell phones. It was before everyone had the footage. This was before there were sections in the club, they just had dance floors. There were fights before, during, and after a show at the club and we still did the show. It was a different era of Crunk.

The movie will show the trials and tribulations that Trillville went through in their lives and careers. It will shine light on them fighting their way through the ranks in music.

He said the legendary “NuFace” is playing Lil Jon in the movie and he is grateful that he is a part of the movie.

Larry “NuFace” Compton is a well renowned and excitable hip-hop historian in Atlanta who has had his music memorabilia, magazines, and numerous collections featured in the Trap Music Museum in Atlanta and other exhibits including the Rock The Bells cruise in 2023.

“NuFace is extremely important to Atlanta and to hip-hop,” Don P said. “So many accomplishments get missed or forgotten about or fly under the radar. He is the person that always brings awareness of music. He is the artifact god. He is the connector. Certain people would not have met if it weren’t for him.

NuFace also coined the term “NuFace Was There” as he has attended thousands of events, concerts, shows and always support to other people. He is someone who Don P agrees deserves more flowers for everything that he does.

“He sheds light on the things that people might have forgotten about,” Don P said. “He is extremely important. I do not even know how he does it.”

The movie takes place between 2000-2007. One thing Don P said that fans can expect with the new movie is a “nostalgic feel.”

“If you’re from that era, you’re going to love it. If you are not from that era, you are still going to love it and you are going to learn something.”