Making Of A Legend?

Seandrea Sledge’s goal is to become a hip-hop legend. On the surface that statement might not mean much to most of you reading this post, but some of you might know young Seandrea Sledge. The young and rising star is known by the name Dreezy. The twenty-three year old from the south side of Chicago is working toward her ambitious goal of gaining legendary hip hop status. Some might feel that Dreezy’s goals are too high, but the young artist is unapologetic about her quest to be the best. Is she realistically headed toward being one of the best in the industry? We will look at her career path to this point and see for ourselves.

Dreezy was born on March 28, 1994. Throughout her childhood, Sledge moved to a number of locations throughout the city of Chicago. To escape issues that a number of teens face Dreezy looked into the fine arts, which helped her deal with some of the realities of her life. She explored scatting and poetry writing. She drifted towards singing at the age of 10. She always felt like music was her internal escapism, and by the age of 14, she found interest in becoming a rapper. Dreezy has cited rappers J. Cole and Lil Wayne as her biggest musical influences, and considers J.Cole as her favorite rapper of all time.

Her path toward becoming a recording artist went strictly through Chicago, as she worked with a variety of established and up and coming artists from the city. Dreezy became good friends with fellow Chicago native rapper Sasha Go Hard, and made a guest appearance on Sasha’s song, “I Ain’t No Hitta” in 2012. She later released a song with a fellow rapper Lil Durk, called “Ghost”. In February 2013, she released a collaborative mixtape with fellow Chicago native rapper Mikey Dollaz, titled Business N Pleasure. In February 2014, she released her first solo mixtape, titled Schizo through AOE Music, along with a song, which features guest verse from a fellow American rapper Common, called “No Good”. Then came the project that made many take notice. She released her remix of YMCMB rapper Nicki Minaj and Lil Herb’s “Chiraq” and received general attention, with many fans claiming that it was better than Minaj’s version.

Dreezy spoke about the 2014 cut, “I’m a fan of Nikki Minaj and I like what she did on the original ‘Chiraq’ with Lil Herb. But I got the best bars in Chicago so it was only right for me to remix it and represent. The day my version of ‘ChiRaq’ came out her boyfriend texted us saying ‘You won’t last a week.”

Well, Dreezy lasted a lot longer than a week. In December 2014, it was announced that the young rapper/singer signed a recording contract with Interscope Records.

Those few artists who do reach the status of legend normally display talent that makes others take notice long before the fame. For Dreezy, there were some early signs that she might be a little different from the other kids. By the time she was in kindergarten, she started drawing. Soon thereafter, she kept diaries and began crafting her own tales.

“Sometimes I wrote really dark, sad stories about rape, murder and violence or stories about rocky relationships,” she recalls. “I remember writing a poem about my grandma when she passed away. I was always telling other people’s stories weaved with mine. I saw and experienced a lot and had to mature at a young age. I expressed it all through my poetry.”

Dreezy’s story of her early life is similar to how other “legends” started. Regardless of the style of music they would eventually choose, artistic expression is somewhat hard to ignore. The legend might develop musically a lot earlier than suspected.

“I had no filter as a kid,” she says. “I was always saying something and not realizing what I just said. I wasn’t a bad kid. I was just smart for my age and wanted to express my opinion — and it got me in trouble. My mom got to a point where she just couldn’t deal and my dad had to tighten my ass up. When I moved to Dad’s, I learned there’s a time and a place for everything and not to go on first emotion with stuff.”

I remember writing before about parental guidance for those who achieve greatness. For every Michael Jackson, there is a Joe Jackson. For every Serena Williams, there is a Richard Williams. We may not agree with their methods, but they see something in their children early; and in the case of Jackson and Williams the child grew in adulthood to become a legend. Dreezy might very well rise to be a musical legend, but if that’s the case her Dad will leave and indelible mark on her map to success.

After releasing two EP’s, Dreezy released her début album, No Hard Feelings, on July 15, 2016. I believe this album is the perfect place to start for a young artist. After listening to the entire album a few times, I thought the music exclusively belongs to Dreezy. With the release of each single, the album continues to grow in critical acclaim. If you have not heard Dreezy’s music yet, make sure you stream or download No Hard Feelings as soon as you can and form your own opinion.

Dreezy does have a lot of support from various artists. “I know if I ever need to talk to someone, Common can give me some good, sound advice,” she says. “He has good intentions and doesn’t want anything from me.” Then there are Chicago female MCs Sasha Go Hard and Katie Got Bandz. Dreezy continued, “Sasha is like my sister. Our friendship started out from rapping but we’re like sisters now. Katie and I are really good friends, too. We support each other. There’s room for everybody. That’s how it’s supposed to be.”

Lofty goals? Absolutely! I don’t think Dreezy would have it any other way. “My goal is to be legendary,” she says. “Music is my purpose and I want to set the bar — especially for females — and break all the records that come with it.”