In 2017, hip-hop artists from Port Harcourt, Nigeria and Houston, Texas, Billy Dolomite, and Kushite Kutta collaborated on a musical piece, “Quitting Is Forbidden” in the US. Billy Dolomite who is a Nigerian native and founder of Dolomilitary ENT™, a hip-hop outfit and production studio in Port Harcourt and Kushite Kutta, a Houston emcee and co-founder of the hip-hop group, Audio Intelligence share their synopsis, motivation, and breakdown a few lines from their verses.
Billy Dolomite
I was inspired to record the musical track #QuittingIsForbbiden which speaks of coming from a place of disadvantage and recognizes those who have struggled for years and not given up. My verse “By any means necessary/ I come through like the military/ We gonna win or not coming back at all” posits the notion that in life adversity is expected and even when negativity surrounds, understand that it’s a battle you can’t always afford to lose. So with options of making a choice, I choose to never quit and stay passionate about my goals. Concerning hip-hop, I love doing this, its who I am, it shows where I’m from and where I’m going. I intend to keep on putting out more songs with strong messages and graphic lyrics.
Kushite Kutta aka Hugh Stone
My major motivation behind writing my verse for Quitting Is Forbidden was to put out something potent that would resonate with people in the current climate in the US and the world at large. In this age of blatant social injustices, giving up would mean to disregard the lives and families that sacrificed for justice, right and benefits afforded today. Verses like “I’m trying to free your sons making sure my daughters never strip/ I’m cracking like them leather whips/ Put across my ancestors backs from off them wretched ships, hush with all that extra lip” reflect to the sons and daughters of men who couldn’t or wouldn’t teach their child or children the right ways, also comparing my presence to the sound of a whip which can be frightening or intimidating and also bringing attention to the slave trade ships, and horrific conditions that the African ancestors endured. We know what happens if we quit, but what if we don’t?
Both artists have released several independent projects with Billy Dolomite Which Way Naija, Put Call, Bust Ya Logo and hit club jam Khana and Kutta with his mixtape We Have a Problem Houston, Make it Bounce for Ya featuring Paris Houston and Californiacation among others. Currently, Billy is working on his album through his record label Dolomilitary ENT™ and Kutta on starting his entertainment company and further developing his premier alias, Hugh Stone.
We’re looking forward to a lot more features and collaborations from these artists and also to see them perform in concert. Meanwhile, get more information on them and their projects by following them at the handles below.
Billy Dolomite @dolomilitaryon Instagram and Billy Dolomite on Reverb Nation
Kushite Kutta aka Hugh Stone @hughstone_thc on Instagram and hughstonemusic.com
