Courtesy of Antoine White
St. Louis rapper and activist Antoine White, better known as T-Dubb-O, is well-acquainted with struggle. He named his last album—a powerful account of his rise from the streets to the White House, where he advised President Barack Obama on criminal justice reform—Defiance. And as the co-founder of HandsUp United, a group that advocates for racial and economic equality, he is a regular presence at Black Lives Matter protests.
But this year, the rapper is tackling one of the biggest challenges of his career: attempting to use his new record label, Audacity Music Group, to bring peace to some of the region’s most violent neighborhoods. “I want to provide continuous support for independent artists, to create outlets that can save people’s lives,” he says. He notes that many of the city’s emerging talents—like high-profile rapper Huey, whose killing made national news in June—end up dying of gun violence. By investing in both individuals and communities, White hopes to prevent other musicians’ deaths.
Growing up in North St. Louis, White chose at an early age to join the Crips, one of the largest gangs in the area. As a young man, he saw firsthand how conflicts were passed from one generation to the next, becoming more deadly over time. Now an adult with kids of his own, he hopes to put an end to the cycle. “The main thing I want to do,” he says, “is to use the influence that I have coming from the streets and from the music industry to bring people together.”
With that in mind, the label encourages its artists to collaborate on tracks, videos, and live shows, forming partnerships that help to bridge old divides. “No matter what type of music you make, no matter what you’re talking about, I feel like as Black people, it’s our responsibility to stand up for our community,” White says. “It’s our responsibility to try to change our community.” AMG also asks that its members support outreach programs in their neighborhoods.
Work on the label began in the spring of 2019, shortly after Defiance was released. For the next 10 months, White kept the project under wraps. He compares himself to a farmer during this period, tending a carrot that looks small above ground but that is huge below the surface. “When the coronavirus hit, the studio that I go to was closed down,” he explains. “So I built a studio [in downtown St. Louis]. Then there was really no reason to wait around anymore.” At the height of the pandemic, White officially launched AMG through social media.
He soon enlisted the help of Jimmy Sewell, owner of the St. Louis–based advertising firm Mascot Agency, R&B veteran G the Singer, and longtime collaborator Jeffrey “Bo” Dean, who he credits with the idea for the label. Still, White handles most of the business himself. “It’s every day,” he laughs. “Jimmy manages the studio when I’m not there. But the merchandise, the sponsorships, the equipment, mixing, mastering, distribution, recruiting new artists, setting up shows, pretty much everything else is what I’m doing right now.”
The label plans to release its first project in early October. A collaboration between Dean and White, Bruce vs. Bane II is the followup to the duo’s iconic 2014 mixtape. The original, which features rap legends like Freeway and Crooked I, dropped weeks before the Ferguson protests. While the album received very little promotion from the artists, who were on the frontlines of the marches, it gained a kind of cult status among fans. So when the pair began working on AMG, they decided to revisit the concept, again tapping some of the best musicians and producers in St. Louis to create tracks.
Along with Bruce vs. Bane II, AMG is also preparing to release a solo project from White, as well as albums from Ackurate, Bo Dean, G the Singer, and others. White, a musical polymath, wants the label to capture the impressive diversity of sounds in the city. To that end, he is building an extensive roster of artists and producers from all genres, including several young women of color. “It’s really just an all-around powerhouse,” he says. “I’m letting the industry know on a worldwide scale that St. Louis has got something to say.”
