D Smoke Reveals Why He Nearly Turned Down Netflix's "Rhythm + Flow"

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TI and The Smoke winner of Rhythm And Flow Season One visit "Extra" at The Levi's Store Times Square on October 24, 2019 in New York City
D Smoke opens up about working on Netflix's first hip-hop competition show.

Netflix's Rhythm + Flow show was truly far better than most people expected. Reality TV and competition shows are typically far more dramatized than it should be, which was the case with Rhythm + Flow but it did highlight some incredible talent. D Smoke came out on top which wasn't necessarily shocking. Since the jump, he gave promising glimpses of his potential with his performances from the music video challenge to the battle rap episode but there was a moment where none of that would've happened just days before the competition began.

Sitting down with Big Boy, D Smoke dished out on his experience on the Netflix show. After Big Boy asked him if he was hesitant to initially do the show, D Smoke admitted that the day before, he was going to turn it down. He said that he called one of the people from the show who was essentially courting the possible contestants because of a few things in the contract. "There's a lot of things in our favor in terms of us maintaining our independence even if we win, winning money, and being able to continue our artistry as we see fit," he said. "Then there was the standard reality TV language in there that's like, 'Anything you do -- whether or not it reflects positively or negatively on your artistry -- will be used on the show.'"

Without any knowledge of what could've possibly happened as the weekly challenges were not revealed, D Smoke was concerned about how it would've ultimately impacted his own career. "My thing is I don't know what situations they're going to -- I don't know what competitions there are ahead so I don't know what situation you're going to put me in to make me have to adjust to something that's outside of my comfort zone," he said.

Peep the full interview below. 


About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.
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