Young Dibiase prepares for Trilogy release Feb. 11
by Kim Mason
Thursday, February 10, 2011 10:58 AM CST
Cory Smith was born in Germany, the youngest of four in a military family. After relocating to Radcliff Kentucky, Smith says that his battle with Sickle Cell Anemia made him have to work twice as hard at everything and has proven to be a successful motivator in his life and career. While attending WKU, he found his musical persona, Young Dibiase. He said, "Experience with alcohol, drugs, poverty, violence, and personal health issues at a young age have been the fuel that fires Dibiase's passion as a Hip Hop artist."
At WKU in 2005 Young Dibiase met his future partner for Hooligan Muzik Group, William "Ill Will" McBroom. He began work on his first release Just Fury in 2006. The album included the single “Piece of Mind” which featured Bad Boy South/ Block Entertainment R&B Star Justin “JC” Crowder. In 2007 after being discharged from the hospital after a Sickle Cell crisis, Dibiase began recording Million $1 Dream Vol. 1, intended to "symbolize his strength, motivation, and optimism to continue living, achieve his personal goals, and chase his dreams."
Dibiase has since opened for major acts such as Interscope Record's own platinum selling artist Rich Boy and in 2011 hopes to break through as one of the South's new regional acts. "For me and my solo career, I just want to be a legit presence in the south and east coast regions. Ultimately, I hope to have the Hooligan Muzik roster full with talented and ambitious artists. My passion is music but I'd like to use my management degree to develop artists and help them reach their goals, get deals etc. Right now, I’m investing in myself and whatever I need to for my label to be self sufficient in years to come" he said.
Dibiase views the KY Hip Hop scene as extremely diverse, encompassing sub-genres from east coast to dirty south. "On the other hand I would like to see our artists get away from the internet and get back in the streets. I find there are still loyal fans and consumers there that may not be present online." he explained. As for his own efforts, he added "I'll always be #1 in my eyes, that’s what I strive to be individually; and, all I will present on behalf of my brand Hooligan Muzik is the best. Delivering high quality on a consistent basis and continuing to get better is what it takes to be the best, and I feel I have done that over the years. I’ve never depended on anyone, looked for handouts or had any major help physically or financially either." He added, "My goal is to see how far I can carry myself in this game and keep control and profits from all my ventures. The tools are definitely out there for artists to take that route and be successful, so why not?"
His first official album Trilogy is due out in mid February 2011. In anticipate of the release Dibiase has released a video for the single Bigger Than That which can be seen embedded below.
The album will be available through iTunes, Amazon.com, Zune and many major cell phone carriers. For a hardcopy of the album visit Ear-X-Tacy or order at Cdbaby.com/YoungDibiase. For more information visit YoungDibiase.Blogspot.com.
