Tyree Simmons, aka DJ Drama has had an illustrious career as a producer and tastemaker in hip-hop. He helped reinvent mixtape culture with Gangsta Grillz, signed artists like Lil Uzi Vert and Jack Harlow, and produced Tyler the Creator’s GRAMMY-winning album “Call Me If You Get Lost.” DJ Drama’s sound is often associated with trap music and the South, so people tend to forget that he was born and raised in Germantown, Philadelphia.
I had the opportunity to sit down with DJ Drama and ask him about his connections to Philly:
(This transcript has been slightly modified for print publication, the full audio of the transcript is available in the Philly Plain Dealer Archives on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.)
Jason: I’ll admit… I was a DJ Drama fan for years and I never knew you were from Philly.
DRAMA: People don’t always know I’m from Philly. Definitely, if you’re from a certain age and demographic, you know. But you might not be familiar that I was from Philly, if you’re 27… that means I left… you were born in what year?
Jason: 95′
DRAMA: Yeah. I left Philly in 96. Yeah. (both laugh) So you were one when I left. Through through my career, I’ve let it be known that I’m from Philly, but you know, again, because of what Gangsta Grillz has meant to the South, and it definitely, you know, starting out as, and being an important, fixture in Southern rap culture. Some through the years or in time, definitely assume that I’m from Atlanta. But I get random ones too.
Some people think I live in New York. Some people think I’m from Miami. But a good degree of people know I’m from Philly, and a good degree of people think I’m from Atlanta, but that’s okay with me. You know what I’m saying? What excites me is that when you found out, you were excited, being from Philly.
Jason: How has being from Philadelphia shaped DJ Drama?
DRAMA: There’s a certain degree of hustler’s mentality that comes from Philly. In my era of DJing, being able to be technical was very important. I grew up around some important and prominent DJs in DJ culture in Philly. I was inspired by the Roots and Bahamadia you know, some of the early people that I saw really make it in the business. They inspired me to pursue this career path and to know that it could really happen. You could really make it.
Then, you know, Philly people are very prideful about being from Philly. They make it very clear and very aware that they’re from Philadelphia. We have a strong sense of Philly pride in a lot of ways. I think that it’s an ill story to be told that a kid from Philly moves down South and helps change the landscape of, of southern hip-hop culture. What Gangsta Grillz means to the South. Where would it be if it wasn’t for this kid from Philly who grew up on mixtape culture in Philly and went to school in Atlanta?
Jason: Question for you… and I’m reaching here ’cause I haven’t been able to find this mixtape. I only know of its existence from internet articles… Illadelph…
DRAMA: It’s a real thing, I have a copy of it.
Jason: Is it online at all?
DRAMA: It’s probably not online. I should probably put it online. There were like two in the series. It has exclusive freestyles from Black Thought, Dice Raw, Malik B, Bahamadia, and from a group in Philly from the 90s called 100X. Yeah, it was my first mixtape series. I pretty much copied DJ Doo Wop who had made a tape called 95 Live. I made a Philly version and I called it Illadelph. And that was during a time when Illadelph was slang for Philly, but I even named it Illadelph even before the Roots did Illadelph Halflife. So I might’ve had the first project out of Philly called Illadelph.
Jason: Wait what? Did you know that Illadelph is like the biggest bong and glass band in the city? There’s full on Illadelph Smoke Shops.
DRAMA: Oh wow, I never knew that. That’s fire.
Jason: As someone who loves Philly rap and has, I’m probably one of the biggest pushers of Philly rap that I could find, even when I was in Philly before I moved (to NYC). I was the only person taking it seriously and covering it like a journalist. Is there ever a chance for a redemption of Illadeph bringing the new generation and the old generation together on an all Philadelphia Drama tape?
DRAMA: I wouldn’t be opposed to that. I mean, definitely one of my bucket list Gangsta Grillz is a Black Thought Gangster Grillz. I feel like that needs to happen. That’s like a full circle moment. But you know, I mean for what it’s worth. You know, I signed and helped one of the biggest artists outta Philly, Lil Uzi Vert, you know what I’m saying?
So we definitely have given a nod to Philly. You know, I’ve been part of one of the biggest mixtape series to ever come out of Philly called Dream Chasers. So, you know, I’ve definitely put in my Philly work through the years and done numerous tapes with numerous artists from Philly. So I’m always open to that.
Jason: This is the last question on this. What was your experience breaking into the music scene in Philadelphia?
DRAMA: It was fun. I mean, it was, it was innocent at the time, I was in high school, so I was kind of running around a Philly hip hop scene that was, that was youthful, that was, you know, figuring its way out.
You know, again, people like The Roots, Bahamadia, Ram Squad and 100X and, you know, later on when I left was around the time when Philly’s Most Wanted and Major Figures was coming up. For me it was just youthful, innocent, trying to make a name for myself, being a kid around some of the older heads, spending a lot of time on South Street and cyphers, beatboxing while everybody was rapping, going to the Trocadero for shows, seeing, you know, numerous people perform at the Troc or going to University of Penn. I think it, what McGonagall Hall? That’s Penn or Temple? Oh, I think McGonagall Hall was at Penn.
I remember going to spring flings at Temple when I was in high school and seeing hip hop artists perform KRS-One would come down. Breaking into the scene was really (about) getting the knowledge and like learning my way around hip hop at a young age through Philly rap and shows and artists that would come through the city.
Jason: What I gotta ask, did you perform at the Troc? Because it’s closed now?
DRAMA: Yeah?
Jason: I think COVID killed it.
DRAMA: The Troc was it when I was in high school, I mean, I saw Ice Cube there, I saw Digable Planets there, I saw the Fugees there, I saw The Roots there. Like I saw DMC Battles there. Like Troc was one of the go-to spots. And then I remember even seeing some non hip hop shows there. Like, I saw this group called Gwar there one time. But have I ever performed? (Thinks deeply) I would be remi… I must have performed at the Troc at least once in some form or fashion. (laughs) I had to have hit that stage.
Jason: Alright, well that’s all I got for you. I appreciate you.
DRAMA: Appreciate you bro.
Philly Plain Dealer 
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