Dee-1 Discusses Fiscal and Social Responsibility During dfree® Conference

Franklin Township, New Jersey – He may be blowing up as a rapper but Dee-1, a.k.a. David Augustine Jr., still drives a 1998 Honda Accord and recently told an audience of more than 100 young people that he left his job as a math teacher to be a positive influence over a greater number of youth.

“I saw how much my students wanted to be like rappers,” Dee-1 said of his time as a 5th grade math teacher in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. “I never saw someone from my city of New Orleans who was a positive influence….There are people with millions of fans (who are) teaching a negative message….I need to get out here and get back as many people as I can, with my message.”

Interviewed by AllHipHop.com’s Chuck Creekmur, Dee-1 spent more than an hour inspiring middle school to college students with his message of hope as part of the 5th Annual Financial Freedom Conference last week hosted by Rev. Dr. DeForest “Buster” Soaries at the First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens (FBCLG). Dee-1 explained that his “3Up” symbol stands for his new life motto, “be real, be righteous, be relevant,” and asked students to be productive, spiritual members of society – starting with fiscal responsibility.

“Don’t even start college unless you know you’re going to finish. You have to pay those loans back,” Dee-1 said. “I used to pay the minimum back….When I signed a record deal, I got a bunch of money all at once. The first thing I did with my money? I paid Sallie Mae back….One thing I love about my car is that it is paid off. All of my jewelry? Gifts…. I don’t spend my money. I got out of debt because debt is a new form of slavery nowadays.”

Dee-1 told students that they need to be financially intelligent and know their numbers. “Rappers are always talking about, ‘get that money,’ but nobody talks about what to do when you get the money.” He said that while many rappers promote negative and frivolous lifestyles in their videos, he would rather anonymously send money to a fan in need than to waste money.

Creekmur, who is a FBCLG member, said he talks to his own daughter about financial responsibility. “It’s important you all make wise decisions and right decisions,” he said. “Don’t be so cool that you’re a knucklehead and ignore your elders. I talk to my daughter about APR, annual percentage rates, mortgages instead of renting…Slavery comes in different forms now. It’s not just shackles.”

Admitting that his life was rough until he turned to God, Dee-1 said he didn’t always make good decisions. He said the main reason he went to college, Louisiana State University, was because his then-girlfriend enrolled. While he was chasing her, Dee-1 said, she was cheating on him. He also had a roommate who sold drugs out of their dorm room. “I was like, ‘we just left biology class!’” Dee-1 said of his disbelief that the roommate would drag him into danger. He said he made a hard decision to request a room change and shortly after, the roommate was arrested.

Not only are his song lyrics positive but most reflect his real life experience. Dee-1 started getting noticed for his 2009 hit Jay, 50 and Weezy, which he said was his first attempt to address rappers who “are so powerful, they have so much paper, they have so much platform, but they’re not doing anything positive with it.” He said he’s not sure how much influence the song has had but that it’s important for youth to “speak truth” to power.

“It’s not your job in life to save everyone,” Dee-1 said. “You can plant the seed….At least I shined my light in that way.”

Dee-1 was signed by RCA Inspiration in 2013. Among his singles, he celebrates paying off his student loans with the song “Sallie Mae Back.” Known as a positive hip-hop recording artist, Dee-1 promotes a lifestyle of self-empowerment and community service. Some of his songs have garnered over 1 million hits on YouTube.

Noting that his grandfather was a personal hero who taught him a lot about money, Dee-1 told students about a time when both his grandparents’ cars broke down and he was anxious to see what they would do. His grandfather pulled out $25,000 cash that he had hidden and taught him about the importance of saving. That year, Dee-1 started a job serving “sno balls” (also known as ‘sno cones’) and was proud to save his first $800.

Sharing his motto, Dee-1 told students that “people can appreciate you more when you’re real; doing right is right and doing wrong is wrong” and “to be relevant in life.” He also offered them four other lessons: “Shut up and grind. You can’t make excuses. You have to focus on what your mission/vision is. Be so great that you’re indispensable….God has a way of making room for us, for our talents.”

Dee-1 told the students that his next album, Slingshot David, focuses on the biblical story because “we all have a little David in us.” He dropped the mixtape for the album in July. He then performed, kicking off with Against Us and demonstrating to students how he incorporates God into his lyrics while still sounding like a rapper. He closed the show with his emotional, Both Sides of the Gun, a true story about one of his former students who was killed by another. During his talk, he mentioned how proud he was to take pictures with Gospel Legend Erica Campbell, who also performed at the conference. He then remained as long as students wanted to take pictures with them.

“His message is so important. We’re trying to get young people to focus on these issues before they run into problems,” said Soaries, who also noted that the youth attending the “Say Yes to a Brighter Future” segment of the conference also received dfree® training and advice on topics such as how to pay for college.

Soaries created dfree® in 2005 to combat the American consumer culture that encourages people to become fixated on materialism instead of true meaning and purpose. In particular, Soaries focuses on helping faith-based individuals, groups and organizations end the debilitating cycle of debt, delinquency and deficits and move to financial stability and freedom.

The “Say Yes to the Next Level” conference, Nov. 10-12, 2016, was intended to motivate existing dfree® participants to accomplish their goals and to attract new audiences. The conference encouraged participants to reevaluate personal values, habits, attitudes and relationships in order to prepare themselves to move toward financial wholeness. It was held at FBCLG, 771 Somerset Street, Somerset, New Jersey 08873. It included concerts, networking, youth activities and dfree® training and support. The title sponsor for the conference was Prudential Financial, with Wells Fargo, Chase Bank, City National Bank, Mazda Motor Corporation, Lyft, Stand Together, Griffin Capital Funding, Independence Realty Trust, Federal Home Loan Bank of NY, Merrill Lynch, Think Finance, Mobiloans and others.

About dfree®:

Founded in 2005, dfree® is a financial freedom movement that addresses the cultural, psychological and spiritual influences on financial wellness and offers practical strategies for achieving financial success. dfree® was featured by CNN in a 90­minute documentary, “Almighty Debt,” an installment of the “Black in America” series, hosted by Soledad O’Brien. The dfree® strategy is being used by hundreds of churches and organizations worldwide. For more information about dfree® visit www.mydfree.org and follow the hashtag, #dFreeNextLevel, on social media.

About Soaries:

Rev. Dr. DeForest B. Soaries Jr. is known as an active agent for change and is a widely-requested speaker. He is the Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens in Somerset, New Jersey and former New Jersey Secretary of State. His pastoral ministry focuses on spiritual growth, educational excellence, economic empowerment and faith-based community development. Soaries, author of Say Yes to No Debt: 12 Steps to Financial Freedom, has issued a Billion Dollar Challenge as a national initiative and free resource to help individuals and families collectively pay down $1 billion in consumer debt.