Memphis, Memphis, Memphis: A Retrospective with Tommy Wright III

I’d say Tommy Wright III carries Memphis on his shoulders, but it’s really in his chest, pumping raw red through his veins. I spoke in depth with one of the original Memphis maniacs after an electric sold-out show at White Hotel, Manchester to talk about 90s Memphis, tape hustling, parking lot pimpin' and the spirit of crunk. Starting from the monumental Ashes II Ashes, grave-digging Polaroid era, to influencing a whole realm of underground rap cascades like Lil Ugly Mane, Black Kray, and Raider Klan 20 years later. Tommy is an undeniable founding father of Trap. His natural ability to story tell with such character and vividness is just as apparent in this interview as it is in his lyrics.

Tommy - White Hotel 2025,

All photographs by Nouch Powers.

What’s some of the craziest things you witnessed being from Memphis?

I’ve seen so much, I done got desensitised mane. Nothing amazes me and nothing bothers me no more. The sight of blood, the sight of a car flipped on top of his head, the sight of someone on fire, seeing somebody's head get took off. Nothing really catches me by surprise no more, but I think it's like that all around the world. Maybe it's just in Memphis, but I tell you, I've seen it all, I ain’t gonna lie.

Can you talk to us about some pre Ashes II Ashes tapes? Still Not Quite Human?

Well I was trying to go from Memphis Massacre to Still Not Quite Human, but I didn't finish it. I had just like a few songs, and I wish I would have finished it because it was going in a good direction. I put out a couple of singles on it. It hit the little stores that we called Pop Tunes in Memphis. They were big stores to us though. Little did I know, the image of me on my knees with my hands behind my head would fly off the shelves. I didn't know everybody was gonna relate to that shit. It's crazy how every little thing I've done has really just taken off, and sometimes I didn't even see it coming. It just happened.

Tell us about the time and era of Ashes II Ashes.

I wanted to show people how my mind works. We was always coming across, you know, bullshit. So I would talk about death. I was talking about certain beefs, me and T-dawg going in, creeping while yo sleeping, meet yo maker. Then I went straight out to the motherfucking cemetery, said I want to be right here, where the hole was dug at, got my shovel and told my homie to take the Polaroid. No GoPro, none of that. We took the picture, glued the letters on there and Ashes II Ashes, Dust II Dust was made.

Can you talk us through the projects recording set-up?

It was so simple. When I finally did Ashes, I had my own mic along with my little 4-track. I had to pull moves just to get equipment though. You had to lie about your credit, get some shit, not pay the bill, run, duck and hide. Then I had a partner with a studio who wasn't doing shit with it. I said man...I'm tired of coming over your house every day and when I get here, you don't do shit! I said, "Give me the motherfucking studio, please, bro. I'm already rapping. I'm outside on the end of the block,battling. I'm over here at the foster home with Crunchy Black.”

Crunchy Black is a legend.

Damn right. We go so far back people don't even know. We just split up as teenagers, but now we're back together. Our new song is on my YouTube, Keep It 100. That's a lead-up to the new album. Me and Crunchy just linked up backstage of a festival in Memphis called River Beach. I just don't be posting all that shit. I need to start though. I'm trying to get better at that.

I wanted to ask you about the Houston legend DJ Screw, cause I know you worked with some SUC members at one time.

Man, the closest I got to Screw was just really working with like one or two of his artists. But you know, we lost him so early. PSK-13 came to Memphis and some of his other artists used to come here so we would work. They was on one or two of my CDs. That was the closest I came to him really. What’s even more crazy is that I never went to Houston in my younger years. I was Memphis, Memphis, Memphis! Until I got a call off somebody for me to do a feature in Atlanta. I'm selling these tapes myself on the streets like where did you get my bloody tape? They started calling me for features and I'm like hmm. That’s when I really started learning what the fuck rap do and what it's all about.

Have you got any DVDs you made?

No, I had one that I teased but I didn't finish it. I had such a bad down point in my life right when I promoted it. I never got a chance to finish it but it’s called Behind Closed Doors.

It seems Memphis have eventually got their plaudits, but is there anyone you think hasn’t?

It looks like everybody in Memphis is getting their flowers. And not only that, man, they’re starting to put my name with the OGs like DJ Spanish Fly. My homies names too like Gangsta Pat, I’m glad to see him go up I just saw him do a show in Miami.

Is there anyone from the newer era of underground you like? I know you did a tour with Lil Ugly Mane.

I’m wearing Ugly’s necklace right now. We did a tour and then our managers kinda got in the way. So I said look, we can talk without nobody in between us. He also gave me some good advice when I was against streaming. He said, "No Tommy, give it a try it fucking helps." I still play that in my head even now. He told me some good shit when I was in a stubborn mood. When we went to Boston it went crazy, we went to New York, crazy, Memphis, crazy. Yeah. I would have never even met him had I not got a booking in California, but he was so real. He came and pulled up and the rest was history.

Black Kray has mentioned you in interviews. There’s a whole generation of greatness there which you inspired.

You know what bro, I did a show with Black Kray. It took a long time for me to know about all the new underground. When I found out about it, I was sick to my stomach because I missed out on all the homies that was from Memphis. Sesh Hollow Water Boyz, Raider Klan, and all them. I was like, damn, I'm missing out. I didn't even know. People would mention them and I didn't know who they were. They started calling me to do a show here and there and then they would hit me up or shout me out in an interview. When I saw that I was like they cool. Bones hit me up to do a song but we still haven't made it happen. I got respect for Bones. A lot of other people kind of do their own things but I'm down to work with whoever's down to work with me.

How did your city and surroundings shape your sound?

Mane, I don't know where we got our swag from, that shit was home grown and thank God. It was so fun to be a part of. Making new dances first, coming out with slang, the way we did the clubs, rolled the strip, parking lot pimpin'. The way we sold dope, wore our teeth, talked, everything. It was just like being in a dream bruh. Now a lot of people have lost that, they’re trying to be out of town too much. You’ve got to be Memphis. You can't always go somewhere and think you're going to have Memphis in your back pocket either. If you step away from Memphis, you lose Memphis.I wouldn't want to be from nowhere else. I'd be so fucking mad if I wasn’t from here. I feel so lucky and thankful to be born and raised in Memphis. To see that beginning, the history, the rise and the creation was beautiful. Everybody in Memphis just creative as a motherfucker. From get buck to buck jumping coming together to make crunk. Crunk is born in Memphis. If anyone says it’s not, they a damn fool. My song On the Run was one of the first songs that ever said “crunk,” that was in 1996.

What was your introduction then to making music?

I was the type of dude that had every CD and tape, everything that came out, hip hop. MC Shy D, the Skinny Boyz, the Fat Boyz, Run DMC, Houdini, I had all that shit. Then when the West Coast guys blew up—NWA, Eazy-E, Dr. Dre—this and that. I started getting all that shit. DJ Quik! Oh he was nasty! He had a perm like me. Ice Cube also, talking about the problems Memphis was having. I'm like, we going through the same shit, the drugs, the police, I related to that. I started kind of wanting to, like… I guess complain about what's going on in our hood and what's going on in our area. I wanted to put my hood on the map.I was moved from Riverside, when I came over to Black Haven and 2 Lane, it's like they didn't have no representation. I was like, man, why we ain't in every other hood? You know. They had all their names out there, and they was all on the mixtape, the DJ was shouting them out, but nobody was shouting out my hood.Also I was rapping at birthday parties as a little youngen. I’d say it had a little bit to do with poetry too. I liked the poetry and once I heard guys rapping on my street, it wasn't no turning back.

What can you tell us about the current Tommy Wright? What was that fresh “Memphis, Memphis, Memphis” hook?

It's new. I worked on it, scrapped two or three other raps, wrote a few different lyrics, put them together and just said I'm ready to rep the city. Me and my kids was out, and I saw somebody had on a Memphis jersey. I said, “Yo, you from Memphis?" He was like, "Yeah yeah yeah." And I was like, “Oh shit, what hood?” He said, “Well, I'm not from Memphis but you know I fuck with Memphis I've been there.” We was like, “Oh. That ain't the same. You be faking.” All I know is Memphis. So yeah, that's the hook. I wanted to try build up the pride too because our city is so rough and tough. A lot of people now see a jersey and are ready to look the other way. I remember when I was coming up you had pride for being from Memphis.

It’s a real privilege to have done this interview with you.

I'm glad to be here, man. I'm glad to be in Manchester. There's so much love here and I didn't know what to expect, but this motherfucker was lit and packed! They say this shit was sold out. Hopefully I’ll be back. I love the vibe here so much, I really hate to go. I'm in heaven right now so thanks.