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It’s easy to say what you would’ve done if you were in Young Dro’s position in 2006. After “Shoulder Lean” took off, Dro enjoyed the follow-up success of his debut LP Best Thang Smokin’. The groundwork was laid for the Grand Hustle capo to remain in the spotlight for longer than the blink of an eye — that’s what you’d snort, indignantly.

But it’s always easier to judge from the outside when you have no clue what’s going on within. During a recent session at Atlanta’s DARP Studios, Dro attempts to explain the timeline. “I’m been working since my first album,” he tells Hip-Hop Wired. “There were a couple complications within myself… Within the CEO of the company and you know, business ain’t get handled like that, because if you move as a fist, a balled up fist is always better.”

“But those were just trials and tribulations,” he adds with a shrug. “We’ve been doing this for a long time and we’ve come through it.”

Ask some rap fans and they’ll flippantly respond that Young Dro held himself back after his initial break seven years ago. Others will say that it was Grand Hustle’s general that clipped his wings out of some sort of twisted envy. Dro subscribes to neither theory. “Here’s what I say to that,” he starts slowly. “I wouldn’t tell you that I held myself back because who doesn’t want to succeed? There are a couple things I did to help that out but I can’t tell you I planned that.”

“Another thing is that I believe in God to the point where I listen to people, I love people,” he continues. “But I wouldn’t put my destiny into any person’s hands. I wouldn’t let you determine nothing I got going. This is timing, dedication. I was overdue before I was overdue so this is nothing.”

Just because he hasn’t had much of a presence outwardly doesn’t mean Dro hasn’t been working and as proof of such, the A-Town native made his triumphant return on “F.D.B.” — one of the summer’s catchiest cuts. In addition to proving that he’s radio-ready, Dro reiterated his heavyweight status on a number of mixtapes within the past couple of years. Seems he’s at his strongest these days, as shown on his own Day Two as well as on the Hustle Gang’s G.D.O.D. (Get Dough or Die) tape, both released earlier this summer.

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Photo: YouTube

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