Atlanta and New Orleans are not the only areas that plan on representing the Dirty South! Up and coming group Now City plans to show the music industry what North Carolina is all about. I had the chance to interview David “Ski” Willis, producer and CEO of Now City Records. Ski welcomed me into the comfort of his home and we discussed his plans with Now City in his private basement studio in Winston-Salem. Ski seemed very relaxed as he began to describe some of his equipment. He has MPC 3,000’s drum machine, a Triton keyboard and a Technique 1200 which he explains are your basic tools for hip hop.A native of Greensboro, Ski moved to New York to pursue a career in music.”I started out rapping,” said Ski. “I didn’t have producers helping me with beats so my moms bought me a SP1200. I started making beats for myself.”He then hooked up with his future partner Clark Kent. “He advised me to sell my beats. I didn’t know how to do that at the time, but I took his advice and sold my first beat to Father MC.”The first successful record was with hip-hop artist Sporty Thievz on Roc-A-Bloc Records, which was based out of New Jersey. Ski is also known for his work on Jay Z’s highly notable album “Reasonable Doubt.” He started Now City a year ago, and has big plans to take the hip-hop industry in North Carolina to another level. “The only obstacle I face coming out of North Carolina is playa hating. People are putting other artists down here and nobody wants you to be successful.” Miss E Wreck also commented on the reality of being an artist in North Carolina. “I feel like a whole lot of artists have versatility. It’s not going to be just one group representing North Carolina,” said Miss E Wreck.Ski’s latest project has been producing rap artist Camp Lo’s new album and maybe his own album in the future. “I really liked the ’70s style Blaxploitation Era. I want to bring the 70s style back and have guest appearances like Outkast, Cee Lo and Camp Lo on the album. The name of my album would be called “Tracksploitation.”Now City consists of Krunk, Miss E Wreck, Hot Wright, Lil ‘Rise, Dolo and Dutch. Dolo, Dutch and LiL’Rise joined Now City in the fall of 2001. Dolo is from Durham, Lil Rise, Dutch, Miss E Wreck and Hot Wright are from Winston-Salem and Krunk is from Greensboro. Each artist with Now City has his or her own individual record deal. Now City’s album is due mid-July.