T
eiron “Iceberg” Robinson never imagined one day he’d be rapping alongside a Southern rap icon like Trick Daddy. But when Iceberg’s freestyle over Nas’ “One Mic” attracted Trick’s interest in the then 15-year-old rapper, Berg’s farfetched fantasy soon became a reality. “I was just happy to be around him,” the now 20-year-old says of the day he met Trick Daddy. “I was born and raised in Miami. In Miami, niggas look up to this nigga Trick like that nigga is a fucking God.” Iceberg, whose first taste of rapping came at the tender age of 5, after his father wrote his first rhymes, had already begun establishing a name for himself through a series of mixtapes. The day he met Trick Daddy, Iceberg found himself in the studio, auditioning for a spot in Trick’s Dunk Ryders group. “I went to the Dunk Ryders tryout,” Berg recalls, of a session that also included Miami standout artist Brisco. “It was me, Trick and a room full of 10 niggas trying to get in one booth. It was me, Brisco and Soup [Trick’s] brother, [and] I remember Trick walking in the studio after all of us dropped our verse, and he said, ‘Take Berg, and Brisco off that song, they already Dunk Ryders. They already official.’” While Brisco went on to sign with Poe Boy/Cash Money, Iceberg signed with Dunk Ryder Records, and joined Fella and Trick’s brother, Soup, in the Dunk Ryders. The group wasted no time making a name. They were featured on Trick Daddy’s 2006 album, Back By Thug Demand, and released the single “Fuck The Other Side,” which became a popular underground hit and was later featured on DJ Khaled’s third album, We Global. And in 2008, Trick Daddy signed a joint venture deal with Cash Money Records to release the Dunk Ryders album. However, a legal situation involving Soup (who’s currently incarcerated) and a radio and video ban of “Fuck The Other Side” set back the Dunk Ryders’ progress. Still, Iceberg hasn’t allowed that to slow his grind. He went back to releasing his own mixtapes (including Bandana Music, Strictly For The Streets, and International Billion, among others), and co-starred on Trick Daddy and DJ Scream’s Drunk Ryder or Die mixtape. Majors have taken notice and offered solo deals, but Iceberg insists he’s waiting for the right situation. In the meantime he plans on releasing another mixtape called Mr. L.I.V.E., he’s featured on Trick Daddy’s new album Finally Famous, and the Dunk Ryders still intend to release an album through Cash Money. But until then, Iceberg is going for self on the mixtape circuit. “I’m addicted to doing mixtapes,” he says. “My CEOs be telling me, ‘Man, chill or you’re gonna be labeled as a mixtape artist.’ But I go against the grain anyway because I’m like, shit, I guess that’s what I am…a mixtape artist. I just like feeding the streets.” Words by Randy Roper
32 // OZONE MAG
Patiently Waiting