For the past two weeks, a hip-hop artist by the name of Dillon Cooper has had the blogosphere going crazy. The 19-year-old rapper from Brooklyn, who now resides in Boston, released his first-ever music video for a track called “Shadows” on March 9th. Figuring the video might generate a little buzz, Dillon decided to make a Facebook fan page for himself that same day. Two nights later, Jadakiss tweeted the link to the video, and that potential “little buzz” turned into a very real, very significant buzz. “Shadows” now has over 20,000 views while the Dillon Cooper Facebook page is about to hit 1,000 fans… and this is only the beginning.

Seemingly every hip-hop blog from The Masked Gorilla to Soul Culture UK has been asking the same question: Who is Dillon Cooper?

We decided to find out the answer for ourselves. Earlier this week, The Fresh Heir teamed up once again with Decriminals and linked up with Dillon for an exclusive interview. We spent four hours shooting some video, taking some photos, and most importantly just getting to know each other and chillin’ on an oddly gorgeous March afternoon.

The exclusive video interview will release this Thursday, March 29th at 9 pm. For now, enjoy the photographs and the backstory after the jump, and begin to get to know Dillon Cooper in the same way we did.

The five of us – myself, Dillon and three members of Decriminals (Ian, Will and Evan) – met up at the Boston Common on March 22nd just a few minutes after noon. There was literally not a cloud in the sky. Looking around at the countless girls in bikinis and shirtless guys laying out under the sun in the Common, you would’ve thought it was the middle of July if you didn’t know better. Nice weather in March is one thing… 80 degrees is surreal. It was the perfect atmosphere for a photo session, so Decriminals started snapping away.

We made our way over to the street and hopped on the bridge to cross over to the Esplanade. If you didn’t believe me about the whole “not a cloud in the sky” thing, then there’s some more proof for you in the photo above.

After walking down the Esplanade for a few minutes, shooting some video and talking about music, sports, and whatever else came to mind, we took a seat at the edge of the Charles River to chill and enjoy the cool breeze cutting across the water on the warm day.

Dillon and I moved over to this semi-circle stone bench and chopped it up about sneakers (notice the Kobe Galaxies and Jordan 3s) – particularly about how we both need to find a way to get Yeezy 2s – while Evan and Will snapped some photos of us (below).

Dillon threw up the TFH sticker and Decriminals business card one more time, then we headed back down the edge of the Charles. At this point, it had been 45 minutes or so since we’d seen any girls in bikinis, but that drought changed very quickly.

After observing no less than thirty-five girls spread out on a sixty foot wide dock below where we were standing, The Fresh Heir x Decriminals came up with another brilliant idea to take advantage of the scenario. With the Decriminals’ cameras ready to capture the action from a safe vantage point, Dillon and I walked down to the dock and slowly, creepily weaved through the girls, casually talking to each other while trying to keep straight faces. What ensued was pure comedy. I don’t know if I felt more like a celebrity or a criminal with all the stares, but it was definitely worth it.

We made our way back to the walkway and stopped for a minute so Will could snap this dope ass photo (below). My mom could probably tell you what those pink trees are called, but unfortunately I can’t. They made for a nice picture though.

A few minutes later, the CEO of Amalgam Digital, Next Anyextee, met up with us to join the action for the rest of the day. Not only is Next a huge supporter of The Fresh Heir and manager of Decriminals, but he’s also a key figure in Boston’s hip-hop scene and a great person to have around. He and Dillon had a chance to chop it up about everything that’s been going on since “Shadows.”

We left the Esplanade and crossed back over the bridge to BU’s campus so we could hop on the B-line to head down to Boylston & Mass Ave where the Green Street Vault truck (AKA the location of our interview) was parked. Will snapped this photo of Dillon on the T:

Colin, a fourth member of Decriminals, joined the team as we walked from Hynes to join Howard Travis and Derrick Cheung, co-owners of Green Street Vault, at the parked truck on Boylston. The sun was still shining brighter than ever as Dillon and I took a seat on the back stoop of the truck. Decriminals began setting up the video and audio equipment as onlookers passed by in droves, observing the situation inquisitively.

After the final camera and microphone positioning was set, we were ready to go. The Fresh Heir x Decriminals had hopped on the Green Street Vault to answer that question everyone’s been asking for the past two weeks: Who is Dillon Cooper?

The exclusive video interview drops right here in four days (3/29). Be ready.

There are several more photos taken by Decriminals that weren’t posted in this article. CLICK HERE to view the entire set.