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August 8, 1997
RAP DUO WINS OVER DOUBTERS The Flint Journal
By Shawn Humphrey
Contributing Writer
The Artfull Dodgers are about a block from home,
on Flint's east side.
Over lunch at Angelo's, the two rappers discuss their new
tape release, "Dusted World," the struggle of gaining respect and their
lyrical take on the world.
Originally from Montrose, "Brady B-Gozza" Gasser and
Rex "Jackpot" Demski were founding members of the D.L.P., which later
reformed as the Juggernaut, from 1994 until last year. The Artfull Dodgers, with
a name derived from "Oliver Twist," have sweated over their five-song tape/EP and
worked hard to get name recognition wherever they can play.
Where is that? "Anywhere they'll let us get a hold of
a mic(rophone)," Gasser says. "We've opened many a friend's wedding."
The pair has been making the
rounds of downtown clubs (Churchill's, Metropolis,
Flint Local 432) and talent shows such as the Supershow
at the IMA Sports Arena.
"I felt like we were accepted by
Flint," Gasser says about the IMA show. "You don't get
many opportunities to play in front of
4,000 people. I felt like we might have broke some
stereotypes with some people."
Gasser and Demski exchange amused
glances before continuing.
"We tried to play the (Chesaning) Showboat," Gasser
says. "It was all about little girls in polka-dot dresses and old folks, They
liked us, but they didn't pick us."
It isn't always an easy thing to release a tape with
minimal support, as Gasser is quick to point out. "We have to do our work
ourselves, we're not signed (to a record label). Get out and meet the people, which is
what I think it's about, anyway."
"It's rough putting out a tape. Most stores won't
sell your tape."
Even so, the two remain optimistic. "Hopefully, we'll
put a little dent in the
hip-hop scene," Demski says.
The cassette, which features a photo of the tornado
that touched down in Frankenmuth last year, reflects the message behind
the title. The tornado looks startlingly like a statue of Jesus praying.
"You know how the world is. It's just dusted, it's
like a dusty screen. Anything can happen," says Demski.
Don't expect a lot of bragging about killing or
life-on-the-street stories.
"We're not comin' with gangsta rap," Gasser says,
defining the duo's style.
"Most bands coming out of Flint are gangsta. We're
hip-hop and so are all of the people in our clique. We're not down with
making any negative music. We're trying to keep the vibes positive."
"Brady wants people to compare him to Vanilla Ice,"
Demski jokes. Gasser, who laughs at the joke, assures that he is in no way
wants to be associated with the former pop star. He prefers West Coast
styles, Del the Funkee Homosapien and the Hieroglyphics Crew.
Although it will take a lot of work to Gasser and
Demski to meet their goals, they're willing to struggle. For example, the
alternative crowd at Local 432 was difficult to win over.
"At first, coming in there with no band, people look
down on us like we had less
talent," Gasser says. "After we showed them that we
really put a lot of feeling
and emotion in our music, they respected us. We put
on a real live show."
I actually played a gig with these guys at U of M (University of Michigan)
Flint. Brady is a high school friend of my brother's, who actually started off
in the "DLP", or "Dump Land Posse". Sadly, Mike had to leave. It might have
had something to do with the fact he can't rap.
Anyway, I played bass, and jammed with a drummer friend, Gary. We had fun
during practice, but one small problem... I couldn't tune my bass to prerecorded
music. I mean, I could have, but tons of technical difficulties made it impossible
to really prepare. That and when we hit the stage, I forgot all the cool bass lines
I'd come up with for them. What a major bummer. I could tell Brady was
disappointed with the show... not much I could do about it.
I have no idea if they're still recording, but Brady is a fairly determined guy
with a lot of talent. He's still young, so I'm guessing if Artfull Dodgers are done,
Brady's not.
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