Young MCs DooWittle and Ivan da Great stick it to the man

They've nailed wooden signs onto telephone poles, peppered inanimate objects with stickers and postcards and even hijacked the airwaves at WJPZ-FM 89.1 (Z89). "A lot of the footwork is dirty. You're dealing with pit bulls and animals," says DooWiTTle, a.k.a. 24-year-old Liverpool resident Michael Widger.

The DooWiTTle team recently declared war with Z89 after the student-run station declined to spin tracks from his new EP. They specifically targeted Z89 because of its affiliation with Syracuse University, and because DooWiTTle and Brix had previously done volunteer work at the station. On two separate occasions in October during the mix show, on coordinator Sean Scott's watch, they snuck in to find the announcer's booth on autopilot, allowing DooWiTTle to spit live on the air. The two were caught and kicked out during the second incident.

"It came to a point where there was nothing we could do," says Brix. "There's no excuse, especially when we have people calling up {asking about the music}. What is Top 40 but what the people want to hear?"
Z89 general manager Kevin Rich affirms that the station supports local talent, yet there are proper ways to get Central New York-based music on the program. "If we didn't air it, our music department decided that it didn't fit our format," says Rich. "It seems to me like he's upset because we didn't air his stuff. I definitely credit the guy for trying to promote himself. It seems like he's got a following in Syracuse."

But that doesn't give him the right to break station rules, adds Rich, who maintains that before the autopilot uproars DooWiTTle and Brix also circumvented Z89 protocol by going directly to various show producers with their record. Some of the programs they hit were Top 40 formats reserved for national artists. "There was some miscommunication and I think some people on staff were a little ticked off that he didn't come in during office hours when his music was still in the process of being reviewed," says Rich.

After Rich got word that the rapper was receiving coverage in The New Times, "That's when he basically crumbled," says DooWiTTle, "when he thought all this might surface in the newspaper." The two sides traded apologies; however, before the tension over the break-ins could be completed resolved Z89 disc jockeys decided to take matters into their own hands: "Right after we patched things up, we got word that they were talking about us on the radio," says DooWiTTle.

On Dec. 3 two deejays with The Danger Zone show aired comments targeting DooWiTTle and the media covering his story. "They were saying that DooWiTTle cried to the press about not playing his CD and that he's really wack, just dissing him," says Brix. "{The deejays said} he's talking to The New Times, talking to the press that Z89 sucks."

Z89 claims the jocks were not talking about DooWiTTle; nevertheless, Rich has condemned their remarks and is in the process of disciplining them. "They never said DooWiTTle's name," says Scott, later adding, "Me and Kevin decided to cancel the show for this week {Dec. 10}, but it wasn't because they were talking about DooWiTTle, but because they weren't talking positive about an artist." Z89 refused to name the two DJs in question.

In addition to the temporary suspension of The Danger Zone, Rich also held a Dec. 4 staff meeting to reiterate station policy. "I'm really keen on our bylaws and what we do as a station to ensure our staff is doing the right thing," says Rich. More mea culpas between the two sides ensued, with the DooWiTTle posse promising not to break station policy again and Rich considering some DooWiTTle tracks for broadcast. "We are in the process of approval. {The apologies and conversations} went a long way into curbing tension some staff members had about airing it," says Rich.

DooWiTTle may have won the battle for airplay, but he's still fighting to save his reputation. His frustrations about Syracuse's radio and rap scenes manifested during a Nov. 23 performance at Fat Tony's, 317 N. Salina St., and served as the impetus for The New Times to contact Z89. During the performance, DooWiTTle mused: "The radio shows us zero support. When we ask them, 'Why don't you support local talent?,' the radio stations say, 'Because we don't have to.'"
Following this comment Fat Tony's co-owner Jeffrey Scala, an acquaintance of DooWiTTle, turned the bass down to almost inaudible levels. The two traded words, Scala got pushy with DooWiTTle's mike, and the rapper landed some unanswered punches to end the showcase.

"I knew if I didn't strike him he would have tried to do something to shame me in front of all those people," DooWiTTle says. "It would have gone in another direction. It would have been him beating on me."

DooWiTTle's hard image has earned him spots on Ruff Ryders and Project Blowed showcases, as well as a near-record deal with both Ruff Ryders and the Los Angeles-based Long Live Crime record labels. However, stunts like the Z89 break-in and the Fat Tony's scuffle worry those associated with him. Red Brick producer Salvatore Chisari laments, "He's making a name for himself. I don't know if it's a good one."

Those anxieties coupled with new opportunities may have DooWiTTle changing tactics. "You've seen me at the lowest of low. Now you're really going to see me shift to a family-friendly artist." The first step in his image makeover is his recent involvement with the new, local-music TV series Street Buzz, airing Saturdays at 1:30 p.m. on Time Warner Cable's channel 6. During DooWiTTle's November appearance on Street Buzz he performed "Hope for Life" to fit with the cleaner image of the show: "Be grateful/ Be honest/ Believe in morals/ Believe in honor," he states in the chorus.

The positive response from Street Buzz encouraged DooWiTTle to pursue a deeper relationship with Street Buzz CEO Rufus Morris and his other program, School of the heArts. DooWiTTle now interns for the school, teaching production to Syracuse City School District children in after-school programs.

"He's a very passionate young man {who is} really struggling right now," says Morris. "He's tried every way he knows to make it. Some of his tactics haven't been too great, as far as response. He's seeing now that there's something different here. There's value in doing music with a positive message."

While some of his raps address fighting, sex and drinking, there is an underlying message of truth, honesty and unity--the types of values that DooWiTTle hopes to instill in the kids. DooWiTTle prides himself on being a biographical lyricist, refusing to put any fabrications in his raps. In his song "It's About Time" he says, "Thinking about what it'd be like if I blow up/ I could change the industry with pure reality and creativity/ Stick to the truth/ Right now I'm trying to get you to choose/ You could buy fiction/ Or you could come to me and get the news."