Young MCs DooWittle and Ivan da
Great stick it to the man
Syracuse New Times, Julie
Pinsonneault
12-14-2005 You may
not see his name on the national circuit yet, but you're
sure to run across the DooWiTTle tag somewhere in the Salt
City. This Red Brick Records-affiliated artist (on the same
label as Ivan Da Great) and his manager, Michael "Brix"
Bambrick, are using guerrilla tactics to get DooWiTTle's
message--as well as the title of his new independent EP
Significance Over Success (SOS)--out to the public.
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." |