thePULSEHometown Hip Hop Heavyweight
By Alex Kantarelis
The Massachusetts hip hop scene has been gaining more and more traction over the past couple years, thanks in part to artists like Dizzy Dizasta and Block McCloud keeping it real in Worcester but not being afraid to hit the road and get their music into as many hands (and ears) as they can. Add M-Dot to that list of artists who are exploding the hip hop scene ~ big time. He took time out of his massive 60 day tour to talk to me about his new mixtape, Layer Cake.
M-Dot has already had plenty of success: he’s been featured on a number of releases and has been touring both the US and Europe relentlessly. In 2010, he performed at the Winter X-Games and has won a slew of awards including the Hip Hop Dependency Artist of the Year 2011. He’s also released several mixtapes, the latest being Layer Cake. For him, just getting the music out is all that matters. The mixtape is a blend of tracks that he appeared on for other artists, work he has done for compilations, and some previously unreleased tracks. Unlike most mixtapes, Layer Cake contains only original work, and nothing is done over a stolen Lil Wayne beat; it might as well be considered an album.
As the MA scene gets bigger and bigger, you can bet M-Dot will be helping draw attention to it. Since the release of Layer Cake, he’s done a 35 day tour of Europe, hitting everywhere from Sweden to Slovakia. He immediately followed that with a two month full US tour presented by Wu Tang and including, to name just a few, Block McCloud, Dizzy Dizasta, and Krumb Snatcha.
While this year was full of touring, M-Dot, a proud father of two, plans on setting up 2013 to release his own official, full production album. “I’d like to have my projects done and ready for next year, finally putting out something that doesn’t have features or isn’t a mixtape for free,” he shared while sitting on the tour bus headed to Burlington, Vermont.
Displaying his humble nature, M-Dot, after recently being featured on TV’s “Chronicle” (which airs on Boston’s ABC affiliate WCVB), didn’t brag about the experience, instead simply saying, “It was very special for me.”
Check him out when he plays a show near you and pick up a free copy of Layer Cake.
Photo By Gabriel Soderbladh
