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IT'S HARD TO REALLY PIN-POINT MY INFLUENCES...FROM MOMENT TO MOMENT, DAY TO DAY, MONTH TO MONTH, YEAR TO YEAR, & FROM LIFETIME TO LIFETIME...MY INFLUENCES & WHAT I LIKE CAN CHANGE DRASTICALLY ALL THE TIME...MY HIGH WAVE TORRENTS OF EMOTIONS THAT MAY SHOW THEMSELVES IN OBVIOUS AND NOT-SO OBVIOUS WAYS ARE THE REAL CULPRITS FOR MY SHORT ATTENTION SPAN IN MY SOUND PILLAGING ENDEAVORS...NOT TO TRY SOUND PRETENTIOUS... ABOVE MENTIONING MY INFLUENCES LIKE I'M SOOOO COOL THAT OUTSIDE MUSIC NEVER INFLUENCES ME...BECAUSE IT'S JUST THE OPPOSITE...IT'S JUST THAT IF YOU CAN LISTEN TO MY MUSIC & HEAR THE THINGS THAT ARE INFLUENCING ME...THEN YOU'RE PROBABLY RIGHT..I CURRENTLY HAVE 10,000 COMPACT DISCS SO I'M CONSTANTLY FALLING IN & OUT OF LOVE WITH PARTICULAR SOUNDS, PECULIAR PAUSES IN THE MUSIC & THE PARADOXICAL NATURE OF MUSIC... JUST AS LIFE IS...
Sounds Like
MMM...VARIES FROM PROJECT TO PROJECT...LISTEN FOR YOURSELF!!!
Since 1988, Dopestyle (aka chet smith) has been in & around & about music. His first ceremonius love was hip-hop. This was reflected in the ’Dopestyle Peyote Turquise Ambrosia Show’ which he commandeered for some years on 90.1FM in the San Francisco Bay Area. By mingling with Disc Jockeys on the radio station from different genres....Dopestyle got exposed to musical styles, not to mention at the time, he started seeking out the ’original samples’ from the hip-hop classics he grew up on. For example, Dopestyle’s infinity for jazz started initially from his exposure to Ganstarr’s first LP. Likewise in other genres, with exposure to a broader & wider cross-section of music, the ’Dopestyle Peyote Turquise Ambrosia & other subsequent shows, as well as his own musical input started to reflect an all encompassing appreciation & infatuation with the form of music as expression. At any given time during the show’s timeslot (Thursdays midnite-3am or Sundays midnite-3am & other times) you might hear hip-hop (broken down to gangstar rap, emo-rap, consciousness rap, etc.) played alongside Norwegian dark metal, rockabilly, motown soul, techno (IDM, jungle, ambient, dancehall, punk, ska, no wave, poetry/spoken word, a commercial song here or there, etc. mixed in ways that accentuated the similiarities & contrasting styles along with constructed sounbeds & walls of sound that bubbled & crescendo-ed into dreamlike ’mini-epiphanies.’ But with all of this...his shows were always brought back to his musical love...hip-hop with the last hour of the show being dedicated to freestyling, along with friends, associates, & guests. During one of these freestyle sessions, a curious Peanut Butter Wolf overheard the show while driving through the area & called up Dopestyle. The phone conversation led to a meeting in San Jose and then led to Dopestyle’s first initial recording entitled, "Lyrical Mardigra" and "Rappers Delite Part II" Sometime shortly after this recording session...Peanut Butter Wolf released the now classic & first release for his STONES THROW LABEL...entitled "...STEP ON OUR EGOS" which included a roster of up-and-coming Bay Area artists such as Encore, Dave Dub, Charisma, and others...The now underground classic, "Rappers Delight Part II" as recorded by Peanut Butter Wolf & Dopestyle was featured on this release. A few years later while still deejaying at 90.1FM, Dopestyle met a then Santa Cruz bound Kutmasta Kurt, who was deejaying at the radio station as well before recording classic albums with KOOL KEITH ("SEX STYLES," "DR. DOOOM," "THE DIESEL TRUCKERS," etc. and started his own record label THRESHOLD RECORDINGS & relocating to Los Angeles. During Kutmasta Kurt’s time in the San Francisco Bay Area, both individuals recorded the "BLABBER SESSIONS" together which to this day is unreleased & reflects the golden-age era of hip-hop in which is was spawned. Fast forward many years later along with high school associate & hip-hop producer TOM C. & Dopestyle as DOPESTYLE 1231 (both individuals are born on 12/31) release 2 swollenly dank & raw underground 12’ singles, ’WEDGIE’ (feat. KOOL KEITH) & ’SIZE DOUBLE D’ (feat. DEL THA FUNKYHOMOSAPIEN) on THRESHOLD RECORDINGS. IN 2004, the full-length album, ’Kutmasta Kurt presents Dopestyle 1231 is released on WAXPLOITATION RECORDS. The album features Del THA FUNKYHOMOSAPIEN, KOOL KEITH, VAST AIRE from CANNIBAL OX, & MOTION MAN. The album is a brew of hypnotic dr. octagonic-type sonics with EMCEE DOPESTYLE displaying a ’speaking in tongues’ rhyme-style that seamlessly melts into TOM C.’s tracks in the same manner that butter simmers & bubbles away into oblivion on a hot skillet. In 2005, alongside long-time friend & confidante 4AM (aka Jason Chavez)...an album was released under the title of ’4AM & DOPESTYLE’ entitled "FOOL’S POOL" was released in limited edition in 2005. The textural & melodic quality of the hard-hitting production gave Dopestyle the ample canvas to convey a more personable & vulnerable album than Dopestyle had recorded before. Songs such as "DRUNK PHUNK" with its quirky, yet moving & emotive backing gave Dopestyle the oppurtunity to freestyle while in a drunken haze on his past abusive relationship with alcohol. However, "Power of the P" is all bravado & libido. The acapella, "YELLOW JELLO (CRACK-COCAINE BLUES)" documents one of the lowest points in Dopestyle’s life when he had succumbed to the addictive vice of crack-cocaine, while still enlisted in the navy. Other songs such as, "PICKABOO" shows Dopestyle’s inherent humor & still jovial nature. While songs such as "THE BALDHEAD BRUTE & THE LONGHAIRED LAYMEN" showcases Dopestyle’s lyrical dexterity & shows he can still rip the mic, alongside special guest MOTION MAN. The final song, "WHEN I DIE (FOOLS POOL) conveys Dopestyle’s thought on the homeless, socio-economics, capitalism, community, peer-pressure, happiness, and the world at large. The album, "FOOLS POOL" features cameo appearrances by MOTION MAN & FATHED. In 2006, Dopestyle is very busy making music which makes him a very happy man. Near completion are 2 hip-hop albums that are both in the slow meticulous mixing down & mastering stage. The first album is the QUAKE BROTHERS, which consists of Dopestyle & San Francisco based producer SHAGGY MANATEE [CHECK WWW.QUAKETRAP.COM] who is also owner of QUAKETRAP RECORDS. The album is entitled "HAPPY SCIATICA" and can be best described as a boom-bap-ish, hard-rapping, groove-oriented constellation of BAY AREA FUNK brimming with personality that is accessible yet unique in style & execution. The pairing of both SHAGGY MANATEE & DOPESTYLE has the advantage of fleshing out more of the ’microphone beast’ that Dopestyle cultivated many years while doing his free-for-all radio music/freestyle show, while SHAGGY MANATEE is able to focus on what he does best...craft hip-hop bangers with merit & grit. But the album is also balanced by a number of more personal songs as well welcomed cameo appearrances by ZION I on "BACK WIT A VENGENCE" & the underground ode & tribute to ’WEST COAST HIP’ entitled, "WE PUT IT DOWN" (featuring L.A.’s own PRO THE LEADER & OPIO from the SOULS OF MISCHIEF)." The second album due out in 2006 is yet another album paired with longtime associate JASON CHAVEZ (aka 4AM) under the name-4AM & DOPESTYLE entitled, "THE LITTLE HAPPY." As the title suggests...a corner has been turned in the lives of both of these individuals in a positive way. The title also refers to the concept that there are "LITTLE HAPPYS" that polinate our everday lives which tend to go unnoticed ’under our radar’ & it is ultimately up to us to see them even in the face of our adversity & challenges. The content focuses on the simple occurrences, thoughts, hopes, dreams, disappointments, fears, and frustrations of everyday life (relationships, insomnia, money woes, survival, hardships, job, stress, creativity, happiness, contentment, love, old-age, and death). As mentioned earlier in DOPESTYLE’S BIO, he is an avid fan of music in general. He currently possess over 10,000 compact discs of every music genre imaginable. When complemented on his vast collection of CD’s, Dopestyle simplies, "I wish IPODS would’ve come out just a bit sooner!" But then in rebuttal, Dopestyle states, "Possessing the artwork, lyrics, & packaging is very important to me as well...so most likely I would still have this many compact discs to lug around anyway...hahaha!" So currently, Dopestyle’s strong interest in all music has him branching into different musical styles. Right now in pre-production, Dopestyle is currently working longtime friend & musician, MIKE DINEEN on a project entitled, "LEFT" which will only consist of MIKE’S acousitc guitar, additional atmospherics, & dopestyle’s singing voice. In addition, dopestyle hopes to complete an INDUSTRIAL-type hybrid project with longtime friend, JASON CHAVEZ. The first song recorded was a cover for DARKTHRONE’S "FUCKED UP & READY TO DIE"...The second song "THE ALONE" was featured on the AMOEBA’S COMPILATION CD PART 4. In addition, dopestyle is also busy working on "THE LITTLE SPRING". An ambient instrumental suite. .
