M-Dot Explained

M-Dot
Birth Name:Michael Januario
Birth Place:Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Genre:East Coast hip hop, hardcore hip hop
Years Active:2001 - present
Label:Soulspazm Records, Own Lane Music, EMS Productions, Commonwealth Records, Str8 Up Entertainment
Associated Acts:7L AOTP, Gang Starr Foundation, Big Shug, Chaundon, Snowgoons, EMS

Michael Januario (born January 13, 1983) better known by his stage name M-Dot is an American rapper and producer. Before becoming a rap musician, Januario played college basketball at BHCC, MCLA and Fitchburg State.[1]

Career

Born in Revere, Massachusetts,[2] M-Dot initially gained expanded exposure when touring Switzerland as the opener [3] for Lawrence rapper Krumb Snatcha (Gang Starr Foundation) in the mid 2000s.[4] Frequent collaborations with respected rap groups,[5] and consistently touring overseas, have built M-Dot's audience.[6] M-Dot is known for a high level of productivity and his multi-syllable rhyme schemes, having attained a bachelor's degree in English.[7] On December 19, 2014 he dropped the single "Shine" featuring Dominique Larue, Katy Gunn and Wu Tang MC Method Man,[8] it later appeared on his touted debut album "egO anD The eneMy" (released on 1/27/17). On December 30, 2017, renowned Hip-Hop outlet UGHH announced ‘egO anD The eneMy’ as the top selling release for the calendar year of 2017. The album which received critical acclaim, boasts a noteworthy production lineup with Marley Marl, Large Professor, Hi Tek, Marco Polo (producer), Buckwild, DJ 7L among others. On December 22, 2015, M-Dot & his visual team released a music video titled "123 Flow", the minute and a half long clip is one of the first fully interactive 360° music videos showcasing a 6-person replicant effect and upon release almost immediately went viral.[9] On March 13, 2018 NBC crime drama The Blacklist used M-Dot’s audio single “True Lies” during episode 16 of season 5 titled “Capricorn Killer”. In February 2020 M-Dot released “The Atonement” produced by the legendary Pete Rock. On January 28, 2022, M-Dot released the album “Dining in Dystopia” featuring Elzhi, Kool G Rap, Conway The Machine, Large Professor, Esoteric (rapper), Big Shug & more. The album received high praise and glowing reviews from news outlets, blogs and radios including okay player, DigBoston & shade 45. On June 17, 2022 logic (rapper) released his album Vinyl Days on Def Jam, the lead single with DJ Premier, also titled Vinyl Days, featured vocal samples from M-Dot for the tracks chorus and outro. In 2023 ‘Beats-Rhymes-Lists’ named M-Dot in their Top Ten Boston Rappers of ALL TIME.[10] In 2008 M-Dot was named to Stuff Magazines Hot 100.[11] Also in '08 M-Dot shared the honor of "2 Dope 2 Sleep On" with Casey Veggies presented by 2dopeboyz.com.[12] He went on to receive positive reviews for his mixtapes Money Doesn't Own Thought (2009) from DigBoston.com [13] and Making Doubters Over Think (2010) from the Boston Globe.[14] Continuing his European exposure, M-Dot performed at the 2010 Winter XGames [15] in Tignes, France. For years he has solidified a fan base through local shows [16] and mixtapes in New England.[17] M-Dot won both major Boston hip-hop music awards in 2010: at the 22nd annual Boston Phoenix awards, Best Hip Hop Act,[18] and at the 23rd annual Boston Music Awards, Hip Hop Artist of the Year.[19] He then went on to win Hip Hop Dependency "Artist of the Year 2011" [20]

M-Dot garnered more accolades for his first EP, a collaborative effort with DJ Jean Maron, Run MPC.[21] The Run MPC single "You Don't Know About It" Ft. Masta Ace reached number 2 on RapAttackLives.com [22] college radio charts and the 12 inch record finished fifth in vinyl sales in 2010 at undergroundhiphop.com.[23]

His third installment in his acronym series, More Doubters Over Thinking, was also well received.[24] In May 2012 in support of the release "Layer Cake," [25] M-Dot embarked [26] on a 33-day European tour [27] with the likes of Slaughterhouse (group), Saigon (rapper) & El Da Sensei. The Layer Cake cd was also considered another example of acute lyricism.[28] Layercake [29] finds M-Dot weaving a go-for-the-gold battle-rap narrative over beats from young producers [30]

The 2007 Cinematic feature "Street Team Massacre [31] " used songs M-Dot created for the score.M-Dot can also be seen acting in the comical sitcom "What it is",[32] which stars and is also produced by Makzilla & Krizz Kaliko. On October 11, 2012, M-Dot was featured on ABC's (New England WCVB) primetime TV show "Chronicle".[33] Hip Hop Kemp, which is statistically one of the largest music festivals in Europe, named M-Dot, amongst others, to be a headlining performer at the events 18th edition (taking the stage August 24, 2018, in Hradec Králové, Czech Republic).

Discography

Albums

Mixtapes

Appearances

References

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://www.telegram.com/article/20100219/NEWS/2190488 Dashing M-Dot By Worcester Telegram
  2. http://www.reverejournal.com/2010/06/05/m-dot-is-leaving-his-mark-on-hip-hop-scene/ Leaving his mark on hip hop scene by Revere Journal
  3. https://archive.today/20130126194547/http://itemlive.com/articles/2012/07/13/entertainment/entertainment02.txt Daily Item Europe Sensation
  4. http://stuffboston.com/hot100-2009/archive/2009/07/28/hot-local-rapper-m-dot.aspx Hot 100 by Stuff Mag
  5. http://timeoutboston.com/music-nightlife/music/35227/bostons-best-music-rock-rap-punk Boston Best Music by Time Out Magazine
  6. http://itemlive.com/articles/2010/06/28/news/news02.txt Emerging Lynn Rap Star
  7. http://bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/2008_11_07_For_rapper_M-Dot__hustling_pays_off Hustling Pays Off By Boston Herald
  8. http://allhiphop.com/2014/12/17/heater-of-the-day-m-dot-ft-method-man-dominique-larue-katy-gunn-shine/ AllHipHop Heater of the Day
  9. http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/music/2016/01/creativity_ingenuity_flow_from_rapper_m_dot_s_360_video/ Creativity and Ingenuity By The Boston Herald
  10. https://beats-rhymes-lists.com/lists/top-10-best-boston-rappers-of-all-time/ Top 10 Boston Rappers all time
  11. http://stuffboston.com/2009/hot100/hot-local-rapper-m-dot Hot Local Rapper M-Dot by Stuff Boston
  12. http://www.2dopeboyz.com/2008/08/22/2_dope_to_sleep_on 2dopeboyz
  13. https://archive.today/20120711185615/http://digboston.com/listen/2009/06/21373 DigBoston
  14. https://archive.today/20120701175542/http://articles.boston.com/2010-12-20/ae/29316761_1_hip-hop-dot-diverse-collaboration Boston Globe Review
  15. http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.14372/title.m-dot-dj-jean-maron-announce-boston-party-european-tour-dates HipHopDX News
  16. http://thephoenix.com/boston/music/78629-get-sprung/ Get Sprung by The Boston Phoenix
  17. http://www.xxlmag.com/news/latest-headlines/2010/08/wiz-khalifa-bum-rushed-at-boston-concert-dj-describes-chaotic-scene/ XXL Mag News
  18. http://supplements.thephoenix.com/bmp/boston/2010/hiphopact Boston Phoenix Best Hip Hop Act
  19. http://www.boston.com/ae/music/packages/bma/2010winnerslist Boston Music Awards Hip Hop Artist of the Year
  20. http://hiphopdependency.com/2011/12/30/artist-of-the-year-m-dot-2011 HipHopDependency
  21. http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/album-reviews/id.1512/title.m-dot-dj-jean-maron-run-mpc HipHopDX Review
  22. http://rapattacklives.com/charts_426.htm RapAttackLives
  23. http://www.undergroundhiphop.com/store/best_of.asp?YearBestSeller=10&Format=12 UGHH Vinyl Sales
  24. http://www.thepulsemag.com/wordpress/2011/08/0811-up-comers Pulse Magazine
  25. http://hiphopdependency.com/2012/06/29/m-dot-layer-cake-2012/ HiphopDependency Review
  26. http://bostonherald.com/entertainment/music/general/view.bg?articleid=1061156962 Boston Herald, M-Dot making dash for success
  27. http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.19842/title.m-dot-announces-layer-cake-tour-dates HipHopDX News
  28. http://digboston.com/listen/2012/07/m-dot-layer-cake/ Weekly Dig Layer Cake Review
  29. http://www.thepulsemag.com/wordpress/2012/10/11-12-m-dot Hip Hop Heavyweight by Pulse Magazine
  30. http://thephoenix.com/boston/music/142423-m-dot-layercake/ The Phoenix Layer Cake Review
  31. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1105296/ IMDB film index
  32. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tk1RZ-F-wNc&list=FLTjly0DE3d6tGs6F8igvipw&index=15&feature=plpp_video youtube
  33. http://www.wcvb.com/chronicle/Thursday-October-11-Lynn/-/12523032/16848104/-/xfgx85z/-/index.html "ABC appearance

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