doc g interview

Hip-hop pioneers P.M. Dawn like Massillon, to perform at Lincoln in July
By AMY L. KNAPP Amy.Knapp@IndeOnline.com


Chilling in the lobby of Massillon’s Hampton Inn, 34-year-old Doc G is relaxed and enjoying his time back in the city.
His melodic outlook on life and his reemerging music career is, well, blissful.
“Bliss will be maintained,” said Doc G, one half of the ’90s hit band P.M. Dawn.
Doc G and his cousin Prince Be are reinventing themselves and their music. The duo reunited in 2006 and has been traveling across the United States and overseas performing.
This summer, they will stop in Massillon for a July 12 performance at the Lions Lincoln Theatre.
“It’s the same sound,” Doc G explained. “We are still here to uplift, to make you believe, spread Christ consciousness and still deliver a good show.”
When the band emerged on the music scene nearly 20 years ago, its sound was undeniably different and many struggled to find a category for it.
“P.M. Dawn is a hip-hop group,” he said. “We’ve been categorized as alternative hip-hop.”
Doc G said the group was a sacrificial lamb, as many artists before them were.
“We had struggles and made sacrifices (for our music),” he said. “There would be no De La Soul, there would be no P.M. Dawn. If there wasn’t P.M. Dawn, there would be no OutKast or Goodie Mob.
“These are the people who push the envelope and dare to be different.”
The group hit it big with “Set Adrift on Memory Bliss” and “Die Without You,” and their music influenced everyone from boy bands to Notorious B.I.G.
As the face of hip-hop music took a turn to the darker side in the late ’90s, P.M. Dawn, Doc G said, slipped in to “never-never land.”
Prince Be also suffered a stroke which left the left side of his body paralyzed.
“He’s a warrior,” his “brother from another mother” said. “He’s been working on himself and his music. He’s down from 500 pounds to 260.
“He and I have been gelling. We are reinventing ourselves and getting better. It’s time to reemerge. There is a lot of nonsense going on. Everyone goes through phases. ... Sometimes they want heroes, they want to believe in somebody.
“Music, when done properly, can build heroes.”
While the group’s music career has had its highs and lows, Doc G said they’ve been blessed.
“When you take nine years off and can still make money off of hip-hop (you’re blessed),” he said.
All of the tribulations, he said, have been a test prepared by God.
“Everything Prince Be and I have been through in the past three or four years has been a big, giant test,” he said. “We are going to get back to the forefront and rally. The cool thing is we can adapt. We won’t sacrifice.
“Sometimes you have to sit back and wait, you have to be patient.”
Doc G believes P.M. Dawn’s fans are what drive and maintain the group.
“Hulk Hogan has his Hulkamaniacs, P.M. Dawn has its Utopianists,” the Doc of the Dawn said. “Those dudes are awesome. If it wasn’t for them, we truly wouldn’t be here.”
The musician said he and Prince Be will continue to make music until “God tells us to go upstairs.”
The pair has been working on a new album, “P.M. Dawn Loves You.”
“At the end of the day, there is nothing like getting on stage, in the studio or with a mic in your hand,” he said, blissfully.
An opening act for the concert has not yet been announced. Tickets for the show are $20 and can be purchased at the Hampton Inn in Massillon Monday through Friday or at the Lincoln box office on the weekends.



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