30 January 2011 was the starting point of the international career of the Dutch hip hop crew Dope D.O.D. On that day they released their first video ´What Happened’. Now, well over a year not only has it gained over 6.5 million views it has paved the way for the boys to get international acknowledgement.
Right after the release of ‘What Happened’ the crew got a request from Vidzone (the largest online music video streaming service in the world, part of Sony Computer Entertainment) to show the video as ‘One To Watch’ via its network. This power rotation got the crew international attention resulting in the first performances abroad. At this stage the band got invited for the renowned Iceland Airwaves Festival. Not a bad start at all.
In the meantime Dope D.O.D. continued working on their album ‘Branded’. Via MySpace they got in contact with legendary hip hop artist Sean Price (Heltah Skeltah, Boot Camp Clik, Random Axe) who proposed to work together on a track. ‘Psychosis’ was the outcome. And obviously the co-operation between one of America’s most respected members of hip hop and an unknown act from a small country somewhere in Europe raised heads all over the globe. The song got picked up from the U.S.A. (on http://www.nahright.com the largest hip hop blog of the U.S.A.) to Russia (on http://www.rap.ru the largest hip hop site of Russia). The new style Dope D.O.D. brought to the table got more and more awareness.
By the time ‘Psychosis’ dropped (early in April) the whole album was finished. They even did a second collaboration with underground star Simon Roofless (U.S.A.). He provided vocals for ‘Real Gods’. The plan was to release the album at the beginning of their European Tour late September. However the group didn’t want the fans to wait that long and they decided to make an E.P. and a series of short movies to introduce the characters of the group. This resulted in the Evil E.P. and the Brutality shorts. Showing the world once more of what Dope D.O.D. is capable of. The release date was set on June 24th
Early June the band was asked to feature as the opening act for Limp Bizkit’s show in Amsterdam. The band accepted and the only thing that still had to happen was the approval of Fred Durst (lead singer of Limp Bizkit). The video for ‘What Happened’ was sent to him and he was so enthusiastic that he invited the band to act as Limp Bizkit´s main support on their continental European tour starting on the 25th of June. And so it was that Dope D.O.D. played a sold out release show for 500 people on the 24th of June in their hometown Groningen and the next day they performed in Germany for almost 10,000 people.
Touring with Limp Bizkit crafted their performance skills and Dope D.O.D. was ready to take the next step in establishing their name and fame. Starting with the release of ‘Branded’ and their European tour in September and October. Taking them to Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, France and Bulgary. During this tour the famous band KoRn asked Dope D.O.D. to accompany them during their tour through the U.S. in November.
All the positive attention and results achieved in 2011 ensured some high profile spots on important festivals in 2012. The band played Eurosonic/Noorderslag in January 2012 and got chosen by both audience and international industry professionals as ‘most promising act for 2012’. Also in January they played their first club show in France at Le Bikini in Toulouse. They sold out the 1,500 capacity venue in advance and all the Frenchies went completely nuts during the energetic live show. After that they played sold out shows in Bologna and Milano (Italy) for 1,000 and 3,000 people. In fact almost all shows they have played since the start of 2012 have been sold out, whether it be in France, Italy, Switzerland, Austria or the Netherlands.
In March the group played some of the most important showcase festivals in the World (ILMC, UK / SXSW, USA and CMW, CA). This has proved to be fruitful for the band, since it resulted in a world wide deal with one of the most prestigious Agents in the world, The Agency Group. But no rest for the wicked the group is already on the road again playing some of the biggest festivals in Europe (Printemps de Bourges, FR / B’estfest, RO / Dour, BE / Lowlands, NL / Hiphopkemp, CZ) and numerous clubshows.
