ON THE VERGE
Marked by cerebral poetics and futurist fusion sounds, Doseone is part of a new generation of MC's that he describes as "post-Company Flow and Latyrx." The 20-something Bay Area rapper has quickly gained interest from progressive listeners and peers like the Anticon collective (Sole, Buck 65) and 1200 Hobos (Mr. Dibbs, DJ Signify). After a January '00 Vibe story pictured him jogging with his cat while wearing purple leg warmers, the first question everyone asks is: Was that for real? "I get so much shit for that - I was instantly the gay rapper," he says. The goofy image had people laughing, but his new release, 'Circle' (Mush), is sobering them up a bit. Featuring 29 pieces scored to the spacey, erratic beats of producer Boom Bip, the album is "not-hip-hop hip-hop" according to Dose. "I've changed the big rules. I'm not rhyming, for example." Some purists might veto Doseone's interpretation of rap on the grounds that his verse is just too obtuse. Dose takes the high road: "I don't care if you file me in electric hee-haw music. Just put it on the shelf and let it do its own work."
OLIVER WANG