Dope frontman Edsel Dope has weighed in following the announcement that Public Enemy vocalist Chuck D and The Doors drummer John Densmore have launched a new musical project under the name doPE.
The collaboration between the two Rock & Roll Hall Of Famers was recently revealed after reportedly being in development for close to a decade. The duo have scheduled an April 18th release date — coinciding with Record Store Day — for their debut album, ‘no country for old men’, with a first single titled “every tick tick tick” expected to arrive ahead of that release.
Taking to social media on January 26th, Edsel Dope addressed the situation while wearing a The Doors hat and a Public Enemy shirt. In his post, he acknowledged his admiration for both artists while also reaffirming his long-standing ownership of the Dope trademark. Rather than escalating the matter, Edsel expressed a willingness to pursue a mutually agreeable solution.
“I am a huge fan of Chuck D, Public Enemy, and the Doors, so the last thing that I want to do is interrupt a creative endeavor from two legends that I admire and respect.
However, it is important for me to highlight the 25 years I have devoted to building a band/brand, which has found a good bit of success and built a sizable fan base around the globe.
Those 4 letters ‘dope’ have been tattooed on my knuckles since 1998.
I appropriately registered the artist name Dope and I have owned the trademark ever since I hit the scene, more than 25 years ago.
Unfortunately for Chuck and John, choosing to call themselves doPE would invite a good bit of market confusion, especially on the streaming services like Spotify, where I have more than a million monthly listeners, along with several hundred million combined streams.
The paperwork is up to date, and my rights regarding the name are indisputable.
Next to the two of you, I humbly consider myself ‘the little guy’.
So if you two legends are committed to using my four letters, please hit me up directly, as I would love to be part of some form of collaborative effort with you.
Love and respect to you both.”
Edsel also highlighted his personal connection to both artists, referencing his familiarity with Public Enemy’s Apocalypse 91 era and the influence The Doors have had on him over the years.
Outside of Dope, Edsel remains active as Xer0, the masked vocalist for Static-X. Through that role, Dope have continued to tour regularly, often serving as the opening act for the platinum-selling industrial metal outfit.
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He owns a trademark. He HAS to defend the trademark in situations like this or he’ll lose it. That’s just the way it goes. I expect the new collaboration will either adjust the name or come to some sort of licensing agreement with Edsel. Overall he’s being very cool about this, most of the time this stuff starts with a letter from a lawyer.
Change his to DORK. Problem solved. More fitting