Dante's Inferno - A Blaze Of Detroit Hip Hop On Vans Warped Tour

Monday, July 14, 2008

By Lauren Harper

At first glance, Dante looks like another white rapper straight out of Detroit, some guy named Eminem. But, to be clear, Dante and has very little in common with Slim Shady. "[Eminem] sort of does his own thing," says Dante about his supposed doppleganger.

"Here [in Detroit] we look at me and Eminem in different ways than a lot of people outside of Detroit do." But while the comparison, to Dante, may be "no big deal," it is highly common, especially abroad in places like Europe, where Dante has toured three times over the past year and a half.

His oft-visited Myspace page touts plans for a fourth visit in the future, no doubt catering to the European fans of Detroit-area hip hop. "Overseas? They love that shit. I mean, that really is a big part of what Detroit is. Overseas, they do know what Detroit is. To me, the Detroit vibe is that; the energy and the effort that we put into music that comes just from the ethic that we have here, you know?"

Now, Dante is headlining the Code of the Cutz Skullz Candy Mix Stage at the Vans' Warped Tour, a summer concert tour that seen bands like Fall Out Boy, Amy Winehouse, No Doubt, and, yes, Detroiters Kid Rock and Eminem grace the stage. The tour's hip hop acts, however, are scarce; with rock or "emo"-type groups performing in their stead.

For Dante, however, that contradiction fits all too well. "I go the shows where it's a bunch of rap acts and I get crossed arms and people looking at me sideways, like, 'What's this white boy doing here, trying to rap?' But on the other hand, I'll go to a rock and roll show, and I've got all these white kids looking at me like, "Here's a white guy, why're you trying to rap? I'm not trying to act like somebody else, I'm not trying to be somebody else. I'm just doing music, and it happens to be hip hop."

When talk of his music comes up, Dante, whose influences range from Prince (he's "just amazing") to De La Soul or the White Stripes ("ridiculous"), is quick to point out the differences between his music and conventional hip hop. "I'd describe my mix tapes as a cross between a traditional hip hop mixtape that features my music and a mix you'd make for your girlfriend," Dante says about style of his music, as heard on his recently released mix tape, The Fixtape 2: Still Broke. "You know, where you just put together a bunch of songs you like. On each of [the tracks], there are some parts where it will mix into songs that I like. It's not me rapping on them, it's just 'hey, I like this song and it fits the vibe.' Like, I've got some "white trash" remixes on there, and different punk tracks and stuff, I'm not relying on the hottest new rap tracks on any of the tapes. Those are fine, but it's what [people] expect, not really what I enjoy." And when the man says unexpected, he means unexpected: "I even snuck a Prince track in."

But apparently that distinction has worked well for Dante; his last album, Roaming Empire, reached the number two spot on the CMJ Hip Hop charts, despite being independently-released by his own record label, Havoc Pro. Dante likes it that way; he plans to re-release Roaming Empire in July and he's not looking to sign a deal with a major record label, or, as he puts it, "pay a sinking ship." "These record labels are shutting down left and right, merging because they can't sell records. I have a digital distribution deal, and I'm not too worried about wasting my money on 10,000 CDs that are gonna sit on record store shelves for six months until the record store shuts down. So, yeah...I feel good about where I am."

And these days, Dante seems to be all over the place. Being added to the Warped Tour as a solo act is a chance for him to extend his fan base even more. "It's great, I meet people all over the country that remember me from last year. They come out and I'll hand them a sticker and they'll be like, 'Oh, yeah, it's Dante! That dude was in this group, he did this and that.' I didn't realize, you know? That's really nice, and it makes me want to work harder, and talk to every kid I see, makes me want to stay out there until every kid leaves the venue." That hustle and closeness to his fans sometimes sets Dante apart from other acts. On tour stops, he says, "Some people [sit] on the bus, hanging out. I'm out in the crowd, slinging my CDs, talking to kids, putting stickers and promotional stuff in their hands, really trying to make it work. At the end of the day, I'm out here, I gotta make it count." His seizes time with fans and prospective fans, it's golden. "If you've got an opportunity, you've gotta take it. But it's something that I see a lot of other people not doing. I think it's a characteristic of Wayne County, you know? It's like, 'I can do this? All right, I'm doing it ... what about that? Ok, let me do that, too.' And not just sort of sitting there waiting like, 'Well, ok, I'll rap, but do I have to go and sell? Is there somebody else who can sell my CDs for me who doesn't care about them so I can just relax?' No. I'm trying to get as much as I can."

Catch Dante bring the fire as Vans Warped Tour stops in Detroit – Friday, July 18 at Comerica Park.