Patiently Waiting
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ometimes it takes sitting in confinement for a minute to have an epiphany and realize the significance of a second chance. Just ask Atlanta up-and-coming rapper Dose. Many Hip Hop fans are just now being introduced to Dose, born Michael Thomas, but he’s been working at his artistry for years. His success was delayed because, according to him, he couldn’t (or wouldn’t) get out of his own way.
was confident and driven regarding his musical prowess, but it wasn’t enough to keep him out of the streets. Eventually, he got locked up, where he ended up with the nickname Dose. “When I was in prison I used to say, ‘I’ma give these niggas a real dose when I get out,’” he laughs. “[Inmates] were like, ‘When you get out they should start calling you that.’ They’d be in there calling me Dose, and I just went with it.”
“Everything I’ve been through in life made me who I am,” says the 21-year-old rapper. “I’ve been through a lot. I [thought] I was chasing the right thing but it was really the wrong thing the whole time. You get detoured. God will let you step out but if something’s destined for you, he’ll put you back on that path. It’s up to you to follow the path.”
Once released, Dose was hell-bent on making things happen. In his mind, he was rebuilding what he’d lost when he was sent away. “I saw Shawty Redd in the strip club and told him I’m the next nigga up, on some real arrogant shit,” he chuckles. “I’d been a hypeman for an independent label since I was 16, so I was always in the midst [of the music game]. I was in the dark back then, but I was there.”
Dose’s story is one that we’ve heard before: he
His persistence led to the collaboration “Don
Dada” with Rich Boy. It was a record Dose didn’t expect to blow—at least not as significantly as it did. Soon, an option to sign with a major label came from New York. DJ Clue heard Dose’s music and signed the ATL rapper to his Desert Storm imprint on Def Jam. Dose has a new mixtape, Overdose, on the way, hosted by DJs Scream and Clue, and a lead track, “Where They Do That At?” featuring Fabolous and Rick Ross. At the end of it all, his ultimate success would be to simply live a full life beyond what anyone could imagine for him. Dose adds, “I’m excited to have a way out, to have a shot at making something outta my life. It ain’t even all about the music. I wanna have a shot at a new life.” Words by Nadine Graham Photo by Thi Chien
OZONE MAG // 51