Emerging Lynn rap star offers no excuses

LYNN – He doesn?t have a car, but he?s been all over the world rapping his mantra, “Money Doesn?t Own Thought.”M-Dot, whose real name is Michael Januario, is a Lynn-based artist who recently clinched the title of Best Hip-Hop Act in the WFNX Boston 2010 Best Music Poll. Previous winners are rap legends Guru (of Gang Starr), Akrobatik, Virtuoso and Bel Biv Devoe.Together with his crew, EMS (Experimental Mind State), and his partner, Rev “Revalation”, M-Dot has performed in 50 shows across the United States, in Canada and in Europe. He has performed with Kid Cudi, D-12, Terror Squad, and many other established artists.Wherever he goes, he said he takes with him one message: work hard to get to the top. “I?ve fought for everything – nothing was given, and nothing should be,” he said. “The fruits taste so much better when you harvest and work them yourself.”M-Dot does all his own promoting, whether it?s stickers placed throughout Lynn or making his own fliers. He is his own public relations expert and his own booking agent. He records in his own studio and spends his days looking for the next way to get his music out there for people to hear, setting up alliances with other artists for a feature spot on their next hit.?Work harder – don?t be complacent,” he said. “We can be better than other people if we just work harder.”M-Dot started writing rap when he was a student and basketball player at Fitchburg State College. Soon he was traveling to other schools to perform at college shows, slowly earning credit in the music industry. He made mix tapes and put videos on You Tube to promote himself. Now, his first album, “Making Doubters Over Think,” is debuting next year.While most rappers tout drug habits, crime, money and women as the essentials in life, M-Dot isn?t into that: he says his natural energy is what fuels him.?I could pretend like that, but my mother reads all the stuff about me. I don?t need nice things. I only care about my music and my family.”His new song “No Money Down,” is about how he has risen to the top using no money or payola, promoting and booking himself using no agents. The music video was filmed in the Mojave Desert.M-Dot?s recent project is M.D.O.TV, a You Tube series of candid video from his tours, similar to Dane Cook?s “Tourgasm.” One episode is about what happens when M-Dot and EMS take one crowded van down to North Carolina for a show.M-Dot calls his songs “relatable.” He raps about hard work and struggle that everyone knows well, and he is no stranger to it himself. With a 3-year-old son to drive him, M-Dot works no other job, just concentrating on his music. Apparently, he doesn?t need to: “People say ?rap doesn?t pay.? But I?m using it to pay all my bills.”With the success that he has already, M-Dot knows not everyone will be a fan. But his answer to them is, “The only haters are people that aren?t doing it themselves – get off you (butt) and do something.”