Lynn rapper represents unique message on road to stardom

LYNN - He may not be topping the Billboard charts yet, but Lynn rapper Michael Januario, otherwise known as MDOT, won't stop 'til he gets to the top.

The 24-year-old Revere native books all his own shows, distributes his own flyers, calls club managers himself and records music in the studio he built in the basement of his home. His hard work paid off in recent months as he's performed with Joe Budden, the New York City rapper who had the 2003 Grammy-nominated hit "Pump It Up," and popular Boston artists like 7L, Termanology, Auallah, Joell Ortiz and Krumbsnatcha.

He's performed 90 shows in the past 12 months.

"I don't sleep. I don't stop," he said. "It's all about hustle. You know, everyone raps. You want to separate yourself from the pact."

MDOT's full time job is performing.

"I haven't worked in two years. I live off shows. I don't make crazy money but enough to pay all my bills, ya know?" he said. "I'm out there doing shows and it's the best feeling because you love it and you're getting just enough to get out there."

The artist raps about everything from women to hard work. He recently made the rounds on local radio stations WERS (88.9 FM) and WJMN (Jam'n 94.5 FM) and can't believe the response he's gotten.

"88.9 ... that was awesome. That interview was unbelievable," he said. "Now I'm in rotation. They've been playing me every single day for four straight months."

MDOT says his musical beginnings arose while growing up in the projects in Revere, where he had to share a room with his younger sister. Surprisingly, nowadays he listens to a lot of older artists as opposed to rap, such as Al Greene and Frank Sinatra - music that his mother enjoys and inspired him to jump into music.

His mom would often play games with him by playing a record and quizzing him on who the artist was.

After a while of hearing his mom's music, "I'd want to own the records and then I'd want to sample the records and then I'd want to rap over the samples. As you can see it's a domino effect."

"I don't even listen to rap," he said. "In every interview and to every person I talk to, I say I don't listen to rap. I listen to rap, but not like you would think. I listen to Frank Sinatra and Al Green, you know."

However, "I listen to TuPac, I love listening to TuPac."

Unlike many mainstream rappers who glorify violence and gang life, MDOT has a different message.

"Blue collar. Love life. Work hard. The harder you work the better you keep climbing."

He says his stage name, MDOT, is an abbreviation for several different phrases. One of which is "Musically Driven Over Time," which emphasizes his hard-working attitude. Another is, "Money Doesn't Own Thought."

"It's not just any words. It's words of importance," he said.

His touring this year has brought him around the country and the world, recently performing four shows in Italy and another in France. It's a far cry from mixing beats in his basement, which is covered with photos from his shows.

You can catch MDOT's next show at The Middle East in Cambridge with rapper Slaine at 9 p.m. on July 10. Tickets are $10.

For a complete listing of his show dates and to learn more about MDOT, check out his MySpace page at www.myspace.com/mdotems

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