Deric Angelettie

Last updated

Deric Angelettie
Birth nameDeric Michael Angelettie
Also known as
  • D-Dot
  • Mad Rapper
  • D.O.P.
  • Papa Dot
Born (1968-07-31) July 31, 1968 (age 56)
Brooklyn, New York City, U.S.
Genres
Occupations
  • Record producer
  • rapper
  • songwriter
  • television producer
  • film producer
Years active1989–present
Labels
Member of
Website madrapper.com

Deric Michael Angelettie (born July 31, 1968), also known by his stage names D-Dot, Papa Dot, and the Madd Rapper, is an American record producer. [1] He served as executive producer and A&R for the album No Way Out (1997) by Puff Daddy & the Family, which won a Grammy Award. He has since done so for three other albums nominated for the award, [2] [3] and won the BMI Urban Award in 2001. [4]

Contents

While attending Howard University in the late 1980s, Angelettie and Ron "Amen-Ra" Lawrence formed the hip hop duo Two Kings in A Cipher, and signed with RCA Records to release their debut album, From Pyramids to Projects (1991). He joined Bad Boy Records' production team The Hitmen by 1995, after which he was credited on releases for artists including the Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z, and Mary J. Blige, among others. He served as the team's de facto "Captain" by the time he produced the label's 1997 singles "Hypnotize" by Notorious B.I.G. and "It's All About The Benjamins" by Diddy.

As a recording artist, he created an alter ego, The Madd Rapper, to guest perform on B.I.G.'s second album, Life After Death (1997). Angelettie signed with Columbia Records to release his debut studio album as the character, Tell Em Why U Madd (1999), [5] which contained guest appearances from then-unknown rappers 50 Cent (on the song "How to Rob") and Kanye West—the latter of whom Angelettie managed.

Outside of music, Angelettie is the founder of Crazy Cat Catalogue and Crazy Cat Cinemas. He has appeared on and produced the titlular song for MTV's reality show Making The Band 1 & 2. He co-hosted the television series Hip-Hop Hold 'Em [6] on UPN, and served as a consultant for the 2009 film Notorious , due to his personal connection with the film's subject. He was an associate producer for the 2018 film Steps-The Movie, which was executive produced by Shaquille O'Neal.

Career

Early career

Promotional image for Two Kings in a Cipher, pictured c. 1998 Two Kings in a Cipher.jpg
Promotional image for Two Kings in a Cipher, pictured c. 1998

During his time at Howard University from 1986 to 1989, [7] Angelettie and colleague Ron "Amen-Ra" Lawrence formed the conscious hip hop duo, Two Kings in a Cipher, in 1988. [8] Two years later, they signed with RCA Records and Bahia, and released their debut single, "Movin 'On 'Em" shortly after. Their debut studio album, From Pyramids to Projects (1991) was met with positive critical reception despite failing to chart, and the duo was dropped from RCA in 1993.

Angelettie began his work with Bad Boy Records in 1993 as an intern, and within five years, was named the unofficial captain of the label's in-house production team, the Hitmen. He has also served as VP of A&R during his time with the label. He was the sole credited producer of label boss Sean Combs' 1997 single "It's All About the Benjamins", [9] and co-produced the Notorious B.I.G's "Hypnotize"—the rapper's final single released before his death—along with Lawrence earlier that year. [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] Outside of the label, he amassed credits for other artists including Lil' Kim, Nas, Jay-Z, Outkast, and Busta Rhymes. During this time, Angelettie met and subsequently managed then-unknown rapper Kanye West during his time with Roc-A-Fella Records in 1999. [14]

Later career

Angelettie's "The Madd Rapper" persona debuted with a skit on the Notorious B.I.G.'s Life After Death in 1997. His debut studio album, Tell 'Em Why U Madd, was released by Angelettie's label, Crazy Cat Catalogue [5] in a joint venture with Columbia Records in 1999; it contained guest appearances from 50 Cent and West. [15]

On November 19, 1998, Angelettie was charged with participating in the assault of Blaze Magazine editor Jesse Washington. [16] Washington claimed that the assault occurred due to him publishing a photograph, taken with Angelettie's consent, which revealed the Madd Rapper's identity. [17] The editor and Angelettie settled the case out of court.

In 2000, due to legal issues with Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), the state name was changed to simply Mad Rapper.

Angelettie later appeared on MTVʼs reality show Making the Band 1 & 2, [13] co-hosted Hip-Hop Hold 'Em [6] on UPN, [18] and served as a consultant for the 2009 film Notorious [19] by Fox Broadcasting Company and Searchlight Pictures. He founded Connect the Dots in 2006, a management and strategy company with clients such as record producer Stevie J. Angelettie has since co-written the film House of Bodies in 2014, served as a producer for the film Steps the following year, and executive produced Complex's documentary, Rules To This Sh!t in 2021.

Personal life

Angelettie's background includes being born and raised an only child in Brooklyn, New York, to an African-American father Eric Angelettie and a Puerto Rican mother, Dr. Noemi Angelettie-Wallace. He graduated from Samuel J Tilden High School in 1986 and then later attended Howard University in Washington, D.C., [7] but dropped out in 1989 to pursue his music career. He is married to author Lisa Angelettie and is a father to four daughters. [20] [21]

Studio albums (as an artist)

Two Kings in a Cipher

Madd Rapper

Mad Rapper

Awards

MTV Video Music Awards

YearNominee/workCreditsAwardResult
1998 "It's All About the Benjamins" (Rock Remix)Co-productionVideo of the Year [22] Nominated
Viewer's Choice Won
"Come with Me" (from Godzilla)Best Video from a Film [23] Nominated

Grammy Awards

YearNominee/workCreditsAwardResult
1998 No Way Out Executive productionBest Rap AlbumWon
Life After Death A&R Best Rap AlbumNominated

NARAS Awards

YearNominee/workCreditsAwardResult
1998 Deric Angelettie Producer of The Year Grammy Naras Governor's New Horizon AwardWon

Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time

RankArtistAlbumCreditsYear
483The Notorious B.I.G. Life After Death A&R1997 [24]

Filmography

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References

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  2. ↑ "What A Production". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. July 11, 1998.
  3. ↑ "BMI Urban Award Winners Announced". BMI.com. October 2, 2001. Archived from the original on October 11, 2018. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
  4. ↑ "BMI Urban Award Winners Announced". October 2, 2001.
  5. 1 2 Baker, Soren (September 26, 1999). "The Madd Rapper Uses Some Lessons From Puff Daddy". Los Angeles Times. ISSN   0458-3035. Archived from the original on May 13, 2016. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
  6. 1 2 Hip Hop Hold 'Em (Game-Show), Emerge Entertainment, IMG Media, Premo Pictures, October 6, 2006, retrieved August 6, 2022
  7. 1 2 "Howard Homecoming: Migos, Chris Brown and plenty of day parties". Washington Post. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
  8. ↑ "The Madd Rapper | Biography & History | AllMusic". AllMusic. Archived from the original on October 11, 2018. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
  9. 1 2 Chery, Carl (June 21, 2011). "Production Credit: Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie ['90s Edition] - XXL". XXL Mag. Archived from the original on March 25, 2018. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
  10. ↑ "Randy 'Badazz' Alpert Remembers 'Rise,' Sampled in The Notorious B.I.G.'s 'Hypnotize'". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 20, 2017. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
  11. ↑ "Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie | Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
  12. ↑ "5 Rules Every Aspiring Hip-Hop Producer Needs to Know" . Retrieved August 12, 2018.
  13. 1 2 Making the Band 2 (TV Series 2002–2004), archived from the original on January 6, 2011, retrieved August 12, 2018
  14. ↑ Chery, Carl. "Nelly Remembers Kanye West Before the Fame". BET.com. Archived from the original on October 11, 2018. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
  15. ↑ Christopher R. Weingarten; Elias Leight; Brittany Spanos; Charles Aaron; Mosi Reeves; Al Shipley; Jason Newman; Christina Lee; David Drake; Maura Johnston; Dan Hyman (November 21, 2017). "Eminem: 50 Greatest Songs". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
  16. ↑ Noel, Peter (December 1, 1998). "Revenge of the Mad Rappers". Village Voice. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
  17. ↑ Wartofsky, Alona (December 23, 1998). "RAP OF A HIP-HOP EDITOR". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved August 12, 2018.[ dead link ]
  18. ↑ Hip Hop Hold 'Em, Deric Angelettie, Charlene deGuzman, Shecky Greene, archived from the original on March 15, 2017, retrieved August 12, 2018{{citation}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  19. ↑ Caramanica, Jon (January 9, 2009). "One Rapper Tries to Capture Another in the Biopic 'Notorious,' About Biggie Smalls". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 27, 2018. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
  20. ↑ "WEDDINGS; Lisa Miller, Deric Angelettie". The New York Times. September 27, 1998. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
  21. ↑ CSDF. "Cheltenham SDF Board Member Bios" . Retrieved July 10, 2022.
  22. ↑ "It's All About the Benjamins", Wikipedia, June 19, 2022, retrieved July 30, 2022
  23. ↑ "MTV Video Music Award for Best Video from a Film", Wikipedia, June 20, 2022, retrieved July 30, 2022
  24. ↑ Baker, Soren. "How D-Dot Helped Shape Biggie's 'Life After Death'". rockthebells.com. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
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