Edsel Dope Makes Plea With 2 Legends Over New Band Named doPE

Dope frontman Edsel Dope has made a public plea online with Public Enemy's Chuck D and The Doors' John Densmore over a new band they formed name doPE.

The rapper and drummer just announced the project and their debut album No Country for Old Men a few days ago. Dope shared a social media post yesterday (Jan. 26) in response to the announcement.

In his statement, Dope explained how much he respects Chuck D and The Doors and referred to himself as "the little guy." He noted that he owns the "Dope" trademark and suggested that them using the name doPE would create conflict.

Thus, he offered a solution to the problem. The full statement reads:

Yooooooo!

I am a huge fan of Chuck D, Public Enemy and the Doors, so the last thing that I want to do is interrupt a creative endeavor from two legends that I admire and respect.

However, it is important for me to highlight the 25 years I have devoted to building a band/brand, which has found a good bit of success and built a sizable fan base around the globe.

Those 4 letters “dope” have been tattooed on my knuckles since 1998.

I appropriately registered the artist name dope and I have owned the Trademark, ever since I hit the scene, more than 25 years ago…

Unfortunately for Chuck and John, choosing to call themselves doPE would invite a good bit of market confusion, especially on the streaming services like Spotify, where I have more than a million monthly listeners, along with several hundred million combined streams…

The paperwork is up to date and my rights regarding the name are indisputable.

Next to the two of you, I humbly consider myself "the little guy”.

So if YOU TWO LEGENDS are committed to using MY FOUR LETTERS, Please hit me up directly, as I would love to be part of some form of collaborative effort with you.

I know every word from Apocalypse 91 & I have smoked more weed listening to The Doors than one could ever imagine.

LOVE AND RESPECT TO YOU BOTH!

READ MORE: 15 Best Rock Song Collaborations of the 2000s

How Did a Collaboration Between Chuck D + John Densmore Come About? 

According to a social media post on Densmore's page, the musicians met over a decade ago and have long considered collaborating together.

"The two first crossed paths on a Record Store Day panel in 2014. About a year later, John received an email from Chuck that simply read: “You’ve got the beats, I’ve got the rhymes, let’s make doPE.”

No Country for Old Men will be available as a Record Store Day release on April 18.

See what other rock and metal albums we're looking forward to this year below.