dot-rotten
He may not be your quintessential English gentleman but 22-year old Dot Rotten knows how to rock a tailor-made Sauvage suit. With a passion for aesthetics, feng shui, photograph, literature and writing lyrics in his head, he’s not your average rapper, producer or songwriter either.
“Joseph is very calm and collected, very cool, not on a hype…” he says of himself. But under his Dot Rotten alias, this south Londoner brings the heat. And a lot of it. Recent work includes a remix for The Streets ‘Going Through Hell’, while his production CV boasts cuts for Spark, Griminal, Ghetts, Maxsta, P Money, Tinie Tempah, Wiley and the rest.
Although very much of the So Solid, Dizzee Rascal and Wiley era, Dot’s inspiration ranges from Timbaland and Lil Wayne to Bob Marley, ELO, Jamiroquai and Portishead. “Sting’s definitely one of my favourites too along with Wu Tang and Eminem where lyrics are concerned…” Currently listening to battle rappers like Iron Solomon and Murder Mike, Dot’s back catalogue has grown with him.
With the help of Little Man’s Studio, Dot was able to finish off his own songs, releasing two mixtapes - S.O.O.N (Something Out of Nothing) and Extra Attention - in 2009, garnering him critical acclaim from the likes of RWD and Mixmag. Having floated through last year, releasing a few freestyles and beginning work with producers du jour TMS, the preparation for what’s to come has been done.
With five management offers on the table, a recent holiday to the Dominican Republic signaled ‘make your mind up time’. Now with Takeover Ent (Tinchy Stryder, Giggs, Maxsta), the hardest choice now is deciding which track should be released first.
But while many may have gone before, Dot Rotten’s as confident as they come. Where his album is concerned don’t expect any features. From the TMS produced ‘Free’ to Craze & Hulks’ ‘Syco’ (“that’s a harder, pull your balaclava down tune”) and ‘Normal Human Being’, which is on rotation now, his debut Voices In My Head (the title track a soulful hip-hop venture from Naught Boy) will put any doubters firmly back in their place.