Dope frontman Edsel Dope has reached an understanding with the newly formed supergroup doPE, a project spearheaded by Chuck D of Public Enemy fame and John Densmore of The Doors. The duo recently unveiled plans for their debut album, no country for old men, which is scheduled for release on April 18.
As the holder of the Dope name trademark, Edsel Dope publicly contacted the two Rock & Roll Hall Of Famers last month to propose finding common ground regarding the use of the name for their new venture. According to a post shared by Chuck D on February 7, an agreement has since been finalized, clearing the way for the project to proceed as originally announced.
The influential rapper stated:
“We would like to send a special shout out to Edsel Dope from the band Dope for giving us his blessing, surrounding the trademarked usage of the name Dope for our ‘no country for old men‘ collaboration. We appreciate his love and support.”
On January 26, Edsel posted while wearing a The Doors hat and a Public Enemy shirt, stating that he still holds the trademark rights to the name Dope. At the same time, he made it clear that he is open to finding a workable resolution with the newly announced project.
He wrote:
“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 w**d listening to The Doors than one could ever imagine.”
“LOVE AND RESPECT TO YOU BOTH!”
“–Edsel Dope“
