By Chad Taylor
soundcheck@dmcityview.com

D.O.P.E. Clique’s CD release party at the Vaudeville Mews on Saturday, Aug 25, at 9:30 p.m. Nu Depths, Anonymous and Jimmy Hooligan also perform. $7.

Richie Daggers isn’t afraid to speak his mind. For 20 minutes, the D.O.P.E. Clique DJ sits in Wellman’s Pub and expounds upon everything from up and coming local talent, to the joys of working with two lyrical heavyweights, to the state of hip-hop in Des Moines.

“(Hip-hop) is very segregated,” he said. “But there (have) been movements lately (to) try and get everyone involved, rather than just keep it in sections.”

In Daggers’ mind, some of that division would be an easy fix.

“Some of the segregation comes from the promoters. There are some promoters out there who will try to get you to pay to play and some people unfortunately will (do that), and that creates a line. (D.O.P.E. Clique) won’t do that. There’s no reason. If this is what you like to do — if this is your craft — you should be getting paid for what you make.”

To that end — the craft — D.O.P.E. Clique has composed its new album with a singular mindset: the aggressive assertion of their talent.

“I am so proud of this album,” said Daggers. “(D.O.P.E. Clique members) Gadema and Tripp are known for their intelligent lyrics. They usually have a lot of social content and are very articulate. This album is not about that. This album is all about barreling people over. Either you want to come and mosh with us, or you don’t.”

“Blunt Force Trauma,” the album in question, is aggressive, angry stuff. It’s an old-school sound, designed specifically to announce the group’s presence with authority. But don’t try and dismiss the trio as noisemakers for the sake of making noise.

“Gadema and Tripp are two guys who’ve proven themselves over and over again with their solo work,” Daggers reminds us. “These guys are not just out here spouting garbage.”

What’s clear from talking to Daggers for any length of time is the respect within D.O.P.E. Clique — respect that the group as a whole has for its component members and respect for the music and its roots.

“Those two guys are animals,” said Daggers, referring to his MCs. “Gadema already has three albums written that he hasn’t released yet. We want to take (hip-hop) back to the days where everything matters. You can’t just pick up a mic and it’s like ‘oh, you’re a rapper now.’ You can’t just have that respect. We want to take it back to a point where you have to earn that respect just by actually doing things.”

The things D.O.P.E. Clique is doing may not appeal to everyone. But the quality of the work, and the passion that’s evident behind it, should absolutely be enough to earn the respect of everyone who’s got an ear tuned to the hip-hop scene in the capital city. In turn, D.O.P.E. Clique passes its respect on to the crop of new talent rising up in the scene — a scene that Daggers says is in very good hands.

“There’s definitely new talent coming up. We’ve got a guy on our record, Ne Depths. He’s amazing. And there are other guys, too. Chemist is a new guy coming up, Horizon, who’s been around for a little while, is coming up as well. And it’s not just us, there’s the guys who do the club stuff as well. If we played a dance club, we’d look like idiots. But there are guys coming up who are awesome at it.” CV