Dialogue Elevaters Crew: Far from the Main Stream
By Kari Knutson
Winona Daily News

They will play Saturday, Feb. 28, at the Clamor Music Festival at the Blackhorse Bar & Restaurant in Homer, Minn. The event is part of a nationwide promotion of Clamor Magazine, which promotes grassroots media organizations, independent venues and musicians.

Geoffrey Watson, emcee with the Dialogue Elevaters Crew (known as DEC to fans), has long known to look beyond what's popular for good music.

"I buy some weird stuff," he said. "Iím into people who want to push music in a new direction." Watson, 26, grew up in Bloomington, Minn., and listened to mostly punk and heavy metal. That changed when he watched a skateboarding video that featured Del the Funkee Homosapien, a California rapper who combined humor with rap.
"It wasn't talking about guns, New York or California," Watson said. "It was the first rap I related to."

After high school, Watson moved to San Francisco to study film at art school. In college, he discovered hip-hop from years past, including A Tribe Called Quest and Slick Rick. Having the influences of old-school hip-hop has helped strengthen DEC, Watson said.

"I think everyone needs to have a sense of history," he said. There's plenty of new music that appeals to Watson as well. You just won't usually hear it played on Top 40 radio. Groups such as the Roots, Dilated Peoples and Jurassic 5 have worked through the mainstream to find success without selling out, Watson said.

Watson started writing when he was 17, but it wasnít until his senior year in college that he realized he wanted to make music, not films.

Telling his parents was a little scary, but theyíve supported him and have come to several of his shows.
"It's kind of like when you have a chorus concert in third grade," Watson said.

In San Francisco, Watson had been performing at open mic nights for two years, but it was hard to break into the local music scene. At the same time, Watson was hearing a buzz about hip-hop bands such as Atmosphere back in Minneapolis, so he decided to come back home.

He hooked up with fellow emcee Ernie Rhodes at a 15 Minutes of Fame show at Minneapolis Red Sea. After performing as a duo, they decided to add a DJ to the mix, recruiting Dirk Diggs. Soon after, they forged ahead as a group with veteran emcee DisputeOne (formerly known as Extreme) and a second DJ, Last Word.
DEC is busy recording its first album and plans to release it in summer.

While the perceived fame and fortune of rap stars certainly has its appeal, Watson doesn't believe all that glitters is gold.

"All those flashy videos and crap is part of the corporate equation," Watson said. "They pick you up at your momís house, rent a car, hire a stripper to look like your girlfriend, bring you to the set, make you look rich and bring you home."

It may be a popular formula, but itís not one Watson intends to follow.

"It sends the wrong message," he said. "This is America. We're raised to be stars."

Other musicians may like to talk about who has the shiniest bling bling, but Watson prefers to write rhymes that people relate to in new ways.

"If something's been done before, why should I write about it?"

Dialogue Elevaters Crew