D-O-E logo
D-O-E is an underground hybrid hip hop artist from the Mid-Hudson Valley region of New York and the creator of the sykophunk genre. After recording a full-length album every year since 2002, D-O-E officially changed his stage name to joe DOE in late 2009.
History
Somewhere Between a Retard and a God CD artwork
Early Work
D-O-E produced and self-released his first full-length CD rEvolution Underground in 2002. The album was limited in circulation due to a lack of resources, but it was D-O-E's first step as a solo artist. He continued to write and record songs, teaching himself digital production and using the internet to network with other artists and indie labels. In 2004, D-O-E released his first internationally accessible album. The provocatively titled Somewhere Between a Retard and a God was made available online, through physical and digital retailers. With this release D-O-E gained some global recognition in the online community.
Travels and Touring
Throughout his career as an independent artist, D-O-E has traveled to different parts of the United States. In a combination of small tours and long vacations, he often stayed in an area long enough to play a number of live shows and promote his latest release, then he moved on to the next area. This method of promotion and touring has not been very profitable, but it is a testament to D-O-E's dedication to spread his music and his messages. Places that D-O-E has spent a lot of time in (other than his hometown area) include the Sacramento area of California and Fort Wayne, Indiana.
The album Collaboremixtape is a collection of tracks that D-O-E recorded with various other artists while roaming the nation. It is available for free download on D-O-E's Beta Records page and contains guest appearances by Triple Vision (DJ Deff, Kwik, Hoosier Boy), Dostah Shilailee, Rocky Blanco, Christel South, and Cadaver.
2008
2008 was an extremely busy and accomplished year for D-O-E. In this year he wrote and recorded two full-length solo albums in addition to co-writing and producing two others. He traveled across the country again, playing shows and doing guest spots on other artists' tracks, and he also did a number of online collaborations with artists he's never even met face to face. 2008 was also the year that D-O-E landed a song on the soundtrack to the upcoming indie film Sweat, produced by Jaded Eyez Entertainment.
Also at the end of 2008, D-O-E released 3 Dimensions of Truth, a joint release between Sykophunk Productions and Khaos Records. The collaborative effort makes D-O-E an official artist on two different indie labels, a model of cooperation over competition that is sometimes rare in the music business.
Be Middle Class or Die Trying CD artwork
2009
Beginning in February 2009, with the launch of Sykophunk Weekly, D-O-E randomly released a number of singles for free download from the Sykophunk Productions website. His full-length album, Be Middle Class or Die Trying, was released on May 5, 2009. The album displays an evolution of sykophunk with a range of both music and vocal styles, and is "very heavy in subject matter, bringing up a lot of social issues and current events." It is also D-O-E's first internationally released album since 2004's Somewhere Between a Retard and a God, made available as a CD and digital download on various sites including CD Baby, iTunes, and many others.
In September 2009, D-O-E contributed to numerous tracks on Deconstruction, a collection of collaborations and remixes from Sykophunk Productions that was released online for free download. The collection contains appearances from underground artists from all over the U.S. and the U.K.
Tales from the Dark Domain, released in October 2009, contains two songs by D-O-E. He also released a number of Halloween songs on sykophunk.com.
Personal Issues
D-O-E spent many years battling severe depression and alcoholism. His struggles with such problems are referred to in a lot of his lyrics and may very well be responsible for the aggressive, gloomy mood that sykophunk often takes. In August of 2008, D-O-E finally quit drinking for good. His new, sober perspective on life was the inspiration for the single "Rebirth," released in February 2009 through Sykophunk Weekly, and also had a profound effect on the content of his following album, Be Middle Class or Die Trying.
Discography
Albums
- Be Middle Class or Die Trying (LP, 2009, Sykophunk Productions)
- 3 Dimensions of Truth (LP, 2008, Khaos Records)
- Grimey Poetry mixtape (LP, 2008, Sykophunk Productions)
- Omniphuk (LP, 2007, Sykophunk Productions)
- Greatest Shits (LP, 2006, Sykophunk Productions)
- East Meets West (LP, 2005, out of print)
- Somewhere Between a Retard and a God (LP, 2004, Sykophunk Productions)
- Further Revelations (LP, 2003, OOP)
- rEvolution Underground (LP, 2002, OOP)
Singles
- "Rebirth" (2009)
- "Sykophunk Weekly Launch" (2009)
- "Cemetery Flowers" featuring Christel South (2008)
- "Fuck Off" (2006)
- "Ain't No Commercial Rap" (2006)
Collaborations
- "2012" with Time Travelling Terrapin, Dubby Dub and Xavi H (2009)
- "Spit on my Grave" with GrimWitch (2009)
- "Urban Legends" with GrimWitch (2008)
- "Never Surrender" with Harpsichoid (2008)
- "I Choose You" with Hoosier Boy (2008)
- "Boom!" with Kwik and DJ Deff (2008)
Compilations
- Tales from the Dark Domain (2009, Sykophunk Productions)
- Deconstruction (2009, Sykophunk Productions)
- Collaboremixtape (2008, Sykophunk Productions)
- Sweat Soundtrack (2008, Khaos Records)