An article about West Coast rap legend The D.O.C has won the National Journalism Award for Best Personality Profile in 2013.
The article, “Ghost In The Machine” was written by Alex Pappademas, and came out in the April 2013 issue of Playboy Magazine.
During his chat with Playboy, the rapper/songwriter spoke about his involvement on “We Want Eazy,” a single by late rapper Eazy E featuring fellow NWA members MC Ren. The song is featured on Eazy’s debut album “Eazy Duz It.”
“Dre takes me to the studio and I meet Eazy, and Ren, and Yella. And Dre puts on this drum beat and he says, ‘Can you write me something?’ You know, it took about 10-15 minutes and that song was ‘We Want Eazy.’ Ended up being the guys first single,” The D.O.C. recounted.
The D.O.C also reflected on the car crash which destroyed his vocal chords and the subsequent depression.
“The whole West Coast movement changed direction the night I had that accident,” he said. “Once that shit happened I was just out of there. I didn’t care about anything, but getting drunk. Getting high and trying to get away from that pain of not being able to do the one thing that I was good at.”
The accident may have robbed The D.O.C of his voice, but it didn’t take his dreams and his influence. He works in his hometown of Dallas, Texas helping up and comers with their craft.
“You can’t let go of the dream that easy man,” The D.O.C said. “They all say you got such a story. You got such a story to tell and [it’s] so powerful and it’s so positive. And that’s where I’m at right now. Dallas, Fort Worth is where my heart is. I want to pluck the young, deserving people from this city and give them the benefit of those experiences and see if I can get some shine down here because they deserve it too.”
“Not only was the subject interesting and the great writing well-sourced, we learn how a tragic accident derails a promising career and transforms D.O.C into Rap’s most influential Ghostwriter,” said a Judge at the Nationalism Journalism Awards according to
HipHopDX.
The article’s writer, Alex Pappademas, spoke on the award:
I’d like to thank LA Press Club for their dedication to journalism and for this recognition my work,” he said. “I’d also like to thank The D.O.C., and his business partner John Huffman IV, for allowing me to follow them around and pry into D.O.C.’s life story and their innovative music business.”
The D.O.C himself also reacted:
“The blessing is my tribulations will help me, help the next me, not be me, but be meeeeeeeeeee
Speak On It!