Published: September 30, 2008 02:30 am            

MUSIC: Local rapper to appear on TV

A local rapper will get some big exposure this week with a performance on national television.

Cedric Elias, who performs by the name C.Dot, will appear on BET’s “106 & Park” on Friday.

He will compete on the show’s “Freestyle Friday” segment.

The show starts at 6 p.m., and C.Dot said he expects to be on around 7 p.m.

Freestyle Friday is a 15-week contest. Each week, two unsigned rappers compete in a single round, each one with one minute and 10 seconds to perform their own original song.

The winner is chosen by a panel of three judges, and the winner will come back the following week to compete again, C.Dot said.

A rapper who wins five weeks in a row wins a spot in the “All Stars” competition, to be held in March.

The winner of that competition receives a record deal.

C.Dot, 26, said he’s not nervous about the rap battle, which he will film Thursday morning.

“I’ve been battling forever,” he said.

October will be an exciting month for C.Dot. He said he’s been offered an audition for Jermaine Dupri’s record label, TAG, on Oct. 23 in Atlanta.

C.Dot’s first album, “Calm Before the Storm,” was released last year, and he’s now working on a follow-up, “All or Nothing,” set for release in 2009.

He will return to his hometown on Nov. 7 for a 7 p.m. concert at Lockport High School.

He said it’s “very exciting” to be performing at LHS.

Tickets for the concert are $3 and are available at the school, in Room 222.

Contact reporter April Amadon at 439-9222, ext. 6251.

        

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