Published: December 15, 2006 10:47 pm            

RAPPER'S DELIGHT: Local man inks record deal

PENDLETON — Cedric Elias has not always made the best choices.

The single father from the City of Lockport has been on the wrong side of the law several times, even spending a couple of years in prison on gun charges.

But his passion for music and will to turn his life around have changed Elias’s path towards performing. On Friday afternoon, Elias signed that in ink in the form of a six-year record deal with Chi-Sound Records of Chicago.

Elias, whose stage name is C.Dot, has been performing since he was 12 years old.

“Back then, I studied Tu-Pac,” Elias said. “I developed my own sound.”

Now 24, Elias looks up to famous rapper 50 Cent. C.Dot said the artist once proclaimed God only makes one person like him every 10 years “so my competition is 10 years behind me,” Elias quoted. It’s a phrase that pushes him to succeed.

C.Dot was introduced to Chi-Sound through R-and-R Productions. Manager Dwayne Rodgers said they met while he was in the area looking for talent. Soon after, one of Elias’s songs won a call-in listener vote on a local online radio station up against stiff competition like 50 Cent and Ciara.

Chi-Sound vice president Cornelius Dykes said the company was impressed with C.Dot’s sound and image.

“He has a way about himself,” Dykes said.

“He has his own sound, but he’s a mixture of East Coast rappers like Nas, 50 Cent with a more mellow-type rap. He does his positive music, not that gangsta rap.”

Label president Carl Davis agreed.

“C.Dot is special,” Davis said. “I’ve been a good judgment of entertainment.”

The Chicago music icon produced artists such as the Chi-Lites, Tyrone Davis and Walter Jackson through the ‘60s and ‘70s, but went into retirement after he didn’t like where the music industry was going. Davis said he re-started Chi-Sound after meeting JXL, a promising Buffalo artist.

Elias has since toured with JXL locally and in Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland and other cities. He has begun recording his first album, “Calm Before the Storm,” at recording studios in Lockport, Rochester and Chicago. The release date is set for 2007.

Most of Elias’s songs are based off his real-life experiences with crime and women. But rather than advocating violence and criminal activity, C.Dot encourages kids to get off the streets to chase their dreams.

“From nothing to something,” Elias said. “I thought I would always be in and out of jail, but I’m ready to prove people wrong. I want to see how high I can go.”

Contact Tasha Kates at 439-9222, Ext. 6241.

        

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