Testament

Far from the bullet holes and bling that most rappers use as badges of honor, the rapper Red Dog used his life, religion and a deep social consciousness as a platform to launch his solo rap career. This atypical rapper went from deadline time to studio time as the former newspaper managing editor returned to his love of music with the release of his 18-track outing entitled 'The Testament.' As an editor and reporter, he saw first hand how policies drawn up behind closed doors by politicians affect lower socio-economic groups. Also, he noticed how laws in general were targeted and enforced towards those same groups. The music of his CD reflect his own roots grown in jazz, hip-hop and classical music. Although the music is diverse, some of his songs include snippets about terrorism, drugs, the Orleans Parish School Board, Christianity, capitalism and the propagation of violence in New Orleans. His lyrics are among the most thought provoking in the rap game. His song The Killing Fields gives an alternative view into the rampant violence in New Orleans. The song is highlighted with a haunting opera hook written by the rapper and translated into Italian. Red Dog began his musical career early learning classical piano at the age of four. After receiving superior ratings in three consecutive years in piano competitions, Red Dog moved to the drums as a secondary instrument. His musical influences are Rakim, Sting, Talib Kweli, Mos Def and Phil Collins. The native New Orleanian received the National Merit Semi-Finalist Award his junior year, was voted Most Artistic in his high school, a chess club member and was a member of the Varsity Quiz Bowl team. But his first college stint at the University of New Orleans was short-lived after being placed on scholastic probation his first few years at school. He dropped out of school and moved to Baton Rouge, LA and got married. He then worked as a volunteer with For One Child Under Stress (FOCUS) and as a youth facilitator with the Worldwide Church of God. Red Dog worked a variety of jobs and moved to Thibodaux to attend Nicholls State University. There, he received the New York Times Scholarship for journalism, a New York Times internship and a Press Club of New Orleans Scholarship. After graduating from Nicholls State University in Mass Communications, Red Dog took a job as a reporter for a weekly newspaper. He soon became the managing editor and championed many social causes during his time there. Even though Red Dog worked as a reporter, he never left his love of music. He wrote several songs on Jay3's CD No Ordinary Man.