Rapper and former Marshall football wide receiver Demetrius Doss will release his second album titled "Me or Nothing" March 18.
Doss, also known as El Prezidino, looks to do something no rapper in history has tried to do on the mainstream market by reaching people with his tasteful lyrics about his faith in God and the honesty he projects from his heart.
Doss said he feels he is more of a mainstream rapper as opposed to a Christian artist, even though many of his songs could be identified as such.
"I think that's one of the misconceptions about my music because I'm not talking about what most artists are talking about," Doss said. "It's more conscious, it's definitely good music and I think because I talk more about God, Jesus and stuff like that then people want to classify me as a Christian artist."
Some of Doss' influences are rap legends and greats, but some are even rock bands and artists.
From Notorious B.I.G. to Bono and U2, Doss acknowledges several great artists among his inspiration.
Doss said his songs reflect that as well, as he references to some of his role models in his lyrics.
"I can remember when Kanye West came out with 'Jesus Walks,'" Doss said. "It was crazy but a lot of people were trying to say he was a Christian rap artist. I'm just an artist but I think my message is definitely positive. I think too often people associate Christian and gospel rap artists with artists who are not as good as or less than mainstream. If you listen to the album then you definitely know it's not the case at all. I'm just a hip-hop artist with the very kind of music that can change your life."
Doss is also the chief executive officer of his own production company called 3 Fingers LLC based out of Manassas, Va.
Doss said he makes the business decisions with help from his wife, Kelli Doss, who also handles the booking information.
Demetrius Doss said Kelli Doss is a big part of his company and she is very excited about his new album as well.
"The new album is great and he worked really, really hard on it," Kelli Doss said. "The album is not like most others, you actually have a message to it. It's not preachy, but it makes you think."
Demetrius Doss said he believes some of today's rap artists are not actually portraying who they really are in their lyrics and that's why he tries to express his beliefs in his songs.
"In hip-hop more than anything it's entertainment," Demetrius Doss said. "I think in any other genre when listening to artists, whether it's country, pop, R&B, grunge or whatever, most of those people when you see them perform that's who they are. With hip-hop, to a certain extent, it's almost the opposite because their livelihood is dependent upon them. They're really not trying to do music that's who they are."
Demetrius Doss said he got his rap name, El Prezidino, back in Virginia when he attended high school.
People would associate him with things that went on in the neighborhood because of his popularity. Since he lived in an area called Point of View, they would call him the president of P. O. V.
In the Virginia school system it was required for students to take Spanish, and some of the girls in Demetrius Doss' class nicknamed him El Presidente.
Demetrius Doss said he later put his own spin on it and produced the nickname El Prezidino.
Demetrius Doss said the feeling he gets before a performance resembles the same feeling he got in a locker room prior to game time when he played football.
Demetrius Doss said about an hour before he goes on he may be cracking jokes, but then about five minutes before the show it'll get quiet and he can feel the butterflies.
Demetrius Doss said he then will pray and thank God for another opportunity to change somebody's life.
The album release party will be March 15 at the Psalms 117 coffee house in Silver Springs, Md.
For more information on Doss call (719) 510-0584 or visit www.prezidino.com.
Andrew Damron can be contacted at damron47@marshall.edu.
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