Dope Poet Society

Websites:  http://www.jlr1.com/
Origin: Toronto, Ontario
Biography:

The Dope Poet Society is a politically charged hip hop group from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Their music is characterized by clever and sometimes controversial lyrics. ProfessorD.us (formerly Professor D) is the lead vocalist of the group, known for his tongue twisting, “rapid fire” rap style. The group has been active since 1995 and has toured around the world. They have also performed and collaborated with some of the most influential artists in Hip Hop including Public Enemy, Dead Prez, Jeru the Damaja, and Boot Camp Click.

Professor D changed his name to ProfessorD.us with the release of his 2008 album, Third World Warriors Vol.1, which lists the artist as "ProfessorD.us - The Dope Poet Society".

History
The Dope Poet Society, in their early teens, recorded a song and music video for YTV, entitled Canadian Unity (1992). The group founded Justus League Records and released their first vinyl single and music video, "Too Many Years" (1995), which appeared on Rapcity and was featured on MuchMusic's Indie Spotlight. Their debut album, Dangerous Days (1997), was the first full length CD to be independently released by a Canadian hip hop group. It was credited by Now as "fostering a… sense of community" in Toronto’s hip hop scene. Their second album, Hipolitics (1999), spawned their first major hit, "Fuck Mike Harris!" In their review of the EP, Now wrote, “If Dalton McGuinty or Howard Hampton wanted to really make their point with the youth, they'd adopt the lead cut on this five-song EP as their campaign theme song.” The song became a huge hit on college radio across the province and across the country. Public Enemy frontman, Chuck D, began playing the song on his internet radio show on bringthenoise.com and began a relationship with the group which lead to mentorship and collaboration.