D.O. (rapper)
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D.O. | |
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| Birth name | Duane Gibson |
| Genres | Hip hop |
| Occupation(s) | Rapper, author |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Website | [1] |
D.O. (a.k.a. Defy the Odds; real name Duane Gibson) is a Canadian rapper, motivational speaker and author.[1][2] He is known for setting the Guinness World Record for the longest freestyle rap in 2003.
Biography[edit]
D.O. studied at Toronto's York University and graduated with an honours English degree in 2001.[3][4]
After graduation, he created a school tour program, Stay Driven, to educate students on anti-bullying, anti-violence, peer pressure, leadership and working at peak performance.[4][5] He has subsequently visited hundreds of schools to speak on those topics and in 2012 published a book Stay Driven: Can't Nobody Hold You Down on the same topics.[2][6][7]
In 2007, D.O. released his debut album "The Norhtstarr" the album garnered a nomination from the Ontario Independent Music Awards.[4] In 2009, D.O's sophomore album "Stay Driven" hit number 7 on the Canadian College Charts.[8] In 2012, he released his third solo album "Heavy In The Game" which included the single "Can't Tell Me" featuring SonReal, Famous and Chris Jackson. The track peaked at Number 3 on the US College Hip Hop Charts in July 2012.[1]
D.O. records as a solo artist and is also one-half of the duo Art of Fresh with beatmaker and vocalist Byram Joseph, aka Slakah the Beatchild.[1][9] In 2009 their debut album "Back to the Earth" reached #2 on the National College Radio Charts.[10] In 2010, the group's song "Out This World" hit number 1 on the US College Hip-Hop Radio Charts.[11] Other musicians that he has collaborated with include DL Incognito, Red 1 of the Rascalz, Classified, Marco Polo, Metty the Dert Merchant (Sweatshop Union), JRDN, Maestro Fresh Wes and others.[3][4] He videos rotate on MuchMusic, he has toured Canada multiple times and performed globally with stops in Tokyo, Hong Kong, London, New York City, Miami and Las Vegas.
Guinness World Record[edit]
On July 5, 2003, D.O. set a Guinness World Record for the longest freestyle rap at the Dark Nights Nationals car show, an outdoor car festival in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. His rap lasted for 8 hours and 45 minutes and was performed in front of hundreds of spectators.[3][9] He was the first rapper to have a video-documented evidence to support the claims to have done the world's longest be freestyle rap.[9]
Discography[edit]
Solo artist[edit]
- The Northstarr (2007)
- Stay Driven (2009)
- Heavy In The Game (2012)
- Down Home (2014)
- Duane Gibson (2015)
- On This Grind (2016)
- Seeds and Dominoes (2017)
With Art of Fresh[edit]
- Back to Earth (2008)
- When the night comes in (2010)
Personal life[edit]
D.O. currently lives in Toronto, Ontario.[1]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d Record Breakers Chart Rapnetwork Record Breakers, 27 July 2012
- ^ a b Jenny Yuen Bullying victim turned rapper takes message to students Toronto Sun, 28 December 2012
- ^ a b c Shawn Katuwapitiya Rapper D.O. takes hip-hop back to the books Archived 2011-06-11 at the Wayback Machine The Gazette, 23 October 2007
- ^ a b c d VIDEOS: Canadian hip hop artist D.O. Releases Free Online Album (Heavy in the Game) Scoop, Langfield Entertainment May 17, 2012
- ^ Canadian rap artist D.O. delivers a positive message with his Stay Driven tour Archived 2013-02-16 at archive.today Peace: Canada's Street Style Magazine, 2 April 2010
- ^ Matt Galloway Anti Bully Rapper CBC Toronto, 16 November 2012
- ^ Tyler Kula Sarnia rapper releases new book Sarnia Observer, 20 December 2012
- ^ The National Hip Hop Chart Earshot, 29 September 2009
- ^ a b c Addi Stewart D.O. Guinness World Record for longest freestyle North Side Hip Hop
- ^ The National Hip Hop Chart Earshot, 6 January 2009
- ^ Issue #410 Top 40 Archived 2013-02-16 at archive.today Rapattack, 1 February 2010
External links[edit]
| Authority control databases: Artists |
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