Multiple generations of Dayton rappers came together in unity, with nearly 30 contributing verses — including P the Emcee, Picket Fence, Seth Rock, Eklypz Period and Jeremy Street.
“Vol. 2” dropped in June on Hen House Forum, mere months after the debut. A lot of the guys had seen each other’s shows over the years, some even previously collaborated, but it wasn’t until Rap Campp that their histories coalesced.
As they swapped in and out of the sound booth, each emcee was supportive and encouraging of the next, all while trying to be the best rapper in the room.
Don Johnson, a hip-hop producer and DJ from Dayton, originally had the idea to combine camping and hip-hop. His cohort Mike Cooley, aka Cooley the Curator, annoyed Johnson to the point of actually making it happen. The two jointly produced the documentary.
“We didn’t think it was going to turn into anything,” Cooley said. “Now it’s like this all-consuming thing that it’s just a dream come true. We get to make music with these people all the time.”
“Rap Campp Vol. 1” marked the first time Johnson and Cooley made music in a studio together, though the pair had already been hosting Boom Bap in Belmont — a monthly hip-hop event at Belmont Billiards every first Saturday. The cohesion of production and emcees on “Rap Campp,” despite the number of those involved, was sheer luck on the first one. It was the expectation for the second.
“The craziest part for me was to watch that none of these guys had ever heard any of the instrumentals that were used before,” Ward said. “These dudes showed up, got a folder of music and just started writing to it. Randomly, these verses got put on the same beats, and the content actually worked. Like, how did they know that’s what the song was about?”
In the documentary, Ward, a lifelong Dayton hip-hop fan, captures the feelings of generations of Dayton hip-hop artists weaving their respective styles together. Newer generations paid homage to those who came before, and the old heads opened their eyes and were reinvigorated and inspired.
“The recipe… it’s a little bit of this, a little bit of that and it tastes great,” Ward said. “Everybody really believes in this movement, so they’re all putting 110% into everything that they’re doing. It’s beautiful. It really is.”
To their knowledge, something on the collaboration scale of Rap Campp hasn’t happened before. Frankly, there’s probably a reason behind that.
Putting it lightly — and both Cooley and Ward can back this writer up on this — there’s often a stereotype that rappers have palpable egos. However, as one of the emcees in the film suggested, this particular group was able to put gloating aside for a weekend; the only ego involved in the making of these records was to write the dopest verse. But even that was unspoken.
“Mutual respect is hard to find even in society, much less in hip-hop,” Cooley said. “Once I respect you, and I know you’re here for a reason, because I’m here for a reason, then we can start writing a song.”
Before working out of this farmhouse in Springfield, many of the emcees hadn’t worked together. Now, after the marathon sessions, many of them are doing collaboration albums and are featuring on each other’s songs.
“Welcome to Rap Campp” is a love letter to hip-hop, community, and the scene that raised it. Several interviewees in Ward’s documentary referred to Dayton as a Midwest music mecca, a hub of creativity.
“We’re hard working people, right? But we also love to have a good time,” Cooley said. “We have the history of all the back-breaking labor that people have done in factories, but also the history of Dayton funk. Some of the greatest party music ever created came from here. It’s the combination of that creativity and that nose-to-the-grindstone energy.”
Cooley suggests that Dayton music without funk is like New Orleans’ food without the kick. Though, even if it’s sonically concealed, there is a throughline from Zapp and Ohio Players to the current talent that the city now produces.
“Those guys created something that wasn’t there before them,” he said. “The generation of MCs now, we’re not trying to do what Atlanta is doing or what New York is doing. We’re trying to do what we do.”
Brandon Berry covers the music and arts scene in Dayton and Southwest Ohio. Reach him at branberry100@gmail.com.
HOW TO GO
What: Screening of “Welcome to Rap Campp,” with special guest performances
When: 7 p.m. Jan. 12
Where: Dublin Pub, 300 Wayne Ave., Dayton
Cost: $10
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