Ropeadope

To start from the start would be difficult as ropeadope has always been a way of life, even before all “this” came into being. we've been practicing the art (inspired by ali) of taking all the punishment that life can throw at us, and punching back, knocking out opponents, one by one. we've overcome adversity, stuck with our convictions, and kept it real, before keeping it real was even kept. that shit isn't easy in this day and age, but music, friends and life made it seem that way.

specifics? i spent a decade traveling a self-made, zig-zaggy path through beats, rhymes and the biz - as a lawyer, a manger, an indy label chief, a major label pawn (not to mention a dishwasher, hole-digger, bus-boy, coffee-jerk and monkey boy). and in 1999 when nobody else would sign a cat named DJ Logic, i called a few brothers (and one sister) and it was decided - time to start our own thing. nobody quit their day jobs, we formed the most underground of collectives and got ready to release our first record. we needed a name, and after months of struggling to find the right one, my good friend glen max hit me with the ropeadope style. the name was perfect match - we had all taken our hits from this business of music, time to start swinging back.

and so it was. "presenting dj logic" went on to sell a lot of records and, as this was all juuuuust before napster and the collapse of the old-guard music industry, the phone started ringing. how people got my number was amazing enough, but the concept of being courted by major labels was totally surreal. we rode out the drama and in 2000 signed a P&D deal (ie, they just distributed us, didn’t own us) with the mighty atlantic records. and that's basically where shit started to go incredibly well....and also get equally complicated. i'll save you the many thousands of stories, but feel free to ask me specifics. we'll just leave it that the atlantic years brought us some insane stories and fantastic records. before i knew it, we had 9 employees and a suite of offices on the 27th floor of rockefeller center. how this all happened, i didn't know, and didn't care, it was too much fun. someday, i'll write a book.

also in 2000, ropeadope made the most important signing of all time – a licensing deal with my main man, best friend, brother from another mother, WORDS, to form ropeadope industries the clothing company that went on to make all of those redunkulous ropeadope t-shirts plus clothing lines for other labels like blue note, verve, giant step, and others. Words not only brought the illest group of designers to our team, but also the philly connection, helping us colonize the city of brotherly love, and set up ropeadope south.

so now we had some great music, tight gear, and for the first few years of the new millennium, the party never stopped as the ropeadope name started to travel around the globe along. The highlights were so very high…..we thought the fun would never end. but it did. the bubble burst in 2003….as the music industry (mostly the major labels) began to fall apart, the ripple affect rippled upon our shores.

in april of that year we got knocked down hard – vultures circled the ropeadope, ready to pick away at our bones. money was the main culprit; we ran out of it and owed a lot of it (note to those that don’t know – it’s called the music BUSINESS for a reason). most bystanders thought we would never get back up (indeed, it was published in one notorious industry journal that ropeadope was dead!). but like the greatest boxer of all times, we too stumbled back into our corner, and, with both eyes swollen, whispered the magic words: “cut me mick.” and he did, and we got back on our feet, back into the ring, bloodied, beaten, worn…..but still alive, still in the game, still ropeadope.

by the end of 2003 we made some big moves and regrouped: (i) opting out of our Atlantic deal we headed back to the indy world (we never should have left); (ii) parted ways with all employees (who all went on to great things) and replaced them with a cat (otis) and an assistant (martin); and (iii) opened two very fake offices – one in brooklyn, one in philly. the changes helped stop the bleeding. we picked up the pieces and started the rebuilding, which was made much easier with help from cats like charlie hunter, mike gordon, and the understanding of friends, family, all of our musicians and most of all – the fans, who kept the fires burning even in the darkest times.

today (may 2005) we’re just happy to be here. everything is different, but mostly everything’s the same. we love what we do and feel blessed to be doing it. and yea, everything does happen for a reason – we learned a lot. the fake offices are humming with energy and excitement every day as records, tours, clothes, and other fun stuff is being planned by the minute. if you’re still reading this you should be rewarded with wisdom, so here it is – the secret to life? enjoying the passage of time. hope y’all are having fun. love ya, mean it. andy

Post Script – 4/1/06::: (NOT) selling out. 3 has always been my magic number and with me and my man words running the ropeadope machine as number 1 and 2 (respectively) for the past 7 years straight (respectfully) we went into 2006 with 1 goal – find #3 – the missing link to our chained fence, the human (or machine) that can help stabilize our stability and take the reigns of the business side of the business. Like so many things in life, the answer to all of our prayers was sitting right in our backyard, chilling comfortably under the willow tree – Louis Marks – our longtime fulfillment partner (hosting the web store at ropeadope.com, fulfilling and manufacturing all our merchandise and more). And without any real lawyers, or real negotiations, the three of us sat down at a long table, had some food, shared our thoughts and came up with a plan – louis would find the cash needed to keep ropeadope alive, share his wisdom, and take over the business of the business, freeing me and word up to do what we do best – create music and clothes.

So there it is (again and again). still (still still) standing strong, now with the power of three. It is we and it is me. It is you too don’t you see, the pages keep turning, the story continues to unfold, as we give thanx and praise everyday....love is bold.