Home Grown Hip Hop

Hip hop fans: Stop surfing the net for your next obsession. Dayton alumni Double Team are in the house.

Horse MC (Sean Apicella) and Mike Smooth (Mike Nittolo) have racked in over 8,000 profile nods on their MySpace pages and see no end in sight. Vocalist Horse MC, a veteran in hip hop production with an album already under his belt and sales on eight online stores (including iTunes, Amazon and Rhapsody), established an indie label, Martian Music LLC, with life-long friend Nittolo. In addition to promoting their own music, they hope to record and establish other bands. One such group, Let it Go, is currently producing their first album on the label.

Growing up in Springfield, the duo had a hard time finding an outlet for hip hop in town. They took to the streets, recorded their own album, "[Don't] Try This at Home" in their studio, and self promoted all around New Jersey and New York. Apicella says the pair struggled to find a place to perform that felt right.

"Sometimes you feel a certain vibe that isn't normal for where you grew up but it's good because it pulls you out of your element and if the vibe's still there, that means you really feel it," Apicella said. "Having nowhere to perform or having to start a fan base without promotion is a really good test of how bad you want to do this."

Breaking into the music industry is no easy feat, especially when juggling full time jobs to financially support yourself and your passion. It's easy to get discouraged when the pace seems slow, but the guys stand firm behind their music and give thanks to those before them who paved the way.

"What inspires me the most is the music that comes out now-a-days. The sound we provide doesn't take away from the original roots of hip hop but combines the old with the new. Our lyrics are meaningful and straight from the heart. New music is steady competition for anyone trying to break into the game and keeps us working hard at what we love," Nittolo explained.

Having seen them live, I can account for their energetic and moving show. Fair warning: their lyrics are strong and recommended for a mature audience. Onstage, Double Team are hard rappers and hip hop legends. Offstage they are soft spoken, more prone to listening than talking.

They will be stopping by their stomping ground, Crossroads on North Ave. in Garwood, on Jan. 3 at 4 p.m. to take part in the Music Saves Lives benefit. If you can't make it to the benefit, be sure to swing by Mood in Union on Jan 7th at 9 p.m. to catch Double Team the mic.

For more information about Horse HC and Mike Smooth, be sure to visit their Myspace pages  (Apicella's is here and Nittolo's is here).