They rapin errbody out there. -Antoine Dodson
Now i realize that his mustache is not very prominent...more like he just hasn't shaved in a couple days, but the cultural impact this man has left on society deserves some recognition. With millions of hits on youtube, countless spinoffs, and a song that went number 23 or some shit on the billboard hot 100, I feel Antoine Dodson should be Time Magazine's "Man of the Year".
From Wikipedia:
Dodson was interviewed on July 28, 2010, by NBC affiliate WAFF-48 News after the alleged attempted rape of his sister by an intruder in her bedroom, in the "projects" of Lincoln Park.
The video of the interview caught attention due to the passionate and flamboyant style of his delivery, speaking directly to the camera, in which he directly addressed the people of his neighborhood as well as the would-be rapist, and his use of street vernacular. The reactions were mixed. Some local viewers phoned the TV station to complain that interviews with people such as Dodson reflected poorly on the community, whereupon the station defended broadcasting the interview by stating that censoring such people is "far worse". To millions of young followers he was a cult hero. Jonathan Capehart, editorial page writer for The Washington Post, wrote that Dodson became an instant Internet sensation because "in this age of fake reality TV, he puts the real in reality", to which he later added that Dodson "is one of the strongest people we’ve seen in a while".
The video of Dodson's television interview "went viral" and then inspired several musical remixes, including a video by musical group The Gregory Brothers, known as the "Bed Intruder Song", which in turn inspired many further covers and remixes, including one by comedian Dane Cook and a punk rock version by a team formed by Hayley Williams of Paramore, Jordan Pundik of New Found Glory, and Ethan Luck of Relient K.[8]
Dodson was interviewed for the Today Show on NBC on 26 August 2010 about his new found "Web superstardom". On the program, Dodson's YouTube video was called "one of the most watched online videos ever," with the hosts noting it had already been viewed over 16 million times as of that date. Dodson has done radio shows in Australia, has fans in London and is now widely recognized in his hometown of Huntsville.
Dodson has a website in which he asks for donations to assist his family in moving "out of the hood" The money, as well as money from sales of "Bed Intruder" on iTunes and merchandise such as T-shirts, will go to helping his family buy a new home and setting up a foundation for juvenile diabetes, a disease that has afflicted both his sister and his mother.
In an interview with Barry, the Gregory Brothers reported that they had sold over 100,000 copies of The Bed Intruder Song on iTunes.
In August of 2010, Dodson noted the irony of having "a hit on iTunes, but we're still in the projects."
On September 16, 2010, Us Weekly reported that Antoine Dodson had made enough money from the song to move his family out of the projects to a better house.
This made me laugh hard. "In an interview with CBS, Dodson told Shira Lazar that he had been a rape victim in the past."
Good to know they are finally movin to that deluxe apartment in the sky.