What briefly threatened to become an unlikely rock-and-rap legal showdown has instead ended with a green light. Edsel Dope, frontman of industrial metal veterans Dope, has officially reached an agreement with Chuck D and The Doors drummer John Densmore regarding the use of the name doPE, the newly launched collaborative project from the two Rock & Roll Hall Of Famers.
The project, announced earlier this year, will see Chuck D and Densmore release their debut album no country for old men on April 18. However, excitement around the record was quickly tempered when Edsel Dope publicly raised concerns over the group's name, citing his long-standing ownership of the Dope trademark.
Now, per a post shared on February 7 by Chuck D, the issue has been amicably resolved: "We would like to send a special shout out to Edsel Dope from the band Dope for giving us his blessing, surrounding the trademarked usage of the name Dope for our no country for old men collaboration," Chuck wrote. "We appreciate his love and support."
The doPE collaboration traces its roots back to Record Store Day 2014, when Chuck D — then serving as an official ambassador — met Densmore during a panel discussion. A year later, Chuck says the idea crystalized via email: "You've got the beats, I've got the rhymes, let's make doPE."
The name itself was designed as a visual and conceptual hybrid that drew from The Doors' iconic lowercase logo aesthetic and Public Enemy's long-used shorthand, PE.
But the name quickly drew a public response from Edsel Dope, who made clear his issue wasn't personal. Opening his statement with a friendly "Yooooooo!", he emphasized, "I am a huge fan of Chuck D, Public Enemy, and The Doors, so the last thing that I want to do is interrupt a creative endeavor from two legends that I admire and respect."
Still, Edsel underscored the weight the name carries for him: "It is important for me to highlight the 25 years I have devoted to building a band/brand, which has found a good bit of success and built a sizable fan base around the globe," he wrote. "Those 4 letters 'dope' have been tattooed on my knuckles since 1998."
He also pointed to the legal reality behind the sentiment. "I appropriately registered the artist name dope and I have owned the Trademark, ever since I hit the scene, more than 25 years ago… The paperwork is up to date, and my rights regarding the name are indisputable."
In the streaming era, Edsel argued, the overlap could create real-world consequences. "Choosing to call themselves doPE would invite a good bit of market confusion, especially on the streaming services like Spotify, where I have more than a million monthly listeners, along with several hundred million combined streams…"
Despite that, his tone remained conciliatory: "Next to the two of you, I humbly consider myself 'the little guy'," he wrote. "So if YOU TWO LEGENDS are committed to using MY FOUR LETTERS, please hit me up directly, as I would love to be part of some form of collaborative effort with you."
He closed with a love letter to both artists' legacies: "I know every word from Apocalypse 91 & I have smoked more weed listening to The Doors than one could ever imagine. LOVE AND RESPECT TO YOU BOTH!"
