Hot 100 - 2009

Lynn rapper M-Dot, aka Michael Januario, packs all the traits that rising rappers need to succeed. He’s humble, tough, talented, and full of hard rhymes about growing up poor, hungry, and neglected (and, from what we’ve seen at shows, he can also woo the ladies when he tears his shirt off mid-set). In the past year alone, he’s conquered more than 100 stages — opening for such artists as Necro and Raekwon in Boston and regularly traveling to rock mics in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Having toured Europe with Lawrence rhyme heavyweight Krumb Snatcha in the spring, M-Dot is now back in the Bean, and later this summer, he’ll be dropping his official debut disc, Musically Driven Over Time, on the Worcester label Str8 Up Entertainment. Boston hasn’t exactly been nationally known for its rap scene (sorry, Marky Mark), so we’re happy to see a local boy giving us an M-Dot on the map.