I Ascend: Please share with us, who is Mr. Dupré Kelly?

Dupré: Dupré Kelly was born and raised in Newark, New Jersey, in the West Ward. He is an “Indigenous Newarker,” a young black man that was taught how to maneuver through the streets of Newark, New Jersey by a single black mother. He is a big brother, a father, an uncle, an educator, and a mentor. He is someone who, as they say “got out of the mud,” he is an influencer and a world traveler. Dupré Kelly is a hip hop artist, an actor, a film and television producer, a former athlete, and now an elected official. One of the first in the United States of America to be elected from the platinum selling hip hop arena to the seat of a Municipal Council Member in the City of Newark, New Jersey.

I Ascend: Can you provide us a timeline so we can travel with you a little bit on your journey:

Dupré: My timeline begins at Martin Hospital in Newark, New Jersey in 1971. My mother brought me home from that hospital to a home on 16th Street between 14th Avenue and South Orange Avenue. We moved around Newark a bit and settled in the West Ward. I lived on a block where people owned their homes. There were families with two parents in the household. There was a guy by the name of Rufus Johnson that snatched me up along with a police officer at the time named Ronald L. Rice, who later became a West Ward Councilman and State Senator. Rufus Johnson later became an Essex County Commissioner. These are the guys that took me under their wings. I lived around the corner from a barber shop called Mr. Hair, the owner took a liking to me, and gave me a job sweeping for two dollars a night, but it was more of a mentorship. The responsibility of being there on time, and hearing all of the adult conversations that meant the most to me. I grew up during the time period of the 1980s. One of the best rappers on our block, was named Sheikh, he never sold one record, but he is one of the main reasons I sold millions, shout out to Sheikh. Vincent Coat, he was also a guy who got me into leaving the neighborhood. I would go skateboarding, dirt bike riding, and exploring different neighborhoods. It showed me that you can come from one place, but you do not have to be of that place.

Commissioner Johnson was the gentleman who started me on the path to baseball. I became a great baseball player in our City, as well as Statewide and I played All American in high school. I thought I was going to be a New York Yankee but the universe and God had other plans. I also played basketball while I was in school. I worked at Hoffman La Roche, which is a pharmaceutical company at the young age of seventeen. I was already in corporate America learning how it works. This is how I got my nickname “Do It All.” A good friend of mine named Kenya Reed said to me one day, “You do everything in this school man.” He called me “Do It All Du.” I had also been in a few rap groups early on, starting off with the Undercover Rockers and The True MCs. Once I had been Coined “Do It All Du,” the entire school started calling me that. I honestly did not like it at first. I soon became popular in the community from rapping. I started to hang with some of the popular rappers at that time like Master Ace, Biz Markie, and Big Daddy Kane, even though I had not landed a record deal yet. One of my best friends at the time Reggie Noble, who we now know as Redman got a deal before me. I graduated high school and I had an offer to work at Hoffman La Roche full time. I wanted to play baseball, so I turned down the offer to go to school and pursued my baseball scholarships. Then I went joy riding one day with some friends, we got stopped by law enforcement in a car. Someone had some things on them that they were not supposed to have and everyone in the vehicle got in trouble for it. Each of my baseball scouts got wind of it and they dropped the scholarships I had been offered. Even though I did not do anything, and the charges did not stick because I was good in school and overall, a good kid. Ralph T. Grant, Jr., who was our South Ward Councilman at the time, came to my aid. He went to court with me, and opened a pathway for me to go to Shaw University on a partial baseball scholarship. When I got there, Shaw University changed my life.

It was during my first visit to Shaw University I met my rap partner, Al’Terik Wardrick, who we now know as Mr. Funke, we were both students at Shaw. We eventually met another student by the name of Bruce Colston, who we now know as Lord Jazz. Jazz did all the parties at Shaw University. When Jazz’s best friend Derek (LA) Jackson was about to graduate from Shaw, he was going to work for his cousin Marley Marl and “LA” told Lord Jazz, to put together a hip hop group. LA said maybe he could play the group’s music for his cousin when he goes to work for him and that is exactly what he did. Marley heard us rap on the Shaw University Radio Station. We gave him a cassette tape, he called us and asked when we were coming to the House of Hits. One year later we signed a million dollar deal with Marley Marl and Pendulum Records. It changed my life and my family’s life overall, it changed the people’s lives around me. “Lords of The Underground,” became influencers because we shot our videos at Shaw University. We were still attending school while we had records out. A lot of people would come up to me and say they went to college to pursue higher education because they saw “Lords Of The Underground” at Shaw University. While attending Shaw, I pledged Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated. I am the first man in my family to ever pledge a fraternity. Now in hindsight, I realized that the man who saved my life by giving me an opportunity was Councilman Grant. I became everything that he was. He was a councilman, I became a councilman. He was an Alpha, though I did not know that at the time, I became an Alpha. He went to Shaw University, I went to Shaw University. I became what he was unconsciously. This was not something that we planned. He is also a Reverend, I have not become that yet, but I have spoken in a few churches though. (Light chuckle)

I love Hip Hop and its rich culture. I have benefited from being a part of Hip Hop’s evolution. My group and I have sold millions of records and toured the world. It has afforded me the opportunity to take the money from those record sales to come back and start a nonprofit organization in my community called 211 Community Impact. It assists in bridging the gap, focusing on education and literacy. We have purchased books for our public school system, 25,000 textbooks, acquired a Lyft bus for a special needs school, and fed thousands of families. I have also started some businesses and opened a recording studio in downtown Newark, New Jersey.

I am reminded of a great conversation I had with Tupac Shakur. We talked about never moving away from where you are from. To never leave the soil from which you were birthed, but to come back to replant in it, and reinvest in it. Tupac said, “We might have to do something that we do not want to do, and that is run for office so we can create legislation that is for us.” I am in the process of doing that now. It is amazing to me. I wish he could be here to see it. This is something that he talked about, in a hotel room in Orlando, Florida back in 1992. Everything that we talked about in that hotel room I have done, and I have become.

Becoming a Celebrity has its ups and downs. There came a time I began to deal with the decline of popularity in the arts and having to redefine myself. Even though I was educated, and I had something to fall back on. It can be difficult to pivot when you get used to something, and then it starts to fade away. There is a hardship that comes with that, which has to be dealt with. I had to deal with being depressed in that season. I had to learn how to overcome that state of depression in addition to having to redefine the greatness within myself. Looking back on a conversation with that childhood friend who became Redman, I recall I was down to my last bit of cash flow at that point. A good friends who I called my brother, Tao Lowry owned a Stanley Steemer business and said to come work with him. He said he would show me how to get money because they were making about four million a year. I went to work with him, then I said to myself, “I have gone to college, I have toured the world, and this cannot be it for me.” I did not see that for my future. One day, while driving home I saw Redman. Now Redman and Method Man had just filmed a television show on FOX. I felt like I could not get Red on the phone or anything. I was in my feelings. I had been waiting to see him, so I could tell him off. That is how close we were. Looking back really, I was putting my fears on another man, which is not cool. Red is not a flashy guy, but at the time, the new convertible BMW 650 had just came out and he had on thousands of dollars’ worth of jewelry. Redman was looking like a million bucks. We were going through the toll booth on the New Jersey Turnpike at the same time. I was in my truck, so my vehicle was sitting up high. The BMW was sitting down low. We catch eyes, he is excited to see me. Red yells, “Pull over! Pull over!” Now remember, I could not wait to see him so I can tell him off. However, I did not want him to see I had a Stanley Steemer shirt on. He looks at me, Red is a real jokey type of guy, and he says, “It looks like you have been working.” I said, yeah, I have been working. You do not answer your phone. I am going at it. Red is just looking me in my face. He let me get it all off. Then he looks me in the eyes and says, “Du, I don’t owe you anything. You cannot be mad at me because I am succeeding.” Red said, “Why are you mad at me when you are the one who told everybody on the block to do the things that we are doing? Why can’t you take your own advice? I cannot make you take your own advice and do what you told us to do. Don’t be mad at us because we are doing it.” Can I tell you it was an elbow to the ribs? You know, I really appreciated that conversation. It was a wow moment, you know. I could not be mad at them and they did not owe me anything. I never turned around after that moment. I just started to reevaluate who I was internally, mentally, and spiritually. I started to ask myself questions again. How did I have all this success just a few years ago? I started to do the math in my head. I said “Lords Of The Underground” is three members and I am a third of that. If I can get our fans to spend one dollar with me, I should be able to get back on course. I started to cater to all of fans as a solo entity. I did not leaving my group, we were still together, but everyone was doing different things. I began to utilize the fan base, and those that would support me individually. I sold merchandise, hats, t-shirts, mixtapes, and putting some together as packages. That year, I started to feel a little more comfortable. I started going back to the community and just helping. That is when I figured it out. When I started helping the community, I benefited more than anything that I had ever done before. It might not have been monetarily, but people would say, “Man, I love what you are doing in the community, dinner is on me.” I would go into store and before I purchased my items, people would say, “Oh, You are “Do it All.” They would purchase and buy whatever I had, or simply support what I was doing. They supported my nonprofit organization which led me to build up a resume in the community. This, in turn, has led me to the seat of City Hall where I am today. It put me on the radar of politicians and nonprofit groups in my neighborhood, and it even made my music popular again.

I Ascend: What has the process of becoming been like for you?

Dupré: The process of becoming has been like a highway. My body and my mind have been the vehicle. On this highway, my vehicle has two headlights, which are my eyes. They only can see two hundred feet in front of me when I am standing still. As I move forward a little, I see another two hundred feet. I started to see on ramps and off ramps and destination signs on this highway that I did not even realize would interest me. I did not realize that I would want to explore those destinations, let alone be comfortable there. On this highway many times the roads were not paved, there were a lot of potholes.
There are times that lines got crossed. Sometimes I did not know which way the traffic was coming or going. However, I was able to see growth. The reason there was growth was due to the uncomfortable at times on that highway. When I got to a certain destinations, sometimes it was fulfilling. I was able to fill the car up with gasoline. I was able to replenish. I turned on the wipers to wash the windshield off and get all the bugs off. More importantly, when I stood outside the car or even looked over my shoulder, I could see how far I had come. That is what becoming has been like for me. It has been beautiful yet, it has been hard. It has been uncomfortable yet, it has been amazing. It has been a learning opportunity. It has been everything on the gamut for me. God forbid, if something were to happen to me tomorrow, I have had an incredible life and I am very appreciative. Of course, I want to still be here because I have so much more to do. I pray that God grants me opportunities each new day that I see. Living and being able to affect another person through influence is powerful. I want to be inspirational to people and add to who and what they become.

I Ascend: Congratulations on Ascending and standing in your Truth and Pursuing Destiny. What do you want people to remember most about you?

Dupré: I want people to remember that I never gave up. I want them to remember that I always wanted to leave something to share. When I am no longer here, I want them to remember that my life was systematic. I want people to believe that I left things here that are sustainable. If it is my music that they listen to, it has been left here for them. It can never be taken away nor can it ever be erased. I want people to know that it is all about leaving something for others.

I Ascend: What word of advice would you give to readers to have them to continue to Ascend in pursuit of their dream, no matter where they are currently?

Dupré: I want them to understand you are who you are, and where you are because of you. It does not matter if your mother was on drugs. It does not matter if your father left home and was not around, or if you live in the worst neighborhood in the community. None of those excuses matter. When you have the power to say yes or no, you can change the ending. You cannot complain about somebody being able to run faster than you or jumping higher than you. That simply means that the cards you were dealt with require you to work harder. To run faster than your competition who has trained for ninety days, you might have to train longer. You might never achieve the speeds that they have achieved. However, that does not mean you will not get there. Remember you are who you are and where you are because of you. You have the Power of Yes and No.

I Ascend: Please share some of the projects you are currently working on and how can our readers continue to follow and stay abreast of all the things that you’re doing?

Dupré: I want to ensure that we secure the West Ward that I represent and govern over. I want to make sure that the constituents and all the residents in the ward receive their just due. We want to improve the quality of life. We also want to make sure that our elder’s transition into living the rest of their lives comfortably. Home ownership is a responsibility and can sometimes become a difficulty for our elders. If our elders want to transition into a senior building, assisted living, or senior living, we want to make that process as simple and comfortable as possible. For the West Ward residents, I want them to be able to understand that they can become homeowners. We want to implement and expand programs that turn renters into owners. We want to increase their knowledge through financial literacy. Even if it is not currently taught in schools, we will teach it in the community. I want our youth to understand that when we say the children are the future, they can really believe that verbatim. They truly are, they must believe that they are, and to keep on keeping on. I need everybody just to believe in Dreaming Bigger. I also need them to wake up from those dreams and live them out. Do not forget to continue to pray to God, whether you call him Allah, whether it is Jesus, Elohim, or whether it is Yahweh. Make sure that there is a higher power that guides you, keep believing in yourself and do not stop, keep going. You can visit my nonprofit organization’s website at 211communityimpact.com or my personal site at duprekelly.com On social media you can follow me personally @Doitalldu on Instagram. Politically, @doitallforNewark on all the social platforms Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, Or Google me! Go hit all those pages on social media, I appreciate that. Thank you so much. Blessings!