GREEN BAY (NBC26) — For hip-hop guru and entreprenuer, Dubceez, he knows where he stands in hip-hop history.
"I brought hip-hop to Green Bay," Dubceez said. "What can I say, I'm a legend."
Dubceez is from Chicago and grew up in a musical household. He said his passion for music began at age 11. Now in Green Bay, his entertainment business, Dubceez Entertainment, has helped grow the 50-year-old music genre in Northeast Wisconsin.
"I rap, sing, DJ, I make beats, I do graphic arts, if it's anything to do with music I do it," Dubceez said. "Up here in Green Bay, the Packers is what everyone glorifies, what everybody treasures and what everybody's worshipping. My thing is, I want to put the light on artists up here, on entertainment here."
He started doing just that in 2009 with his Artist Appreciation Awards. It's an award ceremony in Green Bay highlighting the work of underground artists. Community members are also awarded for their contributions.
This year marks year 14 for the award ceremony happening on Aug. 19 from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. at Bay Bar on Klaus St.
Tickets cost $25 in advance and $30 at the door.
Dubceez said it has not always been easy, especially starting in its first year.
"[People in the industry] telling me that it wouldn't work, they told me I was wasting my time, nobody appreciated," Dubceez said.
He recalls the feeling of planning the first award show.
"Walking, pulling into the lot, I was petrified because it was the first one," he said. "I still get nervous, like right now, because it's that perfection that I'm always looking for."
Honoring Dubceez's work, the Chicago-native is featured in the Chicago Hip-Hop Heritage Museum.
Now, he looks forward to celebrating another 14 years of underground creation and providing vibrant entertainment to the Green Bay area.
