#TBT: 7 Dot Rotten Songs You Should Revisit

Giving Prince a run for his money in the name-changing stakes, Zeph Ellis, fka Dot Rotten, previously Young Dot, has spent the last eight years executing an extravaganza of grime production classics, paralleling his point-blank lyrical assassinations on every track he puts his assured voice box to. Aside from his many mixtapes, as both an MC and producer, Dot has also blessed us with an intense internet footprint of freestyles—from radio and specials, to infamous battles.

This 2007 freestyle shows the former OGz member staring blankly at the camera spraying fire for days. A year later, Dot was found tearing Logan Sama's youngers set to shreds, throwing out lines like: "Try eat me in E3? I'll pull out the streezy and make you Es-ki-mo dance." And, who could forget his skippy freestyle over "Gucci Mane's "Lemonade"? Or his memorable Volume Control murkage? A few wrong turns with major labels hasn't tarnished Dot Rotten's legacy; to this very day, his old work still amazes.

"Show them man deh that you're not shook..."

Taken from Dot's debut tape, This Is The Beginning, "Dirty South Salute" could regularly be heard at the back of the bus blasting from someone's Nokia 7600, with synchronized gun-fingers flowing along to the chorus. From "Cats On My Line" to "Over & Over", the whole set is a minefield of energy that can only be summed-up as aggressive ambition.

Any track that samples Sega's Shinobi III: Return Of The Ninja Master is a winner. "Real Talk" demonstrated Dot Rotten's evolving production abilities—as well as his distinctive storytelling. You'll rarely hear the emcee discussing any gossip or sticky topics in interviews; instead, he puts all of his views and opinions into the music. This particular cut is the first time Dot fully opened up about the incident with his old crew members, Essentials' Remerdee and DJ Bossman. And, for good measure, he even throws a little jab at Wiley.

When Dot released his R.I.P Young Dot mixtape, some were worried he was going to leave that raw energy behind him. But, with this amped-up cover of "Talking Da Hardest"—​Giggs' street anthem—he hammered the last nail in the casket on all those rumours.

Dot's self-released album, Something Out Of Nothing (S.O.O.N), came with a few experimental gems—"I'm A Professional" being just one of them. Produced by Rude Kid, the self-explanatory track was also one of the first examples of Auto-Tune being used in the grime arena. Originator, much?

2010 was the year of S-X's "Wooo Riddim", so it was only right Dot got in on the action with his confident narratives. On "Wooo Report", the MC addressed his dispute with Wolf from Hoodstars, sending sly shots at P Money and Wiley (again) in the process.

Need we say more?

Above The Waves EP was a mature and focused Dot Rotten. While the beats were more subdued, this was some of his most balanced work yet. From "People You Know" through to "Normal Human Being", he shared himself with his fans like never before—"Microphone" being a clear standout.