Trend with Truth: Antoine Dodson’s Autotuned Life

Here we go again. Yet another conversation on race and the Web. Most of these issues end up creating a fuss on the Web, then as raucously as they arrive they fade quietly into the Internet ether, only reappear when yet another disturbance is sensed in the racial force. This following story ends a little different.

A few weeks ago, Antoine Dodson rose to Internet infamy via a news interview he gave to a local news network after he defended his sister against a home invader. In the subsequent interview, Dodson gave a no-holds bar, in your face account of the incident.  It was loud and his English wasn’t the greatest, but his animated antics made him an instant Internet star and caused an immediate backlash online and offline. The first to feel the heat was the news station that chose to air the interview, and the next were the folks that spoofed the event on the Internet. For many blacks, watching the video was a cringe-invoking experience. It was another in a long line of newscasters finding what could be perceived as the most stereotypical black person in the room. As for Dodson, he unwittingly became an Internet celebrity.

Fast forward to now, and Dodson has leveraged his new found fame. He’s obtained a rabid following on Facebook and YouTube. And those video spoofs that had everyone in a tizzy? The Gregory Brothers over at “Autotune The News,” a popular YouTube channel that created the most popular spoof, an autotuned version of the Dodson interview has agreed to split the earnings with Dodson 50/50. So where is this revenue coming from? More than likely from sales of “Bed Intruder,” the song created from the video spoof.

According to Billboard.com, the song just debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at 89. It also debuted on the Hot Digital Songs list at number 49 with over 30,000 downloads. In addition, Dodson also has some merchandising deals on the table including a line of t-shirt line and there’s rumblings of a ringtone deal in the works. The best thing that has come out of this story of race, Web, and stardom is that Dodson was able to move his family out of the dangerous neighborhood where the tale began.

In a refreshing twist, technology has done what it’s been designed to do, improve lives. Despite all the debate on whether or not the video should have been aired and whether or not a negative image of African Americans was being cast, technology helped a family relocated. As for Dodson, he’s striking while the iron’s hot and is leveraging every opportunity the Web is affording him and for all intensive purposes remains a humble individual.

This is Antoine’s digital world we’re just living in it.

About the Author
Sherri is a freelance writer that has a love of all things fun and geeky including gadgets, gaming, anime, and comics. When she isn't writing or out on the town living it up, she loves doing 10-12 hour marathon sessions on her Xbox 360 or one of her older consoles. It's not an addiction, it's a way of life!
See all posts by Sherri L. Smith.