In the last episode of CuriosiD, WDET’s Russ McNamara took a look at the history and emergence of the Detroit-specific phrase – “What Up Doe”
That led him to Detroit music producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist Filthy Rockwell. He owns the trademark for ‘WHATUPDOE!’.
Rockwell explained why he felt compelled to start his own brand, but not before sharing his own theory about how ‘What Up Doe?’ got popularized.
Rockwell’s theory
Rockwell says he reached out to an unofficial uncle for background—George Clinton. Clinton was no stranger to Detroit, working first as a songwriter at Motown Records and then recording legendary albums here at United Sound Systems.
“I was talking to [Clinton], and I asked him one day…when was the first time he heard ‘What up doe?’ And he said the first time he heard what up though was in the early 70s, and he said he heard it from Amp Fiddler,” Rockwell said.
Fiddler was a legendary Detroit keyboardist who worked with J Dilla, Prince, and Moodyman.
Starting in the mid-1980s, Fiddler toured with Clinton for about a decade.
Fiddler grew up on Detroit’s east side and graduated from Osborne High School. He was an in-demand and working musician up until his untimely death in 2023.
The “What up doe” brand
About that trademark…
“I own the letters W-H-A-T-U-P-D-O-E,” Rockwell said. “If you spell ‘What Up Doe’ like that in any way, put that on anything I own it.”
He says the whole process started out more than a decade ago.
“I didn’t just trademark ‘What Up Doe,’ I turned it into a brand,” Rockwell said. “When I started selling t-shirts and hats and nobody wanted to sell a ‘What Up Doe’ t-shirt or a hat when I started, nobody.”
Rockwell releases some of the gear through his Filthy Americans brand.
He started out selling the clothing at The Jungle Room in Birmingham and Burn Rubber in Royal Oak and Detroit.
Rockwell had a skate shop and event space near West Grand Boulevard and The Lodge, before parking issues and high rent made it difficult to stay open.
Still the popularity of ‘What Up Doe’ endured with a partnership with the Detroit Pistons.
“We just put out the ‘What Up Doe’ hat at the end of last season before the playoffs, and it just went, went really, really crazy,” Rockwell said. “We gonna do more, drop new designs and show more Detroit pride.”
Though he says the meaning behind all of this is much more than merchandising.
“It wasn’t about just throwing something on a t shirt or a hat. It’s not about that. ‘What Up Doe’ means so much more,” Rockwell said. “It’s about ‘What Up Doe’ with love from Detroit.”
Login
