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Preaching Holy Apostolic Truth:
An Interview with dUSt of Phatmass.com

by Bobbi

 

Interview done in 2004.

I've gotten to know dUSt through the Catholic phorum on his website phatmass.com. I was impressed by dUSt's love of the Church and his zeal to charitably share it with others. Humble and down to earth, dUSt has been flexing his creative muscles in the music scene, namely with the release of Massmatics, the first-ever Catholic Hip-hop compilation. My thanks go out to him for letting us get to know him a little better! --Bobbi

(Pictured at right, dUST and his beautiful daugher.)

RoL: How was your faith growing up? Were you always a Catholic?

dUSt: I was always Catholic, although my parents weren't very consistent with getting us to mass every Sunday in my younger years. I would say that the importance of my faith was predominantly shown to me through the faith of my grandparents.

RoL: Was there a turning point in your life that spurred the deeper faith that you have now?

dUSt: The turning point that spurred my "reversion" happened a couple years after high school. I was dating a girl at the time who attended a non-denominational church, and I started to attend service with her every Sunday. I really liked it, because the preacher was exciting, and the music was like going to a rock concert. In a nutshell, one Sunday, they had a guest speaker who started to preach really negative things about the Catholic Church, and even though I no longer went to mass consistently, I still considered myself Catholic. The problem was that I realized I had no answers to the things this anti-Catholic speaker was saying. It was really a wake up call for me. I went to the local ½ Price Books store and found a book called Catholicism and Fundamentalism by Karl Keating. That's the book that started it all.

RoL: How did Phatmass.com come about? Why the name?

dUSt: After reading that first book, I read another, and then another. I finally decided to create phatmass.com. To be honest, I was throwing around several different names-it's not easy finding something with ".com" still available! I finally decided on "phatmass" because I thought it was a good blend of urban/Catholicity/curiosity. I wanted a name that people would question, "what does that mean?". It worked! Despite the acronyms floating around, I like to think of "phat" as "Preaching Holy Apostolic Truth".

RoL: The Phatmass phorum seems to be the lifeblood of your website. Personally it is one of the most vibrant and faithful Catholic boards I've seen. What is it that draws people in and keeps them there?

dUSt: Free tacos.

RoL: Have you always had an interest in music? What is it about hip-hop music that particularly attracts you?

dUSt: I've always had an interest in music-from Run DMC, LL Cool J and the Beastie Boys to Michael Jackson, to Tom Petty, to Al Green, to Willie Nelson, to Foghat…. You get the picture. I love it all. But, hip-hop has always had a certain rawness to it that I really love. I don't really like the stuff they play on the radio nowadays-it's become way to commercialized. It's to the point now where I can't tell one song from another. My real passion is in the underground hip-hop scene. The cats still making beats with turntables and pawn shop albums they get for 10 cents at the thrift store.

RoL: How did the hip-hop compilation come about? What was your role in making this CD a reality?

dUSt: Well - once upon a time, a DJ from Philadelphia posted in the phatmass phorum--DJ 86. He was basically soliciting interest in his beats, looking for Catholic MCs. That's when I got the idea and ran with it.

RoL: Do you see this compilation as a tool for ministry, as an outlet for your creativity, or just for fun? Or perhaps it is a little of all those things?

dUSt: I totally see this as a tool for ministry. I think it's important to keep this focus. I never want to use the Church as a "crutch" for making hip-hop. If an artist doesn't see this as a ministry, I would ask them to pursue their hip-hop dreams somewhere else - although, it is fun at the same time.

RoL: Where can we find information about the artists on Massmatics?

dUSt: You can find out all about them at phatmass.com/massmatics. I WILL let you know that there are two priests and one major label signed rapper that participated…

RoL: Was it a conscious decision to make this compilation "Catholic" (as opposed to a more generic "Christian") or did it just work out that way?

dUSt: It was a conscious effort to make this Catholic. There are hundreds of Christian hip-hop artists out there now, so we definitely wanted to make something specifically for Catholics. We turned down a few Christian artists who wanted to participate specifically for that reason.

RoL: How can people get a copy of the Massmatics?

dUSt: We are looking into Catholic distribution options, but in the meantime, anybody can order online at phatmass.com and have their CD within a few days.

RoL: Will there be any upcoming concerts highlighting the artists from the compilation?

dUSt: Some of the artists on the compilation will be performing at the National Catholic Youth Conference Nov 13-16. Any other events can be found by visiting the website.

RoL: It's obvious that your faith is not a "Sundays only" thing. How do integrate your faith into your daily life?

dUSt: I think one of the best things a person can do is to attend daily mass. Other than that, pray everywhere. Pray with your spouse-pray with your kids. Say grace at fast food restaurants. Say "God bless you" instead of "Bless you" when someone sneezes. Little things add up.

RoL: What do you do to maintain and deepen your relationship with Christ?

dUSt: I think the most important thing one should do to strengthen their relationship with Christ is to avoid sin. When I have a mortal sin on my conscience, and can't receive His body, I feel empty. Daily mass helps me avoid sin-but when I fail (and I do all the time), I'm in confession that week.

RoL: Of all the treasures of the Catholic faith, which do you hold most dear?

dUSt: The Eucharist.

RoL: Any last comments or words of wisdom?

dUSt: Eat tacos.

RoL: Thanks so much for your time, dUSt. I greatly admire the work you do and pray that God continues to bless and strengthen you! God bless you and the family - including the latest edition!

dUSt: Thank YOU, and may the peace and love of Christ be with you and your family. God bless.

Dust Seiber is the brains behind the Catholic website phatmass.com and the producer of the groundbreaking Catholic Hip-hop compilation Massmatics.