'Straight Outta Dundalk': Rapping Roofer drops rhymes about his hometown
BALTIMORE -- You might say the town of Dundalk has had a bit of an image problem from time to time.
You could even say it's sometimes gotten a bad "rap."
But, there's a new homegrown movement that's all about "Dundalk Pride," started by a guy named Logan Lambert.
He's a roofer and he wrote a rap song called "Straight Outta Dundalk."
He turned the song into a video and now both have taken off and turned into a campaign.
Lambert said he has a following as the "Rapping Roofer."
When he decided to do a song about the community where he was born and raised, he called on local musicians Pink Elefant and asked them to collaborate.
They shot the video at a number of local landmarks including the Hollywood Diner, the flea market parking lot, the Dundalk sign and the now-shuttered Dog House Restaurant.
The video is full of inside references to life in the eastern Baltimore County city. It's a tribute, an anthem to life along the 43 miles of waterfront that make up the town of Dundalk.
In 1916, Bethlehem Steel purchased 1,000 acres of land that eventually became a community made up mostly of its workers and their families.
Lambert's grandfather worked at the mill his entire life.
But now, the mill is closed and people have had to find other work.
His dad works at the sewage treatment plant known affectionately as "The Golden Eggs."
"The Golden Eggs" are in the music video with the phrase, 'Keep it movin' like the MTA bus and you know those Golden Eggs belong to us."
"There's been a debate over time between Dundalk and Essex about who the Golden Eggs belong to," Lambert said. "There are people in Dundalk that feel, no the Golden Eggs paint a bad picture of Dundalk, but no place on the planet has Golden Eggs like that."
Lambert and the Pink Elefants performed in the Dundalk parade on July 4.
They are selling t-shirts with the logo 'Straight Outta Dundalk' to raise money for the local charity, "Soup for the Soul."
So far, they have nearly two dozen local businesses supporting their campaign.
Five years ago, Lambert said he was at rock bottom, addicted to heroin. But, he credits an encounter with God for his transformation.
Today, he's energized, creative and eager to continue making music and writing songs about his hometown and its people and businesses.
He's proud to be 'Straight Outta Dundalk."
To see more of his work on YouTube. You will find him at @therappinroofer and on Facebook "therappinroofer."
Oh yea, and he still continues working fulltime as an actual roofer.
