Greg Simms Jr.

Dion Lack in the famous Doritos commercial.

You all saw it. The hilarious Dion Lack Doritos Commercial (see below) that aired during the 2010 Super Bowl. The one where the cute kid pimp slaps a grown man for dating his Mom and eating his Doritos. Here’s where things get interesting. The adult male in the commercial is from Dayton. And his name is Dion Lack.

Dion has been in the entertainment business as an actor/comedian for eleven years. And as you can guess, his career got a nice boost from the Doritos ad. Lack took some time out of his busy schedule to talk about what he’s been working on, and life as a Dayton transplant living in La La (Los Angeles)

Greg Simms Jr.: The Doritos commercial. That made a lot of noise when it aired. How did that come about?

Dion Lack: “Yeah, the commercial was surprisingly a HUGE success. It came about from a buddy of mine that I worked with as an extra on the set of Fast Furious 4. He approached me a couple months prior with the idea and we collaborated and made it come to life. A lot of people thought I came up with the commercial because I have my own production company. (LackToast Entertainment) but I was just the actor in it.”

G.S.: What was the response to the commercial (from your perspective)? How did the commercial affect your career?

D.L.: “My honest opinion, I didn’t think it was that funny but I kept getting rave reviews from my surroundings that made me fall in love with it. I praise God for the commercials buzz because it had definitely got me a lot of acting and writing jobs that boasted my drive to be more successful.”

G.S.: You are from the Dayton area. when did you move to California? And why?

D.L.: “Yes I’m a proud Dayton native! I was born and raised in Dayton View and moved to Los Angeles in 2001. I came out here to act and was forced to get into the stand-up comedy world. Which I do not regret. Comedy has been my best move yet as far as networking and growing.”

G.S.: Obviously, you are a comedian. When did you know you wanted to pursue this career? And why?

D.L.: “Like I said on the previous answer, I’ve done comedy in high school but never thought I would pursue it as a career. When my family and folks got word I was in L.A., people started hooking me up with the right people that were already established for encouragement and motivation. I slid in just fine and performed and traveled with some of the greats. ”

G.S.: How often do you perform stand-up comedy?

D.L.: “That’s kind of a hard question seeing that I do open mics all the time to try out new jokes. Just like exercising, comedy is a muscle you need to workout. But I average about four scheduled comedy performances a week.”

G.S.: Have you been to the Dayton area lately?

D.L.: “No I haven’t been in back home since April of 2011. Which was a Redemption Comedy show at the RTA Center. It was a lot of fun with my Good Comedian Comrades Mark Gregory, Nate Washington, Will Speed, and produced by Terrance Dorsey. ”

G.S.: If you had to talk to any Dayton area up and coming entertainers, what you tell them?

D.L.: “Dayton is a small market and you can easily be unmotivated because there’s not a lot of encouraging people inspiring your dream. Please stay encouraged!!! Surprise yourself and allow you to be your only competition. Don’t follow and compare someone else’s success with the speed of yours because it will always frustrate you. Everything you do in life should make your life better. ”

G.S.: Do you have anything that you are working on currently?

D.L.: “I am always working on something. I have a Comedy CD that I’m working on which is full of pranks, sketches and most importantly comedy! It will be complete in the Fall of 2012.
I’m working on a fantasy trilogy that was inspired by my oldest daughter a few years ago. Its an analogy novel that I’ve done intense research on and been working on the 3 simultaneously for almost a year now. The working title is Boats which should be complete early Winter.
Like I said on my previous answer, I’ve developed a production company (www.LackToastEnt.com) with my Best Friend Twilla Tanyi. We provide full service to help anyone bring out that vision they have on paper. We’ve done skits, short films, Reality shows, sketches, commercials etc. Check out our new YouTube page (www.Youtube.com/TheLackToastEnt.com)Also, you can follow us on Twitter : @LackToastEnt, and
“Like” us on Facebook : LackToast Entertainment”

G.S.: What is your ultimate goal?

D.L.: “My ultimate goal is to live out all my dreams with no regrets. If I say I’m going to do it, it will be done! I want to be an example of “It Can Be Done!” I don’t cut corners and try to inspire the people around me to stay encouraged. And I will leave you with this: don’t allow money to be your motivation. God Over Money!”

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When I wrote for another Dayton-based media outlet nearly a decade ago, I wrote a story about a rap duo called 275. The duo consisted of DeMarco and Snipes. At the time I wrote about them, the men released a single called “Hustle Man” that shook the streets of Dayton. The duo made noise nationally as well, as they were rumored to have had talks with major labels to sign contracts. For a few years, 275 were Dayton’s best bet for national hip-hop stardom.

A few years have passed, and things have changed. The duo is no more, and lone voice from 275 is DeMarco. The Montgomery County hip-hop veteran has decided to push on and continue rapping. The results so far have been impressive. DeMarco dropped a well received Mixtape, “Hank Music Vol 1”. Buzz is surrounding the mixtape, and it doesn’t hurt that DeMarco has well connected Core DJ affiliated DJ Skno in his corner. DeMarco had some time to sit down and talk about his dues paid, the history of 275, and his most recent moves.

Greg Simms Jr. : How long have you been rapping, professionally?

DeMarco: “I’ve been rapping for about 13 years professionally. I was a young’n starting out. It’s been a blessing to stay relevant through a few eras of hip- hop.”

GSJ: You were in the group 275. Are you still in the group? What’s the status of it?

DM: “Yes, I started out as half of 275. We had a chemistry that was bananas. 275 was defunct in 2005 due to Snipes pursuing a family setting, and moving. He’s still my homie though, we been cool since we were nine years old, so I had to respect his decision.”

GSJ: Did 275 have a major label deal? Or talks with a major?

DM: ” We had a distribution deal with SMD (Southern Music Distribution) in Atlanta, a deal on the table with Jive, Def Jam South (they ended up signing Ludacris) and Bad Boy.”

GSJ: . When did you decide to go solo?

DM: ” Around 2006. Once Snipes retired, it was still a passion for me, and I knew I had the talent to succeed because we were there. I just had to adjust to being solo which was tough. I started out with snipes and never thought I’d ever be solo. I just had to turn it up.”

GSJ: Tell me about the mixtape.

DM: “: ‘Hank Music, vol 1 What The Streets Want‘, hosted by DJ Skno, is another masterpiece. It’s my 9th project, 3rd as a solo artist, but its probably my most complete project because of the range. I got trap music, music for the ladies, hip hop heads (crazy bars) just everything you wanna hear, a one stop shop. I pride myself on being versatile, and speaking 100% truth on all topics, because I been through it on all those levels.”

GSJ: Where is the mixtape available?

DM: ” It’s available online at www.polishedmoney.com, in Dayton, Ohio at 14 Carat on Gettysburg Avenue, Xclusive CD Store on Philadelphia or catch DJ Skno in the streets, he keeps them on deck.”

GSJ: How has the mixtape done sales wise?

DM: ” How has the public reacted to it? We’re at about 400-500 now, steady rising, it’s all promotion so I plan on hitting the entire Midwest and flood the streets. The public has shown me a lot of love, the streets have always embraced my music, and my fans see I respect this art form so I stay on ten with every verse. They love it.”

GSJ: Are there any more mixtapes on the horizon?

DM: ” I got two more joint projects on deck for this year, with two of Dayton’s best lyricists, they should both be dropping within the next few months. I’ll be dropping again towards the end of this year. Just keeping the momentum going towards the album.”

GSJ: Are you touring, or doing any shows now, or in the near future?

DM: ” We’re setting up a 6-7 city tour throughout the Midwest in June, and hopefully I’ll be on a East coast tour also that’ll start in July. I have shows around Dayton coming up, and also a live band show on the riverboat to support breast cancer on May 5th. ”

GSJ: Is it hard for a Dayton-area rap artist to break out?

DM: ” Yes, now it’s harder than ever. It was hard for us when I first started because we were from Dayton, a small city nobody was checking for, but there wasn’t that many artists. Now it’s still a small city, but there are ten times more artists, so the lane is so clogged up, there’s almost more rappers then hip hop fans in general, so the support is divided so much that no one artist can gain any real momentum. So, long story short, you gotta get outta Dayton and create your buzz elsewhere also, and in most cases it takes long money.”

GSJ: What do you make of Dayton’s Hip-Hop scene?

DM: ” I respect it, as I mentioned on the previous question I think it’s over-saturated, but there’s more talent here then there’s ever been. I’ve seen artists that have improved a lot over the years, and some new artists that just got it, they just need that push.”

GSJ: What are your future plans as an artist?

DM: ” I plan to drop more projects long as the lord is willing, I’m setting up further distribution deals, multiple videos for hank music and my album “Something Epic”, and also working with my daughter Jayla, who is the real future of this hip hop. mark my word. the new label is Polished Money music, so as of now it’s my daughter and me, but I plan to expand and sign new artists in the future.”

Dion Lack: From The DYT To Hollywood

Veteran Dayton Rapper DeMarco Still Making Noise