Antoine Dodson Wants 'Bed Intruder' to Help Family

A young man's angry rant on the Huntsville, Ala. news was turned into a rap remix that quickly launched the 24-year-old Antoine Dodson into Internet stardom. What could have easily become a negative social commentary on people who live in the projects has taken a turn in a positive direction. Dodson is using his new-found fame to spread awareness and to help move his family to a safer place.

It all started when Dodson was awakened by the sound of struggling in the next room. He then walked in on his 22-year-old sister being raped by an intruder. The family immediately contacted the authorities and the media, fuming in anger. Dodson's rage was captured in an interview by the local news, which was found online by Evan and Michael Gregory (brothers who turn news clips into music videos for their Auto-Tune the News YouTube show) and the "Bed Intruder" song was born.

That was it. Instant Internet wildfire. In less than three weeks the remix had more than 60,000 downloads on iTunes and 25 million hits on YouTube. Yes, the song and the video are hilarious. Yes, this can be seen as an over shadowing of the real issue at hand –– this young girl's rape. But Dodson isn't concerned with the fame for fame's sake. He is using the spotlight, and money from iTunes and t-shirt sales, as launching pad to move his family out of the projects and to create a better life.

"Blessings come in disguise," Dodson told the Associated Press. "This is a golden opportunity for us. I'm gonna take it and run with it."

Dodson seems to be hard working by nature. He was attending Virginia College and had been working as a janitor since age 16. Now he has a chance to really make things work, but even for Internet stars, change doesn't come easy.

"We're still struggling," Dodson said. "We have a hit on iTunes, but we're still in the projects."

He now spends most of his time managing his celebrity status in hopes of reaching a point where he can take some action. He's made appearances and done radio shows all over the world, and has fans everywhere who can relate to his family's struggles and their grief.

"It showed Antoine in a position of strength and courage," Evan Gregory said of the song. "The message he had ... was one of righteous anger. That's what really ended up coming through in the song. People kind of connected to that."

Photo courtesy of Antoine Dodson.