The catchy song plays while Westchesterson shows off some of the region's better known attractions and landmarks.
Who is this man? Well, he goes by the name Dr. Westchesterson, and this is the profile picture included on his blog spot. Westchesterson is a Western Massachusetts musician and rap artist whose "413" video, featuring familiar sites from around the region, has become a local Internet sensation.A new music video by the artist and performer known as Dr. Westchesterson, a self-described blue blood rapper and marijuana enthusiast from Western Massachusetts, has gone viral — and images featured in the catchy clip are bound to be familiar ones to anyone with roots in the commonwealth's far-flung, oft forgotten hinterlands.
The video, which has popped up on YouTube and gotten local media attention, shows Westchesterson in front of the Hippodrome in Springfield, Mrs. Murphy's Donuts in Southwick and Thornes Marketplace in Northampton, among other 413 landmarks.
And all the while Westchesterson has his trademark Sherlock Holmes-style pipe tucked between his lips. He also seems to have his tongue firmly placed in his cheek, though not much is known about Westchesterson, who's promoting his video on both his Facebook page and his blog spot. His Facebook page says he went to Agawam High School and graduated from Amherst College in 1996.
Westchesterson's lyrics are as fresh and local as Hadley asparagus. However, his appearance is about as fresh as a stuffy college professor's loafers, circa 1973. But that's part of Westchesterson's appeal; he's cool-nerd chic, which apparently is cooler than straight up cool these days.
"I am humbled and amazed by the outpouring of sentiment shown by the good people" of Western Massachusetts, he wrote on his blog after Friday's release of the "413" video. Westchesterson says he digs the attention, but he'll live if the video vanishes into obscurity tomorrow: "If it all ends after this puff of smoke dissipates and the Dr. fades into everyone's memories as a quirky little Internet distraction from their Spring 2012 ... I'll be okay with it."
Realizing that the region known as "Western Massachusetts" actually contains four counties, Westchesterson has fielded gripes from people in the Berkshires and Franklin County who've expressed disappointment that "their particular little corners" weren't represented in the video. That, he says, makes him "want to do one thing, and one thing only — make another video that includes even MORE gems and hidden treasures of the 413."
So stay tuned for more sights and sounds from the Bridge of Flowers in Shelburne Falls and the Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge, among other celebrated 413 sites.
WATCH the "413" video: