Rockwell explained why he felt compelled to start his own brand, but not before sharing his own theory about how ‘What Up Doe?’ got popularized. Clinton was no stranger to Detroit, working first as a songwriter at Motown Records and then recording legendary albums here at United Sound Systems. The “What up doe” brandAbout that trademark…“I own the letters W-H-A-T-U-P-D-O-E,” Rockwell said. “I didn’t just trademark ‘What Up Doe,’ I turned it into a brand,” Rockwell said. “We just put out the ‘What Up Doe’ hat at the end of last season before the playoffs, and it just went, went really, really crazy,” Rockwell said.