Dom

                             

                                               FROM THE WESTSIDE WITH LOVE

Hailing from Leimert Park, CA. with a message of JBC Dom Kennedy is primed to be next to take the throne and don the crown of West Coast Hip- Hop king.

Hit the jump for the rest of my feature

  Taking a different route than that of his predecessors, Kennedy’s music looks to re-invoke the essence of the South Central LA lifestyle and portray a different side of the city to his fans.           

When you hear the term South Central, from an outsider’s perspective, typically you’ll think, Compton, gangs, drive-bys, and poverty.  These are the labels that have been placed on this area over the past 20 or so years.  These labels were, in my opinion heavily influenced by the music and artists that have came out of South Central in the past.  NWA (Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, Mc Ren), Snoop Dogg, Tupac, The Game, and more recently Nipsey Hussle, all spent their lives growing up, in and around South Central Los Angeles.  I can say that although a good portion of their music speaks negatively, I do enjoy listening to these artists and believe they are immensely talented.

           

Just Be Cool or JBC, as Dom so often says in many of his songs, is the message behind the music, and the method shaping his career. Like those before him Dom’s music reflects his South Central upbringing, and how he approached day-to-day life the area.  This is also where he differs from those before him.

Dom is a self-proclaimed hip-hop head, and I knew it was true, the second the song, “Watermelon Sundae”, dropped through my speakers.  The song is reminiscent of, A Tribe Called Quest track, laced with an early Notorious B.I.G. delivery.  As I dove deeper into his music and picked up his mixtapes (25^th hour, Future/love Streetsounds, The Best after Bobby, and From the Westside With Love) I continued to find songs that garnered my interest and was specifically attracted to the mixtape, From The Westside With Love.  Similar to Drakes, So Far Gone, and Wiz Khalifa’s Kush and Orange Juice, this mixtape sounds like an LP and in my opinion is his best work to date.        

Tracks range from a sample heavy 90’s sound to Synthesizer and 808 laden beats, polished off by Kennedy’s smooth, rhythmic flow. His lyrical content is positive and easily relatable continually using wordplay to catch you off guard and have you thinking, “Did he just say that? “

            He has successfully made a name for himself in Los Angeles and has a growing fan base all over the U.S. (he recently came off tour and has done shows in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, and Austin). A big part of this has come from aligning himself with the ever-growing blog and street culture scenes.  Dom has teamed up with brands such as, The Hundreds and blogs like 2dopeboyz and illroots.com, not only because their dope, but it was strategic placement to see him in a Hundreds Snap-back or have a feature on ill roots.  People involved in this culture were instantly drawn to him because of the co-signs from names and brands they already respected, and after one listen the music speaks for itself.

            Over the summer I had the pleasure of Seeing Dom’s first show in New York City and a show on his birthday in Los Angeles.  The show in New York happened to be in Brooklyn, birthplace of the late-great Biggie Smalls. During his set, “Notorious Dom” came on and he put on his Versace glasses (in reference to Notorious B.I.G.) and the whole crowd was rocking to the lyrics over Biggies “Big Poppa” beat. 

Being an artist from the west and having your first show on the east coast in such a Hip-Hop oriented community could not have been easy, but Dom pulled it off without so much as a scratch. The mans artistry and professionalism amazed me both times I saw him and he put on shows comparable to the ones of greats that I have seen. 

           

            Dom Kennedy is a man on a mission and doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon.  He and his camp have created an amazing foundation and are beginning to launch something great into the music industry.  It’s only the beginning for this LA native, and along with many others, I have very big expectations and see great things happening for him.  In the next few years expect Dom to be a household name amongst the genre, and continue to bring fresh Hip-Hop to the fans all over.  Never letting us forget, to Just Be Cool, From the Westside With Love.

-Morgan Harper