Alright Ladies and gentlemen, there are no games to be
played here; this is probably my favorite project that dropped of 2012. I
honestly don’t know why I didn’t write a review for this when it dropped last
June but I wasn’t in my right mind. Dom Kennedy is an artist in my catalog that
I feel needs no introduction. Dom has dropped 5 mixtapes and one commercial
album prior to the release of his “Yellow Album.” The “Yellow Album” was
originally intended to be an album but he decided to just release it as a mixtape.
I have referred a lot of friends and hip-hop lovers to Dom Kennedy and this
piece of work. The feedback that I received from it was ALL positive. Everyone
that started off with this mixtape automatically went to older Dom K songs and
fell in love with his lazy California player style music. Songs like “Platinum
Chanel,” “Grindin’,’” “Designer Sh*t,” “1997,” and “Nigga 4 Life” ranked among
the top favorite Dom Kennedy songs by new listeners. New ears also were
appreciative of the OpM All Stars mixtape “Young Nation” which I previously
wrote a review on that dropped in October of 2012. The whole West Coast is
seriously potent for good music like my bredren Twon Johnson stated in his "How The West Was 'One'" article.
As far as the word fresh goes, Dom’s music and style takes
it further. The tracks that Dom goes over, which are mainly produced by Drew
Byrd, are not typical in any part of the music business. As stated in a
previous Dom Kennedy interview and concert I attended, “I would rather have
really dope sounds and instrumentals than to put out a large quantity of music.
I like to put effort into the music that I make. It’s great to have a large
choice of music as an artist, but I would rather take my time and perfect my
craft so people will know I make consistent quality music.”
The first track on today’s agenda is “We Ball” featuring
Kendrick Lamar. This track is a celebration. The production was led by Chase N
Cashe who outdid his self on this one. The tone is nicely set and Dom rides the
track with ease. Now what Kendrick does on his verse is what gets you in
trouble with the law. I’ve done 105 mph+ in a family member’s car listening to
Kendrick’s verse just because he said he was doing the same. To ice the cake on
the song the instrumental keeps going but the beat stops and Ric Flair’s “Real
men Stay up” speech is played. The speech personifies the Dom Kennedy’s take on
his style; he’s not about the hype.
“My type of party” was a summer jam last year. Leave it to
Dom Kennedy to grab another excerpt from a famous celebrity. At the beginning
of the song the late Don Cornelius is speaking from one of his soul train shows
saying “I wish I had an explanation for the popularity of the man I’m about to
introduce but a gift such as his apparently cannot be explained, but it can be
felt and enjoyed…” then the beat drops. A few people who doubted him and
shunned him for the song but they grew into liking him by respecting the lane
he made for himself. I’ve said it before and Dom isn’t like Rakim, musically he
descends from Too $hort and Snoop Dogg. If you have listened to Dom K before
you know he has a lazy apathetic approach to how he raps. This track seems like
it was a fun track to make because I know I had fun partying to it. I know the
video had to have been fun to make so I posted it below as a bonus for readers
to get a sample of Kennedy’s music.
The next two tracks are personal favorites of mine and
people who I have gotten to listen to Dom Kennedy. The first jawn is “Gold
Alpinas” featuring Rick Ross. I honestly think Rick Ross didn’t need to be on
the track but it seems like he was the perfect person to do the feature. Gold
Alpinas is a style of rim that is being envisioned a BMW, and given that Dom
raps about player sh*t you can imagine what this song will be about. The song
starts and continues till the end with an Aaliyah sample of one word with four
different pitches. It is a very laid back song that is tailor made for a lazy
flow. “1:25”is an up tempo beat that everyone who has heard it loved it. Dom is
talking about real life things and stuff he went through. The main point of the
song is hard work and how he has grown in his success. DrewByrd produced both
of these songs and perfected them both. If you are not familiar with Mr.
Kennedy I highly suggest you begin with these songs.
The Yellow Album was by no means a mixtape in my book. I
feel as if this was given away, it was definitely an album that STILL rocks
tough. With features from Kendrick Lamar, Too $hort, Rick Ross, Niko G4 and
Freddie Gibbs makes this project even better. There honestly has not been one
person that I introduced to Dom Kennedy that has turned him down. Hopefully I
retain this record among new listeners. Dom also has a new album dropping in
the summer titled “Get Home Safely,” so be on the lookout for that and a review
on it!
Hit me at @_KJTheGreat, @BestInTheMix or kjohnsonk14@gmail.com
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