What is your name and what city do you rep?
My name is D.O.M of DnD and I hail from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. I am a boom bap rap artist that has been in the game for nearly 8 years, but have been taking it more seriously since the pandemic began. I am part of the rap supergroup from the Subreddit r/makinghiphop “Splinter Faction,” who is a mix of 16 rappers who have a wide variety of sounds and influences.
Tell us about your latest releases, what inspired you to create them?
My latest singles are DTW/DTL featuring Krizz Kaliko and Bar Fight featuring Joell Ortiz. What inspired me to make Bar Fight with Joell Ortiz was seeing all of the open verse challenges on Tik Tok and thus, I’d do my own version where Joell and I would trade bars throughout the track, hence the name “Bar Fight.” As for DTW/DTL, I made this in reference to a popular ASMR channel by the name of Dude That’s Wholesome/Dude That’s Lewd, in which I would compare myself to them by saying I’m a Dude That’s Winning/Dude That’s Loved. My last album I released was titled N-Days featuring Jarren Benton which centered around what would happen if I had only one day left to live on Earth.
What is unique about you and your music?
I’d say the unique and defining aspect of my music are the people I take inspiration from as well as the content I put: Most rappers will talk about street shit, relationship or familiar issues, or depression and anxiety. However, because I’ve never dealt with those sorts of things or the fact that the depressions and anxieties I’ve had were minor, most of my music is essentially braggadocio needing multiple listens to pick it apart or very reference-heavy lyricism where I’m brownnosing OnlyFans models and pornstars who have listened to my music and thus, just simping for them in my catalog.
What shaped your music?
What shaped my music were the Cyphers on the subreddit “r/makinghiphop,” as I was able to do that routinely during the pandemic so I could cope with the gloom of that period, as well as work on my rapping style too. In, addition, various Discord song contests I’ve partaken in as well as projects from rap supergroup Splinter Faction have also played a role in how I rap as well as my workflow, because they were able to provide me reference points on where I am in terms of skill as well as sound quality.
When did you realize you were going to make music professionally?
I realized that I could treat music professionally during November of 2020, as I felt that I’ve learnt all that there is with rapping and that all I need to do is apply it to my personal projects and look at the marketing side of the craft, rather than continuously Cyphering during the pandemic.
What type of music do you listen to?
I will listen to almost anything but opera, folk, soul, and gospel. But my main playlist will consist of a variety of artists, ranging from new-school Eminem, Griselda, Lupe Fiasco, Central Cee, and King ISO. I also have an affinity for Royce da 5’9″ and Earl Sweatshirt on my main rotation.
What inspires you to write music?
There are multiple inspirations I have from my music, all for different reasons. For just working on my style, artists such as Eminem, King ISO, and Royce da 5’9″ were vital in helping me understand fitting in pockets, changing cadences, and helping with creating coherent punchlines that can be strung together. As for the content, that ranges from content creators such as Markiplier and Indigo White for both the depth at which they create their content as well as their ability to gain longevity while keeping their integrity and interactivity with their fans.
What do you do when you don’t do music (creative or otherwise) and that you are passionate about?
I am normally studying chemistry, classical filming, or Physics during my spare time as well as playing racing games such as Dirt Rally 2.0 and Forza Horizon 5. Before I started rapping, I would fixate on these kinds of games and studies because it was satisfying to see what they would cover and what they’d look like, according to various theorems. I also took influence from my parents with regards to racing games, as they are both petrolheads.
Happiness to you is…
To me, the idea of happiness is rooted in being content, where you have a balance between hardship (working, life stressors, etc.) to keep you on your toes and growing as a person, but also enough of your desires and needs fulfilled to help you achieve security and the incentive to keep working so one’s desires are achieved.
What do you wish you were told when you first started making music that you think would help artists just starting out?
There’s a lot of advice I wish I knew from the get go, or rather advice I didn’t take seriously until I was faced with various dilemmas. Some of these include the fact that a) The only way you can define yourself is through sticking to a niche you’re comfortable with so you don’t become generic and because of that niche, not everyone’s gonna either find it nor like it. The latter point was especially relevant as I had some issues with people reviewing my catalogue saying either I sound too milky, that I’m too lyrical, or that my voice is wack. The other point I wish I’d give to myself is consistently converse with your connections so that you can keep them for as long as you can so you have a reliable source to work with for your own music.
Tell us about your upcoming projects…
My next project in the works is a project known as “The Simpleton’s EP 2: Jewelz Blu-Galoo,” which is a sequel to the original Simpleton’s EP, where I sample pornstar’s catalogues and then base the song off of the vibes I get from their videos. The sequel, however, takes this a step further with who specifically I’m sampling and who I plan on featuring (some big names are on it, so big heads-up there). So far, my first single for the project, DTW/DTL with Krizz Kaliko, is out now on all platforms and my next single (presave here), will come out on January 17th. The project is around 10 tracks in total, and will feature a variety of styles as well as topics I cover.
Where do we find you music / music projects?
You can find my music using the following hyperlink: https://direct.me/domofdnd. My Spotify can be found here, under D.O.M of DnD: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6J5VuFIm5Yvy3o5LJKMnBm?si=048yl3GISHGh2bBNtEcplQ, and my YouTube channel, DnDRecords Official: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_SpgXHmNliU85lX17k3aqQ