Dom Kennedy knows how to promote his music. His From The Westside, With Love dropped in March 2010, but visit Dom's website and an instant pop-up hits the screen to download the zip of his tape. Despite my best efforts to ignore Dom, he's got a relentless work ethic that makes it impossible to avoid his voice.
I remember Dom Kennedy had a show in Sacramento and I got asked a few times if I was attending the show, to which I replied “pssh. what?” Then, after a month of keeping Kendrick Lamar's O(verly) D(edicated) on repeat in the car, Dom's verse on the “She Needs Me” (Remix) became one of my favorite moments on the record.
The growing appreciation for his laid back westcentric style led me to “Locals Only,” which recently got extended to include an additional verse that rides out past the fade out. On the original Dom looks to Run DMC, Above The Law and Martin Luther King Jr. for inspiration while he waits for that next train headed toward the studio.
For the extended version, Dom adds his perspective from the top, sharing his story with a girl called Life; “not in it for the ring girl, I wanna be respected / that's why it took me like four years to perfect it / she said you got the type of heart I'd like to connect with / so when the train stops next time I'ma catch it.”
Be on the look out for From The Westside, With Love Part II later this year.
