Dom Kennedy

Based out of Los Angeles, California, Dom Kennedy is a rapper with a fiercely independent streak. With a style that pairs terse, simple lyricism with a knack for narrative, Kennedy took inspiration from West Coast rap legends like 2Pac and DJ Quik and began rapping in the late 2000s, gradually building word-of-mouth buzz through several self-released mixtapes like 2010′s From the Westside with Love. A sequel to that set, From the Westside with Love II, was issued as his official debut in 2011. He reached a chart peak in 2015 with third LP By Dom Kennedy. Numerous albums and mixtapes carried the emcee to the end of the decade. In 2020, he released his seventh official full-length Rap N Roll, as well as a tape with frequent collaborator Hit-Boy, Also Known As.
Born Dominic Hunn, the Leimert Park native grew up listening to the Notorious B.I.G., Outkast, 2Pac, and LL Cool J, playing baseball and basketball when he wasn’t in school. After college, he began recording, issuing his debut in 2008 with 25th Hour. He followed with Future Street/Drug Sounds and Best After Bobby in 2009, the popular From the Westside with Love in 2010, and The Original Dom Kennedy in 2011. By this point, he had begun touring across the United States and internationally, playing a show in Djibouti, Africa. Rather than sign on with a label, the talented MC instead decided to start his own label, the Other People's Money Company, which he used to release his own official albums. From the Westside with Love II arrived in 2011 and was a success, hitting the Top 100 of the Billboard 200 album chart. Kennedy toured throughout the U.S. and Europe in 2012, and released mixtapes Yellow Album (which Delicious Vinyl released on vinyl) and Young Nation, as well as the single “My Type of Party.” Interscope tried to sign Kennedy in 2013 but he insisted on remaining independent, releasing second proper album, Get Home Safely, by the end of the year. The album proved to be an even bigger success, hitting the Top 25 and earning critical acclaim. His equally successful third album, By Dom Kennedy, was issued in 2015 and featured production by Jake One and DJ Dahi, among others. The following year, he released Los Angeles Is Not for Sale, Vol. 1, with Vol. 2 arriving in 2018. In between, he recorded a collaboration with Hit-Boy titled Courtesy of Half-A-Mil. The pair reunited in 2020 with another, Also Known As, which Kennedy followed with his seventh set, Rap N Roll. ~ Gregory Heaney & Neil Z. Yeung