Dom Kennedy – From The Westside, With Love 2
Released: 28 June 2011
Dom’s Prayer: 3.75/5
Grind’n: 4.25/5
When I Come Around: 4/5
Come Over: 3.75/5
She Ain’t In Love: 4/5
Money Don’t Stop: 4.5/5
O.P.M: 4.25/5
Platinum Chanel: 4.5/5
I Love Dom: 4.5/5
The Ways: 3.5/5
Mr. Champagne Intermission (feat Polyester of L.A.U.S.D): 4/5
Ice Cream Truck: 4.25/5
New Jeeps (feat Asher Roth & Mikey Rocks): 3.75/5
2mph (feat Big K.R.I.T): 4.25/5
Beats, Hoes, and Rhymes (feat Casey Veggies & Schoolboy Q): 3.75/5
Dream To Me: 2.75/5 (so much wasted potential on this track, Dom chose to freestyle his way through)
Graduate: 3.5/5
4/5: Great album
In 2010, I viewed Dom Kennedy as just a basic rapper who seemed to be magically appearing on every project I listened to from Curren$y all the way 360 to Wiz. Three months ago, he was a rapper whose music I had just began to understand. His laid back flow and delivery took a while to grow on me.
Now, Dom is generally viewed as one of the West Coast’s most popular Hip-Hop acts of the past decade, and with a hefty cult fanbase. Maybe it’s his clever charisma or player persona. Maybe it’s his distinct voice or witty punchlines, or his signature rhyming of the last two syllables in each bar. Whatever it is, Dom Kennedy has built a career off of it, and From The Westside With Love 2 proved to be a successful release from the OPM camp.
I’d recommend this to longtime Dom fans and newcomers throughout. Dom continues to use the same formula that’s gotten him where he is today – his stoic rhyming pattern and outward vocal projection coupled with smooth beats fit for a West Coast summer.
VERDICT
My one MAJOR takeaway from From The Westside With Love 2 is the stretch from tracks 1-10, where Dom rhymes the entire album by himself (the only feature during that stretch is an uncredited chorus on O.P.M) and it feels so seamless. There are not many rappers who can rap the entirety of an LP and still keep the listener engaged; for measure, Jay-Z is one of a handful of rappers who take on an entire album on his own. Dom can, and the fact that he’s not much of a lyricist makes it even more impressive because de does this simply by sticking to his own formula.
Dom Kennedy has it. Dom Kennedy is…well…Dom Kennedy. Get to know him, because you won’t find it anywhere else.
★★★★: Excellent; recommended to all fans of artist or genre.
Rating Categories:
★★★★★: Best in show; pinnacle release from an all-time great artist.
★★★★1/2: Stellar example of genre; peak potential.
★★★★: Excellent; recommended to all fans of artist or genre.
★★★1/2: Very good; a few bland songs or minor flaws throughout.
★★★: Good; fans of the artist will find value here.
★★1/2: Average; does little to establish the artist or maintain quality.
★★: Unexceptional; a few highlights but otherwise bland.
★1/2: Weak; unrecommended for anyone but major fans of the style and/or artist.
★: Seriously flawed; very poor work but relatively listenable.
1/2: Terrible; a true embarrassment and akin to audio masochism.
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