Dom Kennedy Los Angeles Is Not For Sale, Vol. 1
Released: December 23rd, 2016
Must Listen: “California“
After the release of Dom Kennedy’s last project Best After Bobby 2, a lot of people gave up on the Los Angeles spitter. He sounded uninspired, rarely rapped on beat and many thought it maybe his fire had burnt out. He popped up during the fall with a few tracks, and he sounded like he got back on track. He dropped the Half-A-Mil EP with Hit-Boy and he proved that his rapping skills were indeed still there.
A week after the Half-A-Mil Ep, Los Angeles Is Not For Sale, Vol.1 dropped. LAINFS is Dom getting back to the basics if anything. The song writing on the album shows Dom at his sharpest, even if it makes his delivery slower than usual and sounds less summer-y than we want it to. The majority of the album is produced by his go to guy J.lbs, and that provides for a consistent sound throughout the album. Dom’s tales of women, LA, and being fresh are all the same over a batch of pretty good beats.
“California,” which is produced by another friend of his Polyester is easily the standout, because it’s exactly what we want to hear from Dom. He’s rapping over a funky west coast beat, he sounds relaxed and it makes you feel like you’re in the sun with him as he repeats “California is for gangstas” countless times on the hook. The features are people in OpM such as his artist Niko G4, Troy Noka, & Ricky Hil.
It’s good to hear Dom get back in his bag, and the Vol.1 on the end of it means hopefully there will be another volume as well. Dom hasn’t lost a step yet, and if you don’t believe us just listen to “California,” “Passcodes,” and “Johnny Bench.” You’ll understand why he’s a Leimert Park Legend.