Passionate about a career in music, 20-year-old Dominic Weekes says he is committed to making a breakthrough as a Guyanese rapper to sing among the very best on an international level.
Many may say this is the dream of yet another young man who is setting no real goals for himself, but to Dominic, this is something that he is very serious about and is determined to excel in, among other things of course.
This young man also has his eyes set on a career in Economics, which he will soon be pursuing after learning that he was accepted at an overseas-based college. With the opportunity to further his studies in the United States of America, Dominic told this newspaper, he hopes to improve his talent and even thinks he stands a better chance of being recognized for his skills behind the microphone.
This gifted musician says he understands that this will require much work, but pointed out that he is ready to take on the challenge. “I take myself very seriously so like in the next ten years I expect myself to be doing something big, nothing any Guyanese rapper has ever done before… that’s the whole reason I work to do what I do,” he said confidently.
Dominic said his interest in music sparked at just nine years old when he became exposed to hip hop. At the age of 14, he said he started putting together bits and pieces of work on paper, jotting down his day to day experiences, creating some great pieces that were recorded some years after.
“It was just something I liked doing. I wanted to do something like the hip hop I was hearing at the time,” he related, adding that in 2005, Kanye West’s album, ‘Late Registration’, had just been released and from this he drew major inspiration. “He [Kanye West] is probably the most relatable person for me and more recent, Drake, with songs on his album ‘Take Care’,” he said.
At an early age, Dominic said, he learnt that hip hop is not only about money and the glamorous lifestyle but instead can be much deeper especially when a song speaks of the struggles of the average person.
With this in mind, the artiste started composing his own music and finally started recording his songs at the age of 18.
“I had this misconception in my head: rap well and someone hears you and they take you to a studio and you just start from there. But as you grow older you learn that it’s not like that. So I realized I had to start taking control of what I was doing if I was really serious about it,” he stated.
With the help of DJ Cody from Ruff Kut Entertainment, Dominic was introduced to the Brutal Tracks Studio where both of his mix tapes were produced. Through a collaborative effort with a friend, Dominic said he was able to class his lyrics with some of the finest beats.
“I can vouch for my music because the guy who mixes at Brutal Tracks, he understands not only music but he understands hip hop… the elements that need to be put to it for it to sound complete and those are things I take pride in,” he said.
Dominic emphasized that he works tirelessly to ensure that his finished work is nothing less than perfection as he understands the possibilities that exist. “I realize how things are today in the world like you put a song out and you don’t know who can possibly hear it. It might seem far fetched because it really hasn’t happened for anyone down here but that’s just the reality of it,” the young man said.
After his first compilation, ‘Intellectual Warfare’, which consisted of 12 songs, Dominic said he was recognized for his skill in music and managed to sell about 100 copies in his very own school, Queen’s College, where he was at the time, a sixth form student.
In addition to the hard copies, Dominic used the social media such as Facebook and Youtube to gain recognition and this he said, proved to be a good strategy though it was not as he expected. “The response was good… not as great as I was hoping it would be but I tell people hip hop is not like the natural type of music that people in the Caribbean will lean too,” he reasoned.
After his second mix tape, ‘White Lights Soliloquy’, Dominic said he thought he would take a different approach and distributed hard copies free of charge. “I decided I wasn’t gonna sell it because I realized it’s much harder for people to be receptive of a product when they have to pay for it but if you just say here, listen to it then they’re gonna take it,” he said.
Dominic said many favoured this mix tape and he was met with great feedback for one song “Body is Mine”, which he considered the most popular track on the CD.
When asked about his views on local singers and the quality of music they produce, he concluded that music here “just sounds local. I don’t mean to separate myself but a lot of the music here, you can tell that it is local; you can just tell that it was made in Guyana. It doesn’t sound like its fit to be on that international level,” he opined.
Dominic said that although he is very much interested in collaborating with some local acts, he feels that they are not very united in the industry. However, he feels that if the right artistes come together on a track, “magic can be done”.
