I can only speak from this side of that because I've never been signed. What advantages do you have when you're an independent artist, as opposed to being signed to a major label?

I'm helping building other people's careers, so it's a lot more than just me. At this point, I'm just looking to make the best deal I have for me and the artists that I have. From the Westside with Love was the first project.

There seems to be a bidding war for you going on. I have a title or clear cut vision, so I said it joking to a couple producers, and it sounded dope. The title is really just came to me one day. That's part of being an artist is realizing what you're making is not for everybody. Either people love or hate it, but I was fine with that. That one was a little more a risk than Westside with Love. I had to learn about myself and be happy. I remember thinking people are either going to love it or going to hate it. That one was a little more of a risk than From the Westside with Love. I needed to find out a lot a things about myself, ask a bunch of real questions, and be happy as a person and as an artist. I was kinda at the same point I was when I made From the Westside with Love, two years older, question about music and myself. The Yellow Album? Where did the name come from? It's one thing to think your successful and people might feel you, but when people really actually do appreciate it, it's a blessing after that. So when I was done, I had a really good feeling, but it was just great to see it come true in real life. I put more work on that than I did anything in my life, really, and you know, there were a lot of questions that I had as an artists, as a person when I first worked on the music.

I had a good feeling about it because I worked so hard on it. How did you react to the success of that project? It was kind of like just timing.įrom the Westside with Love was one of the first projects to blow in 2010. I never really had that meant something to me. And honestly having things like that really helped me out.

Why did you wait until you were 24 to get a tat, in a city like LA? Westword: Who was your favorite rapper coming up as a kid? See also: Dom Kennedy at the Larimer Lounge, 12/3/12 We recently spoke with him about that album, his first favorite rappers as a kid and the benefits of remaining independent. Still staunchly independent, Kennedy is on the road in support of his latest project, the Yellow Album. In addition to earning high praise from hip-hop's elite, Westside garnered Kennedy a massive online following. After first emerging in 2008 and releasing a pair of mixtapes, Dom Kennedy made major waves in the rap scene with his acclaimed mixtape from 2010, From the Westside with Love.

Dom kennedy yellow album on tour